Nixon took the nation off the gold standard on August 15, 1971. I was alive then. I don't remember August 16 being any different than the day before it. A certain amount of the same money still bought a cup of coffee. Gold bugs continue to be very aware of the change. Their numbers and religious zeal really have no significance.
An entire system can change but if the user interface does not change then the user perceives no change. There is no difference, there is no upheaval. Television and world wide communication systems went from analog to digital. While screens are wider, pictures are better and we still dial numbers and talk into a device, other than the improvements digital enabled, it is the same old same old user interface. Some will never give up their vinyl 78's but their numbers have no significance.
The fundamental structure of the monetary system can change drastically but if money still buys the same old things then what changed for the user? If nothing changes there is no significant problem. Maybe for some but that does not matter. Unless those few have great power to create real or perceived disruption caused by system change.
Apple Pay is a monetary system user interface. So in PayPal. So is Venmo. So is BitCoin. Beyond the front end user interface the back end, back office system may change to any degree. If the user does not notice, does not care, and if the change is greased by a new and better experience then the consumer will likely be on the enthusiastic side of caring. Note that Venmo can make payments through credit cards or direct payment to someone on the Venmo system that by-pass credit card processing. A foot in the door to by-pass the credit card clearing function and perhaps banks as well.
The most fundamental foundation of our monetary system is determined by the money unit of value being created by a debt relationship or being created as positive money without an equal balance sheet relationship to a debt counterpart and counter party holding the debt as an asset.
That foundation could change from negative debt money to positive debt free money. It would be an entirely new monetary system. If the user experience did not change then what really changed for the general user population? It would be a substantial earth shaking change for some. What they would lose would be the system macro and micro economic gain for the benefit of what percent of all users?
90% ??? More?
What would be the macro benefits of the change from debt money to positive debt free money that would not significantly change the user interface experience for almost all system users?
A level playing field. A fair system for the decisions allocating public and private resources?
Remember Pac Man? A little circle with a big mouth that ate up all the dots as it proceeded through a maze until all the dots were eaten. Just like the Pac Man game a change in the front end user interface to a digital money system that does not require a clearing house nor banks could turn debt money into real money a bite at a time over time. Over the time frame required to convert all existing debt money to debt free money.
The conversion process is this: Every time Pac Man eats a debt dollar by paying off a debt, dollar per dollar. The eaten dollar does not go out of existence in accordance with the current debt based money system. It becomes a serialized, digitized real dollar object to remain in circulation for ever.
Borrowed bank money at the user interface level actually spends the same as earned money in the current debt based money system. In a debt free money system borrowed money would continue to be spent the same as earned money. The difference would be that all debt free money would in fact be earned money owned and possibly loaned at the holder's resource allocation discretion. The big difference would be that the debt is not owned by the bank as in our current debt based system but is owned by any system user that finds it beneficial to them to loan excess capital (directly or through an agent) rather than spend it in exchange for goods and services. That situation is a definition of saving.
The last bites that Pac Man would take to complete the system and run the board is each individual nation state monetary system to create a world wide single debt free monetary system.
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