Alternative Currencies and Democratic Conflict: Some Reflections

Abstract

Since the crisis of the Gold Standard in the 1930s and up to the Argentinean ‘Corralito’, at the beginning of the 21st century, periods of crisis have historically spurred numerous academic and political debates on the international monetary system. At the same time, in recent years, the Great Recession has once more stimulated the debates concerning national autonomy and democracy vs. globalization and the ideological issues surrounding them.

The particular phenomenon we analyze in this article is the current momentum gained by the so-called alternative currencies; more in particular, we deal with the previously undetected connections of these alternative currencies with both of these debates.

First of all, the article presents a theoretical framework of monetary economics in order to comprehend the basics of the monetary and payment systems. Secondly, it analyses the macroeconomics of both local complementary currencies (CCs) and cryptocurrencies according to this framework. Finally, it unveils the political-economical implications of such currencies and, more specifically, the implications of alternative currencies with regard to the weakening or the enhancement of national democratic systems.