Reseña del libro "Control and Chaos: The Perils and Pitfalls of a Cashless Future (en Inglés)"
Money has always rested on trust. Increasingly, it rests on permission. As cash retreats and digital payments spread, the question is who controls the systems through which we receive wages, buy necessities and hold our savings. A balance may belong to its owner, yet access can depend on a device, an identity check, a private provider or a government decision. In Control and Chaos, John Shenton examines the promises and dangers of a cashless future. Central bank digital currencies may improve payment services, but their consequences depend on the powers built around them. Surveillance, account restrictions, spending conditions and emergency measures deserve scrutiny before convenience becomes dependence. Digital currency need not be compulsory in law to become difficult to refuse. When employers, public services and businesses withdraw alternatives, an apparent choice can narrow into an obligation. Those least able to adapt may bear the costs: older people, disabled users, poorer households and communities with unreliable electricity, communications or financial services. The book considers how these pressures differ across developed and developing countries, and why generational change will not eliminate exclusion. It also explores the return of barter and direct exchange between individuals, recognising their value without pretending they can replace the wider economy. Drawing connections with the companion book Fried Chips, Shenton asks what happens when the infrastructure beneath digital money fails. Cyber attacks, damaged equipment, interrupted power and broken communications can leave intact balances inaccessible. Restoring a screen does not necessarily restore food supplies, medical services or ordinary independence. The argument is neither that every innovation conceals a conspiracy nor that technological progress must be rejected. It is that useful systems require limits on authority, accessible remedies and alternatives that work when confidence is tested. Plainspoken and sceptical, Control and Chaos brings monetary policy back to everyday life: the employee awaiting wages, the trader facing a frozen account and the pensioner unable to complete a digital instruction. The future of money should be judged by whether people can use it freely, reliably and with dignity. A society should never confuse the convenience of its institutions with the freedom of its citizens.
