Research
We study the social, economic, and environmental effects of today’s money systems, assess reform options, and illuminate the histories, power players, and narratives that shape monetary change.
Money should serve people and planet.
Why money justice
The way money is created shapes the world we live in.
Today, money is created by banks. More than 90% of the money we use, is digital money created by banks, not governments. Banks are able to create digital money because governments provide them with an exclusive legal privilege to create new digital deposits whenever they make a loan.
That is not a neutral arrangement. It means that the profit motive of banks determines who benefits from the creation of the public money supply. Industries which offer the greatest profits for banks thrive, even when they undermine the public good with anti-competitive practices, speculation, exploitation, and pollution. This way of creating money intensifies inequality, indebtedness, unaffordability, pollution, and the concentration of economic power.
But this system is neither inevitable nor timeless. Across history, people have created and governed money in many different ways. Real-world alternatives can support social welfare, economic prosperity, and ecological protection.
What we do
Building understanding, capacity, and leverage for monetary change.
We bring research, education, and strategy advice to organizations working for a more just and sustainable economy.
Education
Our presentations and workshops make the workings of money and banking accessible, connecting them to urgent issues that affect people's daily lives.
Strategy
We help social movement organizations integrate an analysis of bank money creation into their analysis, strategy, and demands that align with their context and values.
A different future is possible
Money creation can be reliable, scalable, democratic, and just.
In moments of crisis and transformation, countries have repeatedly used alternative monetary approaches to provide debt relief, public employment, support for people unable to work, and funding for environmental protection. Given today's many intersecting crises, now is the time for movements to bring these possibilities into view and turn them into practical demands.
- DEMANDS THAT RESONATE
- —Democratic accountability for money creation
- —Money creation that supports social and ecological wellbeing
- —An end to money creation that undermines wellbeing
- —Immediate relief for those harmed by the current system
The Money Justice Collaborative team.
Who we are
A collaborative rooted in experience and diverse perspectives.
The Money Justice Collaborative is a non-profit project created by Sam Hummel, Benjamin Whitehurst, Bo-Young Lim, and Natalee Facey. Together, our team has twenty years of experience in the monetary reform movement as organization builders, researchers, popular-education trainers, and advocates.
Our work draws on backgrounds in research, sustainability, immigration, climate, business, psychology, advertising, and ancestral healing. We are a North American team, with members located in the United States, Canada, and Jamaica.
Sam Hummel · Benjamin Whitehurst · Bo-Young Lim · Natalee Facey
Stay connected
Let's work together for a just money system.
For research collaborations, workshops, strategy support, or general enquiries, please get in touch. You can also join our newsletter for updates on our work and upcoming opportunities.