ABSTRACT
One of the ways of measuring wealth and income is with money. Understanding money takes one far beyond the standard definitions 1 of “medium of exchange,” “store of value,” “tool for organizing human endeavors.” I will only be able to barely begin exploring the meaning of money and its implications for society. 2 What I can tell you is that the invention of money has opened up endless opportunities to play mathematical games. 3 Some of these games can profoundly effect social structure, sometimes negatively, sometimes positively, sometimes in unusual and community building ways. Just in case there is another Great Depression, cf., Chapter 2, the following should be kept in mind: community or local currencies and related projects supporting local self-sufficiency are possible. 4
