More than drawings, Carlijn Kingma creates maps, social cartographies to explore the subjective, reveal what is hidden and search for the mystical. Maps that show not only the seemingly objective in a frozen moment but the geometrical narratives which are able to depict life’s complexity. Based on two years of research, and alongside Thomas Bollen and Martijn van der Linden, Kingma has made the world of money accessible through metaphors and architectural drawings, depicting the workings of our current monetary system and outlining various possibilities for reform.
This essay is part of Issue #1 “Agents Provocateurs: agitate normality”, a bimonthly series curated by KoozArch on the agency of architecture and the architect. The essay is also part of KoozArch's focus dedicated to Biennale Architettura 2023 - 18th International Architecture Exhibition The Laboratory of the Future, curated by Lesley Lokko and organised by La Biennale di Venezia. The International Exhibition is open in Venice from May 20 to November 26.
Although money plays a key role in our lives, the workings of our monetary system are a mystery to most of us. Who creates our money? What causes inflation and deflation? And why are private banks repeatedly bailed out with public money? The financial jargon used by economists and bankers is an obstacle to democratic influence. Anyone who does not speak this complex language is excluded from the public debate on how our monetary system should work. Power over our money is in the hands of a small group of financial literates.
The future of our money is a public matter, too important to be left to bankers.
Carlijn Kingma, The Waterworks of Money. Courtesy of Carlijn Kingma.
We can choose to change its architecture, so that the financial sector serves society once more and helps to tackle the major challenges of the age.
The Waterworks of Money
If we see money as water, our monetary system is the irrigation network that waters the economy. The better the flow, the more prosperous society will be. Just as water makes crops thrive, so money sets the economy in motion. Or at least that’s the idea. In reality, large sections of society (visualised by the tower in the centre of the map) face financial drought, while at the top, money laps against the skirting boards. A handful of billionaires control more wealth than half the world’s population combined. There is more money than ever before, but a growing proportion of it flows within a financial circuit that is accessed mostly by big financial players, multinationals and the very wealthiest. Growing inequality, the slow progress with making our economy sustainable and recurrent financial crises cannot be seen in isolation from the way our monetary system works. If we want to properly tackle these problems, we will have to address the flaws of our current money system. We can choose to change its architecture, so that the financial sector serves society once more and helps to tackle the major challenges of the age.
The future of our money is a public matter, too important to be left to bankers.
The way the waterworks of our society are put together is a political choice. The reform of our monetary system will begin with the power of imagination. If it were up to you, what parts of the economy would you like to see flourish? What would you water? What channels will need to be closed, and what new ones dug? Kingma, Bollen and Van der Linden have developed three scenarios for a fairer monetary system, on the basis of various reform proposals and discussions with dozens of experts. Who should be responsible for creating money? On what basis should that new money be allocated? And how can we introduce the right checks and balances on such enormous power? Each of the three scenarios presents a different answer to these questions, depending on the values and ideals on which it is based.
The reform of our monetary system will begin with the power of imagination. If it were up to you, what parts of the economy would you like to see flourish?
Carlijn Kingma, Valley of Debt-Free Money. Courtesy of Carlijn Kingma.
The Valley of Debt-Free Money is a society that is no longer dependent on private banks for the creation of money and payment transactions.
The Valley of Debt-Free Money is a society that is no longer dependent on private banks for the creation of money and payment transactions. The public money system provides a safe way to pay and save. A flourishing private investment market exists alongside this, where risks are taken in a conscious and well-considered way. Public safety nets for the financial sector are a thing of the past. This scenario was developed in collaboration with former president of the Spanish central bank, Miguel Fernandez Ordóñez and several members of the International Movement for Monetary Reform. It is inspired by The Chicago Plan for monetary reform that was developed in the 1930s.
Carlijn Kingma, The Agora of Democratic Money. Courtesy of Carlijn Kingma.
The Agora of Democratic Money visualises a society where power over money has been democratised.
The Agora of Democratic Money visualises a society where power over money has been democratised. The monetary authority is subject to democratic control, and it allocates the new money in the form of a universal basic income. Shares and voting rights in companies are held by the employees. This scenario was developed with the Greek economist and former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis and is inspired by his book Another Now.
Carlijn Kingma, The Republic of a Thousand Coins. Courtesy of Carlijn Kingma.
In The Republic of a Thousand Coins everyone can make their own money.
In The Republic of a Thousand Coins everyone can make their own money. The state no longer dictates what currency must be used to pay taxes. This creates a diverse monetary landscape in which currencies coexist and compete with each other. This scenario was developed in collaboration with supporters of free banking and initiators of various community currency projects. It is inspired by The Denationalization of Money by Friedrich Hayek and the work of Belgian economist Bernard Lietaer.
Bio
Cartographer Carlijn Kingma (b. 1991) visualises the complex systems and invisible power structures in our society in architectural drawings. Over the past two years Kingma has been working with financial economists Thomas Bollen (b. 1984) and Martijn van der Linden (b. 1980) in a project to chart the world of big money.
