1
00:00:15,834 --> 00:00:17,324
Good afternoon.

2
00:00:17,325 --> 00:00:19,927
I'd like you all to breathe
through the little straw.

3
00:00:19,928 --> 00:00:22,262
We're even going to stand up,
if it's OK. Come on.

4
00:00:22,262 --> 00:00:26,535
We're going to move our bodies
while breathing through this little straw.

5
00:00:26,536 --> 00:00:29,249
And go! Go on!

6
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♪ Tum Chiki Cha Chiki Tum Chiki Cha ♪

7
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Keep going, move!

8
00:00:33,280 --> 00:00:35,985
♪ Tum Chiki Cha Chiki Tum Chiki Cha ♪

9
00:00:35,986 --> 00:00:38,409
Keep moving; keep breathing
through the straw! Go.

10
00:00:38,410 --> 00:00:42,119
♪ Tum Chiki Cha Chiki Tum Chiki Cha ♪

11
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Move a lot!

12
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♪ Tum Chiki Cha Chiki Tum Chiki Cha ♪

13
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♪ Tum Chiki Cha Chiki Tum Chiki Cha ♪

14
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Great. Thanks.

15
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Is it easy?

16
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So, we do that for one short minute.

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What if we did that for many weeks,
many months, or the rest of our life,

18
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or if we were born with this little straw
in our mouths, what would happen?

19
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First of all, we would certainly forget
that we have this little straw,

20
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and we would probably build
a philosophy based on scarcity.

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In other words, we'd say air is scarce,
just because we forgot that that the tool

22
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that links us to this abundant air,
there's plenty of it for us,

23
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but we forgot this object, so we build up
a vision of a scarce world.

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Also, it was a bit short in one minute,

25
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but we realize that if we really
start breathing through this little straw,

26
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then all our physical,
emotional, and mental energy,

27
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all our inspiration,

28
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are entirely devoted to this breathing.

29
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We don't think about anything else,

30
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we're not going to write
a symphony or a book,

31
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we're not going to run, or dance.

32
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In fact, each breath becomes
the conquest of the next breath.

33
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And another thing:
this suffocation will encourage us

34
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to steal our neighbor's straw,
or at least to feel tempted to do so.

35
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Moreover, if I accumulate
many little straws,

36
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I might become able to ask others
to take their neighbor's straw,

37
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and also ask anyone to work for me,
and hand out the straws.

38
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So you see, this situation
of asphyxiation,

39
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this is what most of humanity
is experiencing today.

40
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With this tool, not to access air,
but wealth, I mean money.

41
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Money is missing, money is lacking.

42
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This is the experience
of most of our contemporaries,

43
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to different degrees, but most of them.

44
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Why is money lacking?

45
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We know for sure
that there is a huge quantity of it,

46
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but this money is going
to become concentrated.

47
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We encounter this concentration already,
as young children playing "Monopoly",

48
00:03:05,666 --> 00:03:08,737
which is a kind of miniature model,
a simplified version

49
00:03:08,738 --> 00:03:10,743
of the economic system in which we live,

50
00:03:10,744 --> 00:03:13,455
but it's the same thing,
the fundamentals are the same:

51
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the more money I make,
the more I can invest,

52
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the more I can invest, the more I make,
the more I make the more I can invest.

53
00:03:21,287 --> 00:03:23,970
This shows that there is
a phenomenon of "condensation",

54
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that's the technical term, of currency,

55
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which becomes concentrated
in the hands of a few.

56
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And while money becomes condensed here,
of course it becomes rare somewhere else.

57
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There we have what
we call undermonetization.

58
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That is where this asphyxia takes place.

59
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This phenomenon of currency condensation
has a name; it's called the Pareto effect,

60
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and this is what we experience
in the Monopoly game.

61
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This leads to interesting conclusions,
not the ones you find in school books,

62
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and even less in the economic press.

