XR Money Rebellion – Tackling the Root of the Problem
Extinction Rebellion (2020)
Film Review
This documentary focuses on the role of our present economic system in the destruction of our ecosystem. It specifically highlights the role of our monetary system, in which 97% of our money* is created by private banks (out of thin air) when they issue loans. Money is also created when governments borrow to fund fiscal deficits.
Our only hope of repaying this ever increasing debt is via continuous economic growth, which requires ever increasing resource extraction (mining, oil and gas drilling, etc).
The choice to allow private banks to create our money is a political one. It hasn’t always been that way. In colonial America, the government of each colony created the money necessary to ensure ongoing economic activity. King George III tried to force the American colonies to abolish their sovereign currencies for British pounds created by the (private) Bank of England. This would be a major factor in the call for independence.
Likewise government has the power to issue money directly into the economy to cover deficits. When governments incur debt by borrowing from private financial institutions, this is a political choice.
The film describes a number of possible alternatives to our current debt-based economic system.
*2-3% of the money circulating in the economy is issued by central banks as notes and coins. 97-98% of circulating money is electronic money issued by banks when they make loans. Both banks and governments promote the popular misconception that private banks only loan money they hold in reserves and/or customer’ savings account. This is a fallacy. In fact, the only way money can come into existence in the modern economy is if someone goes into debt. See 97% Owned
The Most Revolutionary Act 
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