With the meltdown of the international financial system and a profusion of diaries on the credit crisis here and here it's time we discussed alternatives to the existing banking and credit system.
Please read on and comment about how we (the DK community) can help make this happen ...
Having only a well informed laymen's understanding of finance, consumer credit, trade, currency flows and global markets, I'd like to hear from people with the technical knowledge that comes with an MBA/banking/wall street job to move the discussion forward on the possibilities of developing a "human centered / people powered" bank/banking system and how it might work in practice.
The surprisingly successful micro-credit movement, often identified with the work of Muhammad Yunus and others, uses certain aspects of the traditional banking model to make very small loans to people (e.g. the poor, rural women, people without collateral) who would never be considered good risks (e.g. corporations, the wealthy, the well connected, the educated) by normal lenders.
The essential idea behind micro-credit, which has been hijacked by more traditional banking interests in the recent past, transcends the questionable philosophy of profit for profit sake by supporting a model that sees socio-economic justice and human development as the bottom line.
I have my own ideas about how the modern system of finance and credit has reinforced the extremes of class by providing the means and leverage to create both incredible fortunes and grinding poverty. Beyond that I would like to explore how we might use our virtual community to create something new and vital. Something that channels our collective energy and creativity into a powerful force for change beyond the political (ok, i know that EVERYTHING is political but I think you know what I mean) and into the flow of our daily existence.
Is there something we can do about the hammer lock Wall Street and economic elites and the Banking System and the global credit/finance markets have over our lives?
Do we have the capacity to build a bank or other form of financial/credit facility that better serves the needs of working people who want to pay for their children's education, build a business, buy a house or perhaps launch a non-profit to help create a more progressive and just and inclusive world?