63
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First, in this monetary system,
by design, there no one winner,

64
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the one with all the bank notes,
because if I have all the bank notes,

65
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and the other players have nothing,
I am as economically dead as the others.

66
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So, I can do what I want
with the piles of bank notes I have,

67
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I can turn a blind eye to them,
but anyway, I can't do anything with them.

68
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Or I can change the rules of the game,
and then the game can continue.

69
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So in truth, this is a game of mass death.

70
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It's inherent in the monetary structure
of the Monopoly game,

71
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as well as in the monetary structure
we use in the world today.

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The next thing is that no matter
what the participants' intentions may be,

73
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even if people want to make
favorable exchanges,

74
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even if they're not trying
to kill each other,

75
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regardless of people's intentions,
the system as a whole,

76
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goes towards its destiny, independently
of the will of the players.

77
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It's the mechanism of scarcity, and this
is why we call money a "scarce currency".

78
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It's not a value judgment;
it's a technical term that describes

79
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the kind of currency humanity uses today.

80
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Whether it's euros, dollars,
any other currency, it's the same thing.

81
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But today, of course,
a response is being made to that.

82
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It's simple: from the fact that currency
is missing in a given region,

83
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the people see that the money
has gone somewhere else,

84
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so they create their own local currency.

85
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Today, we see local currencies
proliferating all over the planet.

86
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As a result, trade picks up again,
the social body resumes its activity

87
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and its energy, and it starts over.

88
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There are also currencies
called "social currencies",

89
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complementary social currencies.

90
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For instance, let's imagine
that I am a student in Japan,

91
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and my next door neighbor is an old lady.

92
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I can do her shopping, keep her house,
maybe even help her to get dressed.

93
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I earn Fureai Kippus that I can now send

94
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to my old great-uncle
on the other side of Japan.

95
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He can then use them
with someone in his neighborhood.

96
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Here we see that this currency
has an exclusively social function.

97
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it creates relationships,
while the Yen as such

98
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is not at all adapted
to performing this function.

99
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And it also allows the government
to save billions of yen.

100
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There are also currencies
used for business purposes.

101
00:06:05,759 --> 00:06:10,259
There's one that most people
know worldwide: Air Miles,

102
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which allow one to purchase plane tickets,
hotel rooms, rental cars, etc.

103
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There are also currencies
that we call "targeted",

104
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because they fulfill a specific function,
such as carbon or kilowatt currencies.

105
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These targeted currencies are made
to support a specific sector:

106
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education, energy, etc.; there you go.

107
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This was a quick overview
of "complementary currencies".

108
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Therefore, a breach has opened.

109
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If you go to the Internet to observe it,
a breach has opened

110
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in the monopoly of scarce money;
this is one response.

111
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However, we're not going to stop there,

112
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because complementary currencies
are only a transitory step.

113
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It is a response to...

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"Complementary": means what it says,
it "complements" the system.

115
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It creates patches, bandages; it's made
to heal, to supply deficiencies.

116
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But in fact, what's happening
foreshadows an historical moment,

117
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as has sometimes happened in the past.

118
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For example, when people said,

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"Look, everyone has the right
to think what he likes,

120
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and everyone has the right
to freedom of speech.

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It is a universal and inalienable right."

122
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Well, we know that before this, freedom
of speech was an elite prerogative.

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One couldn't express oneself
without the permission of some authority,

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be it the king, God, or whoever else.

125
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And today, in our own time,
we still speak of sovereign currency,

126
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In our minds, we say -
it's indisputable -

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currency is tied to power, to authority,

128
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whether it be that of God, the state,
banks; it doesn't matter.

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The transition that is happening now is
the shift from power-controlled currency

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towards MANY currencies
controlled by the citizenry.

131
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Everywhere we begin to hear people say,

132
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"Yes, indeed, we can create a currency
to support this sector of education,

133
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or that one, for clean water."

134
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In the latter context, people want
to create social solidarity, and so on.

135
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And this whole nascent movement,
is called "free currencies".

