Interstellar Finance; An Essential Tool or Dangerous Anachronism?
03 Sep 2021Lee Taylor
Commander Lee TaylorComrade, Communism Interstellar
Despite the fact that for many, the acquisition of money is the guiding principle in life, few care to question its origins. The standard galactic currency, the credit, is predominately used by governments is a means of exchange between one another. It is rightly referred to as a standard, because in many jurisdictions, forms of local currency are used which are often backed by credits; the credit standard.
This much is widely known. During the terrestrial era, gold was used as a standard on Earth, meaning that local currencies could be exchanged for a quantity of gold. The gold standard (silver was also often used) fell out of favour in by the end of the second millennium, and was replaced by a credit system, wherein there was no standard; inflation was controlled through monetary policy.
Ultimately, neither system proved stable or fit for the purpose of governance on an interplanetary scale. Whereas Earth, the home world, gradually had had its money system homogenised following the conflicts of the Earth War 3, its money systems could not be exported to its fledgling colonies due to the long travel times. Although colonies could participate in one another’s economies, they could not be joined by a single credit-based financial system.
In the early days of humanity’s expansion into the stars, colonies were mostly still dependant on Sol. “Trade” was mostly facilitated through direct import and export of resources by the governing interest, with its representatives in Sol. It wasn’t until hyperspace technology had been further developed and populations centres had been established in tightly packed clusters of systems that outposts found it more convenient to exchange resources with one another that true interstellar trade could commence.
This was initially problematic, as extended travel times and lack of faster than light communications meant that it became difficult establish contracts and mitigate trade deficits. It would often be the case that those most in need of goods, smaller, less well established colonies, would have little to offer in return for goods received; however, during this era of growth and expansion, the receipt of such goods would guarantee a return at a later time; therefore, they could be offered on credit. Essentially, exporters would buy shares in the venture, with dividends that would pay out in the fullness of time.
The share itself became a commodity that could be used to settle debts between contracting governing organisations. The fact that an organisation could indebt itself to fund further growth allowed for a wave of terraformation to begin, an incredibly costly process that would eventually produce the most valuable of assets, a habitable world. However, there was at that time no way to evaluate and enumerate the relative values of such debts held against the promise of long term growth.
The development of GalCop in the late 27th Century changed this. Amongst its many innovations, The Galactic Cooperative of Worlds developed the GalNet system to monitor and mediate trade between its controlled systems. This meant that commodities could be priced according to a precise credit value, and today’s credit system evolved. This robust system of price monitoring survived the dissolution of GalCop and is presently maintained by the Pilot’s Federation. Interestingly, it was the development of the contemporary credit system which allowed for the private ownership of vessels as tramps, which precipitated the development of the Pilot’s Federation in the first place.
The development of the credit system as a de-facto currency was adopted by the two major superpowers of the time in addition to GalCop and to all independent minor factions. However, the political implications of the credit system go beyond its use as a money. Although private individuals may own credits, credits may be issued by governments as bonds. Such bonds only pay dividends to other governments, but credits can be traded directly by private inidividuals. There are limits to how many credits a government may issue, and for this reason, governments often arrange for lines of credit to be extended in private agreement.
Before the widespread distribution of Frame Shift Drive technology, the effect of the credit system was to create a form of widespread political stasis. This was because conflicts, where they arose (either democratic or military) would often be resolved by the establishment of credit loans by either party in order to pay for mercenary navies, or to fund political programmes. Interstellar banks would happily invest in such conflicts as ventures on both sides, knowing that whoever triumphed, they would be indebted and the asset being fought over would remain secure, as it was indeed secured in order for the loan to be issued. Banks would prefer it if all conflicts could be resolved without asset transfer but at the maximum possible cost; consequently, most conflicts would result in neither party gaining or losing assets.
Today, the with the widespread use of the FSD, governments are able to attract independent pilots and mercenaries that can be directly paid with bonds. This tips the balance of conflict to whomsoever can attract the most of such contractors. Whereas in previous times travel times forbade ad-hoc participation in conflicts, such activity is now commonplace. This has resulted in a storm of political change across the galaxy.
The credit is now the de-facto standard across the galaxy, however, most individual citizens use money printed and controlled by the government of their local facility or world. These are often referred to as microcredits, however, they are not regulated by GalNet but by the government in question. Local monies go by many names. In most communist controlled populations, money is not used at all by private citizens. In co-ops, labour notes are typically used. Money is always used by governments as a tool to control the production of wealth, quite different from the interstellar credit system, where it is principally used to acquire the materials necessary to begin a new venture.
The question is; in whose interests does the credit system truly stand? As long as it persists, every civilian government is a de-facto corporation (etymologically speaking, this is actually sound), but it locks the galaxy into a particular mode of interstellar relations, with thousands of vying minor factions constantly battling for the seizure of assets. Conflicts are so common that they are seldom even picked up by the GalNet news feeds. Business continues as usual- but the cost is paid for in human life and liberty. Each faction accepts that cost as a means to an end, but that is because no one faction- no matter how powerful- lacks the means to change the system that places groups eternally at odds with one another.
The widespread distribution of frame-shift drive technology has changed the broad socio-political function of the credit system, from one that supports a kind of political stasis- which served the traditional superpowers very well- to one that supports widespread political upheaval, which serves minor factions to an extent but the well established superpowers not at all. The credit system, which initially seemed ideal to support frontier developments, does not seem particularly effective in investing in colonisation of new star systems, nor supporting population growth, nor initiating terraformation efforts, even during an era within which, thanks to frame-shift drive, it ought to have been facilitated. This suggests that the interstellar credit markets are being manipulated, somehow, by some group without a public presence. But what could their goal be? The overall trend in the past seven years has been a shift in political dominance over star systems by large, multi-system governments, and has (except in the Alliance’s case) been at the expense of traditional superpower allegiance. Is that planned? Or is it all merely an unplanned reaction of an unmanaged system responding in shock to a transformational new technology? Perhaps only time will tell.
Communism Interstellar, a group of commanders that share a like-minded vision, have been seeking to unite communist governments in common cause and bring peace to the corner of the inhabited bubble in which we operate. We have been operating within the credit system, with the tools at our disposal and with the governments with whom we have established degrees of mutual trust for years, to a great deal of success. Conflicts remain commonplace, but seldom do they imperil the governance of the entire system. However, no matter how hard we work, we cannot change the overarching “anarcho”-capitalist system of interstellar relations. At least, by bringing many systems under the control single communist governments, we have been able to reduce the chaos of market-based exchange and profit-seeking. In communist controlled systems, worlds, and stations, citizens can enjoy the fruits of one another’s labour. However, we cannot break down the adversarial manner in which interstellar transfer of necessary goods are mediated. As I always say, one cannot change the rules of chess by playing chess.
Communism Interstellar will continue its vital work into the future. It is our hope that some day, a moneyless system of production and distribution can be brought to the galaxy, where goods are sent directly to where they are needed, without heed to borders or bean-counters. We know that this can work; communism has a long and well established pedigree, and has been shown to operate successfully for centuries.
We understand that proposing the abolition of money on the interstellar stage may represent an unacceptably radical change, but it is a proposal borne from the purest interests of mutual aid, and we hope to demonstrate its efficacy in the fullness of time.