The Miracle of Wörgl

State power and monetary monopoly

• Several comments note the Wörgl experiment was shut down by higher authorities, framed as the state defending its monetary monopoly with coercive power.
• Some see this as typical: governments protect incumbents and creditors even when local alternatives alleviate unemployment. Others caution against conspiracy thinking about “the rich across the globe,” asking for more concrete institutional explanations.

Mechanism and effects of the Wörgl currency

• Multiple readers argue the article downplays the key feature: demurrage (built‑in depreciation) that penalized hoarding and forced rapid circulation.
• Clarifications link to demurrage vs inflation: Wörgl’s “free money” taxed idle balances rather than eroding all nominal claims via price inflation.
• The “near zero unemployment” claim is challenged; cited sources show a drop from roughly 21% to 15%, still impressive but less “miraculous.”

Complementary currencies in practice

• Historical and modern parallels: Argentine provincial “quasi‑monedas,” Nazi Germany’s Mefo bills, cathedral currencies, and emergency scrip in crises. They often work short‑term but unwind messily and tend to trade at a discount over time.
• Local currencies are said to keep spending local and sustain activity during central‑currency shortages; examples like BerkShares and Disney Dollars are mentioned.

Money’s nature and alternative theories

• One line of discussion treats money as a public good and pure social construct; others emphasize its role as a liability of an issuer.
• Gesell’s theory: money’s non‑perishability advantages holders over producers of perishables; demurrage or negative interest is proposed as a corrective.
• Keynes’s liquidity preference and Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) are brought in to explain how state money issuance can maintain employment if real resources exist.

Inequality, taxes, and power

• Debate erupts over whether high marginal and inheritance taxes restrain or entrench elites; some argue they mostly hit high earners and “petite bourgeoisie,” not the ultra‑rich who can avoid income.
• Others point to rising wealth concentration and housing/healthcare costs as evidence that the post‑war welfare balance has eroded, versus counterclaims that living standards have broadly improved and welfare spending has grown.

Crypto, points, and modern experiments

• Crypto is noted as legally treated more like a taxable commodity than money, limiting its usefulness as a Wörgl‑style local currency.
• Some see blockchain experiments (UBI tokens, “un‑pegged” stablecoins, local smart‑contract demurrage tokens) as the current frontier for complementary currencies, though success is mixed.
• There is disagreement over how broadly to define “currency” (gift cards, loyalty points, reputation, trading cards), and calls for interoperable “mints” for such pseudo‑currencies.