157. Economy 2.0 - Exploring the LETS Model

For today’s episode, host Josh Sidman is joined by Michael Linton. Today’s episode was recorded in April of 2025.Mr. Linton is the inventor of the Local Exchange Trade System (LETS) model, an alternative exchange system controlled by communities. Michael created LETS in the 1980s in Comex Valley, in British Columbia. Ever since then, he has focused on system design for community economics, having started other systems in British Columbia and in other places around the world. In the LETS system, information and transactions are recorded by a centralized body within the community. In theory, this gives communities more control over their economy, as resources are more likely to circulate within the community than flow out of it.Mr Linton joined the Henry George School to discuss the shortcomings of conventional currency, what it means to be middle-class, and why governments don’t like having alternative currency systems.To check out more of our content, including our research and policy tools, visit our website: https://www.hgsss.org/