Inspiration Feed 04.15

Attentional commons, community currencies, quantitative easing for the people & more…

links selection  – 15.apr.15

The Cost of Paying Attention
By Matthew B. Crawford (nytimes.com)

What if we saw attention in the same way that we saw air or water, as a valuable resource that we hold in common? Perhaps, if we could envision an “attentional commons,” then we could figure out how to protect it.”

Alternative Currencies Are Bigger Than Bitcoin: How They’re Building Prosperity From London to Kenya
by Raúl Carrillo (yesmagazine.org)

What happens when a nation’s currency doesn’t reach all of its people: The public is separated from its own potential for physical abundance by mere lack of legal tender.

3 Ways Humans Create Poverty
by Jason Hickel, Joe Brewer, and Martin Kirk (fastcompany.com)

Just as humans have created enormous amounts of wealth, so we have created its corollary, widespread poverty.  Three ways mass poverty has been historically created: Closing Off The Commons in the 17th and 18th centuries. Colonialism in the 19th century. “Free Trade” agreements from the 1980s on.”

19 economists call on the ECB to make ‘QE for the people’ in a letter to the Financial Times
by Stanislas Jourdan (basicincome.org)

The evidence suggests that conventional QE is an unreliable tool for boosting GDP or employment. Bank of England research shows that it benefits the well-off, who gain from increasing asset prices, much more than the poorest”

 * weekly inspiration illustration by Ilan Katin