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And as well as resolving social issues,

137
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these free currencies foreshadow

138
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an evolution of our species
of the same magnitude

139
00:08:22,311 --> 00:08:25,119
as the invention of language,
or the invention of writing.

140
00:08:25,120 --> 00:08:29,039
That is, we are becoming capable
capable of creating large groups,

141
00:08:29,040 --> 00:08:34,948
small ones, local ones, huge ones,
specialized or general, it doesn't matter.

142
00:08:34,950 --> 00:08:39,264
These communities will soon have
a language that will give them the ability

143
00:08:39,265 --> 00:08:42,967
to understand their own dynamics,
the dynamics of exchange, of flows.

144
00:08:42,967 --> 00:08:46,710
By the way this is the original meaning
of the word "currency" in English.

145
00:08:46,744 --> 00:08:50,537
John Locke considered that "currency
is the ability to see currents, flows,"

146
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and there are thousands of currents
everywhere around us.

147
00:08:53,240 --> 00:08:55,511
Some of them are
really interesting for us,

148
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and we must have the freedom
to play with them, to see these currents.

149
00:09:00,760 --> 00:09:07,260
Now, I would like to share a dream,
this dream on which I am working.

150
00:09:08,820 --> 00:09:10,729
I would like to--

151
00:09:10,730 --> 00:09:16,411
I dream that every human being
can become involved with his or her peers,

152
00:09:16,412 --> 00:09:20,515
to the extent of her strength,
to the best of his ability and talents,

153
00:09:20,516 --> 00:09:26,499
without having this momentum stopped
merely because of a currency shortage,

154
00:09:26,500 --> 00:09:28,964
only for that reason.

155
00:09:28,965 --> 00:09:35,527
I work, I wish to create the best system
of sharing and exchanging wealth,

156
00:09:35,528 --> 00:09:39,507
and free currencies
seem to be ideal for this.

157
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This system is not one imposed
on everyone by a few,

158
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it is one that people
will create for themselves,

159
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wherever they are, in their own context.

160
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This city, that social network,
this company,

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00:09:49,360 --> 00:09:51,703
this group of people
sharing the same values.

162
00:09:51,704 --> 00:09:55,743
That makes millions of different circles:
small, large, local, global;

163
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each of them must be able to create
free currencies that will allow trade.

164
00:09:59,992 --> 00:10:05,498
Of course I want this system
to be easy to use, to be fun,

165
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and able to work on any mobile phone.

166
00:10:09,013 --> 00:10:13,007
We're working on it, we already have
the first experiments; it works very well.

167
00:10:13,008 --> 00:10:17,007
It opens up more than 50%
of humanity to free currencies.

168
00:10:17,008 --> 00:10:23,244
Today, less than 50% of humanity has
access to currency in this free manner.

169
00:10:23,245 --> 00:10:27,499
I wish that-- I dream that
you'll leave this auditorium

170
00:10:27,500 --> 00:10:32,979
with this little seed inside, thinking,
"Currency is a citizen's right."

171
00:10:32,980 --> 00:10:35,502
And everyone here in this room can do it.

172
00:10:35,503 --> 00:10:40,779
By the way, already in this very room,
a whole potential economy can start.

173
00:10:40,780 --> 00:10:43,009
If you want to do it,
that's it, it can start.

174
00:10:43,010 --> 00:10:48,989
Maybe even TED itself,
this huge exchange of ideas, of talents,

175
00:10:48,990 --> 00:10:51,762
of people who share
and disseminate ideas everywhere,

176
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maybe this can be an extraordinary
starting point for free currencies, too.

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00:10:56,252 --> 00:11:01,266
Once free currencies are
everywhere, then you will choose.

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00:11:01,267 --> 00:11:03,984
The old, exclusive currency,
that you have to pay for,

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00:11:03,985 --> 00:11:07,260
or multiple free currencies,
that are citizen-based, and free to use?

