When I was a student, I spent months in a cellar at the Sarphatistraat in Amsterdam. The street housed the office of “The Ancient Order of Foresters” and the cellar housed their archives. I spent weeks digging around in the cardboard boxes looking for information about “Friendly societies” (Mutual Sharing Funds), local and small-scale funds in which people, connected through their profession, deposited money to cover future risks. During this research project, I discovered that similar initiatives existed amongst other associations. These small initiatives went from strength to strength to become modern, anonymous and lucrative insurance companies. 

To my surprise I now find that those kind of small-scale “collectivities” that practically disappeared during the previous century are being recreated. People’s loss of confidence in large banks and insurance companies is no doubt driving them towards these kinds of initiatives. Micro credits (e.g. SHARE , Community-Based Small Business Loan Collateralization Program, …), rotating credit associations, local exchange trading (LE Ts) or groups with local money (e.g. berkshares.org) are good examples. 

I don’t know whether these small-scale initiatives will ever become larger or more important than the existing financial institutions. But I do think that those examples are a perfect illustration of how small-scale initiatives can moderate the disadvantages and risks of a globalizing economy. And that is an endless source of fascination for me.