US 'N' U

For more than a century, governments and economists have measured progress using financial indicators. Every year, we ask the same familiar questions. How fast is the economy growing? Is inflation rising? What is GDP? Is the budget in surplus or deficit? What is the unemployment rate? These measures have become the standard way of judging whether an economy is succeeding or failing. These statistics are important, but they tell only part of the story. They measure the movemen

Every year the world measures itself through financial statistics. Governments publish budgets, GDP figures, inflation rates, unemployment figures, productivity reports, trade balances, debt levels and government deficits. International organisations compare economic growth, investment and financial performance between nations. These measures are valuable because they tell us how money is flowing through the global economy. However, they tell us surprisingly little about some

For centuries, economics has been built around one central assumption: resources are scarce. When there was not enough food, we needed to produce more food. When there was not enough energy, we needed to generate more energy. When there were not enough homes, we needed to build more homes. Throughout history, increasing production was the path to improving living standards. That story has largely been a success. Today, humanity produces more food, more energy, more manufactur

Few topics generate as much passionate debate as the future of money. On social media, particularly Facebook, many people argue that "cash is king" and that society must preserve physical currency at all costs. I take a different view. I believe the long-term future of civilisation is likely to be cashless. Cash is often treated as though it is something natural and permanent. In reality, money is a social invention. Whether we use shells, gold, paper notes, or digital number