180
00:11:07,261 --> 00:11:10,093
In order to bring this dream about,

181
00:11:11,503 --> 00:11:15,032
I work on two levels:
first, a technical level.

182
00:11:15,033 --> 00:11:20,002
There's technology to build,
software and code need to be written.

183
00:11:20,003 --> 00:11:23,249
You can also visit a website
afterwards, if you want,

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00:11:23,250 --> 00:11:26,250
that will direct you to everything,
called TheTransitioner.org.

185
00:11:26,270 --> 00:11:28,935
Sorry, we work in English:
that's TheTransitioner.org.

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00:11:28,936 --> 00:11:31,022
where you can easily find information.

187
00:11:31,023 --> 00:11:35,507
Then beyond technology,
beyond software code, protocols,

188
00:11:35,508 --> 00:11:37,651
user interfaces, cell phones,

189
00:11:37,652 --> 00:11:43,001
I also made a personal choice,
which is to abandon money,

190
00:11:43,002 --> 00:11:44,989
in order to become "rich".

191
00:11:44,990 --> 00:11:50,503
That is, to become rich without money,
but, of course, with free currencies.

192
00:11:50,504 --> 00:11:53,316
And when I say "rich", it's not
in the consumer sense of it,

193
00:11:53,317 --> 00:11:55,529
but in its most profound meaning:

194
00:11:55,530 --> 00:11:59,249
rich in relationships,
and also in the material sense.

195
00:11:59,250 --> 00:12:03,010
I have spoken a little
about this misery in the world,

196
00:12:03,011 --> 00:12:05,640
but I don't speak about it
only in a theoretical way

197
00:12:05,641 --> 00:12:08,013
as I have met with this misery myself.

198
00:12:08,014 --> 00:12:11,676
I have earned money, I've inherited it,
I've had pocket money,

199
00:12:11,677 --> 00:12:13,764
and I've stolen it
at one period of my life.

200
00:12:13,765 --> 00:12:17,511
I myself have been in this predatory mode,
which sent me to prison twice.

201
00:12:17,512 --> 00:12:21,085
I found, I saw that most people

202
00:12:21,118 --> 00:12:25,768
in prison, experiencing incarceration,

203
00:12:25,769 --> 00:12:30,511
were people like me, who had
predatory relationships with money,

204
00:12:30,512 --> 00:12:33,763
who stole it, or were involved
in drugs, break-ins, etc.

205
00:12:33,764 --> 00:12:37,204
Traveling as I do in the world,

206
00:12:37,205 --> 00:12:41,753
I've learned that in fact, true misery,

207
00:12:41,754 --> 00:12:48,493
the true humiliation of a human being is
not about not having access to something.

208
00:12:48,494 --> 00:12:51,746
It is above all not to be able to give.

209
00:12:51,747 --> 00:12:57,004
And now, today, we have the means
to change that, precisely because

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00:12:57,005 --> 00:13:01,257
of all this work on the economy,
that the media doesn't talk about.

211
00:13:01,258 --> 00:13:06,252
Tomorrow's world won't be
the fruit of our reactions,

212
00:13:06,253 --> 00:13:08,503
it will be the fruit of our creations.

213
00:13:08,504 --> 00:13:11,882
We're working on it; we need
one another to complete the work.

214
00:13:11,883 --> 00:13:16,760
We are a small global team,
very determined, and we need your support.

215
00:13:16,761 --> 00:13:18,010
Thank you.

216
00:13:18,011 --> 00:13:19,993
(Applause)

217
00:13:19,994 --> 00:13:22,225
Host: Jean-François! (Applause)

218
00:13:32,292 --> 00:13:38,501
I took the x from TEDx, so I no longer
have to pronounce "TEDex".

219
00:13:38,505 --> 00:13:41,978
I exchanged it for a thousand thanks,
and now I give it to you.

220
00:13:41,979 --> 00:13:45,710
JFN: Thanks! And they say that x
is valuable, so thank you.

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00:13:45,750 --> 00:13:47,294
(Applause)