The Move Toward a Cashless Society

What if you were told that you would no longer be able to use that paper and would be forced to rely upon electronic technology for every single transaction you were to make? How would this affect your freedom and privacy?

"Money - in the traditional sense no longer exists. It died two decades ago when Richard Nixon forever abolished the gold standard. Since then, money as we once knew it has been replaced by an unstable new global medium of exchange that is called 'megabyte money'... megabyte money is a threat not only to our country's long-term growth and prosperity, but to the individual as well."
- Joel Kurtzman, The Death Of Money, 1993

During 1995 we saw some of the most profound changes that the world has ever known move out from the shadows of secrecy and intense preparation. The world of finance led the way in such changes. The most basic area of finance presently undergoing massive change is the very means by which transactions take place - the use of money itself.

We all have used paper to obtain goods and services that we need and desire but have we ever thought about why the use of paper in the form of bank notes entitles us to cars and entertainment and food and shelter? The only way that paper with writing on it can entitle us to goods and services is through our faith in the ability of the Reserve Bank, the government, or private individual to redeem or back that paper with something of value.

What if you were told that you would no longer be able to use that paper and would be forced to rely upon electronic technology for every single transaction you were to make? Would this make you more efficient in the manner in which you conducted your affairs? Would you be pleased to no longer carry paper or coins? How would this affect your freedom and privacy? The following investigation looks at these questions and reveals the alarming dangers to individual freedom posed by the drive toward a cashless society.