#identuty

illix by Hassisni Nizar

Analyzing local and regional currencies it is very important to consider their economic aspects and features. American political scientist Ian Shapiro believes that practicing economists wonder why their ideas does not explained beginning of the crisis and not provides scientific community with ideas how the crisis can be overcome. The practicing economists suggests that the economy develop in inertia model and any national economy need mythical heavy industry and production of tanks and wagons is more relevant for economic development. This viewpoint ignores the phenomenon of regional economical contradictions and features in the early 21st century. Local economy that formed the new alternative models and identities become an institutional and systemic risk and threat for obsolete and archaic collective representations about economy in general.

The author presumes that the analysis of local and regional currencies hampered by dominance in academic community of economists who support purely practical and applied approaches. The advocates of multidisciplinary approach believe that problems of capitalist society, Russia belongs to, generated and compounded by the institutions of capitalism. They insist that reluctance of the orthodox economists to analyze role of these institutions actually minimizes the reliability and efficiency of orthodox theories and their practical recommendations. The supporters of radical epistemology optimistically argue that in the context of deepening capitalistic contradictions and rise of its economic and social problems bankruptcy of orthodox theoretical approaches will be actualized and become clear and obvious. The radical economic analysis, based on refusal and rejection of old theories, recognition of interdisciplinary synthesis universality will assist to development of theoretical approaches in economic studies. The theory in this context provides economists with efficient methodological principles and approaches that will enable to form new mechanism for understanding of regional and local currencies as the currencies of regionalized or localized communities because they are too different from the currency of nation-states.

The first feature of the local currency is obvious: this form of currency is only regional, but its active economic use is localized and limited by administrative boundaries of community. Regional currency differs from national one: it is theoretically deprived from functions of accumulation. It is possible hypothetically to assume that accumulations’ function is theoretically possible and probable for regional or local currencies, but these forms of rational economic motivations are too uncertain because regional currencies are weak in its competition with national currency. The features of development of economic culture also assist to special status of regional currency: it is not a form of accumulation because the locals do not accept the local currency as the real alternative to the national currency on the state they live in of collective citizenship they belong to. Local currency intended to be primarily a mean of simple and primitivized exchange. The accumulation function is a characteristic predominantly for national currency, but this function and feature of local currency is too debatable.

Theoretically any regional community where residents use the local currency can store their savings in regional currency, but it is а too risky decision in the context of the general uncertainty of status of regional currencies. The national currencies are subjected to challenges and threats of inflation. The regional currencies face also with the similar problems, but if inflation rates can be unpredictable and uncontrollable, the creators of regional currencies can plan a regular reduction of local currencies’ values in 2 or 4 per cent per month. The local currency in the economic context means that all forms of exchange in general or regional exchange in particular are localized in a particular region. National currencies have a reputation of currencies with a stable and strong reputation.

This is a very difficult and problematic for regional currencies to compete with national currencies, but local currency can actualize different levels of economic loyalty. The local currency develops as additional currency which is used simultaneously with national currencies. It is logical to assume that the local currency will be weaker than the national one, but it is just wrong logical assumption, because in the context of competition between two national currencies regional currency is geographically localized in a limited area where it can actualize its competitive advantages. Regional currency can be more successful with maintenance of national currency and when central government will allow the regions to exchange regional currency freely in national one. The reputation of national currency can be very controversial, ranging from skepticism to humiliating forms of mistrust of its users. The local currency as currency which is opposed to a national one is not burdened with negative legacy of national forms of currency. The local currency can theoretically generate the loyalty of its future consumers. If currencies are temporary in general, the regional ones depends on specific chronological periods pf its development and also limited by borders of region or local community. Therefore, local and regional currencies are known as currencies with a fixed expired date. The local currency in this context is the currency whish is simultaneously regionalized, localized, eventualized and also non-permanent and unstable.

Several attempts and forms of regional emissions took place in the 20th and the early 21st centuries. Some of them were successful; others were stopped and ceased by the central authorities. The regional emissions in general were characterized by their situational and temporary nature. They were stimulated by the crisis tendencies in the national economies and temporary inability of the authorities to radically change and improve economic situation. Regional emissions of this type were stimulated and motivated by predominantly rational economic motives. The stabilization of economic situation in transitional economies of Central Europe and the rise of positive trends significantly influenced on regional emissions and minimized their number. These changes were the result of social changes when the regional political elites realized that local emissions can be important factors in regional promotion and the rise of interest of potential investors and tourists in different regions.

These regional emissions had eventual character and their inspirers sensitively orientated in economic conditions and tried to attract new tourists. Some regional emissions also actualized the regional identities and promoted their developments, changes, and progress. This dimension of local emissions, for example, was implemented in the post-socialist Hungary, where central and regional authorities and elites almost simultaneously realized and appreciated the significant potential of regional currencies in the context of regional marketing and branding, monetization, promotion and actualization of local forms and versions of Hungarian political identity. The central political elites of Hungary did not see the threat and challenges in regional emissions: they preferred to lead this process and make it controllable, realizing that attempts to suppress radical regional economic initiatives will not lead to positive results and consequences.

Russian Moscow centered political elites accepted attempts to regional emissions very aggressively despite the fact that some regions have initiated only printing of local money, but did not use new regional banknotes simultaneously with Russian ones or instead of them. The attempts of local emissions were also suppressed by central elites despite the fact that its economic impact was minimal, and geographical boundaries, local currencies were used in, were extremely minimized and were also extremely localized. These two different trends, the trend of promotion and the trend of suppression, dominated in the 20th and the 21st centuries, when the regions and local communities tried to actualize economic and political functions of emission in the regional and local levels. The problems of legitimacy or illegitimacy of regional emissions were actualized in formal economic theoretical texts. Alternative theoretical approaches are presented in methods of economic anthropology, economics of identities, and inventionism where other sides and dimensions of regional emissions as effective forms, ways and strategies for development and promotion of regional political, cultural and ethnic identities were actualized.

The experience of regional emissions in Hungary, Austria, Germany, the United Kingdom and some other countries were successful because local attempts to print local banknotes actualized regional dimensions of social and political identities that had needs of additional legitimation on regional or even local levels. The attempts of regional emissions in Austria in the period between two world wars and in Russian Federation after the collapse of the USSR were unsuccessful and ineffective because central elites were afraid that regional emissions created the economic basis for regionalism and will assist to its transformation into political separatism and promotion of regional identities. Russian political elites in the 1990s and the 2010s were not interested in regional emissions in the context of the lack of development of national Russian political identity, low level of economic culture, and disrespectful attitude to the national currency. In general, tendencies of regional emissions were not stimulated by uncertain political and economic future.

The author of this paper believes that it is logical to assume and predict that further development of regional emissions in foreign countries will assist to rise and strengthening of regional and supra-regional new forms of national and political identities. Regional emissions in Russia will be criminalized and marginalized, and this attitude of political class to local emissions will significantly minimize possibilities for dialogue between national and regional political and economic elites. The potential of regional emissions in Russia in the context of development and consolidation of identity will not be in demand in the immediate chronological perspective. Therefore, it is not impossible to exclude that local emissions can be initiated by opposition oriented groups and communities, and these forms of local emissions will be informal. The Internet will be transformed in effective form for promotion of regional and alternate local currencies, and formal and informal communities and groups will be their main customers.

The market in this context will be transformed in the founding father of regional political identities, and the Internet will be developed as an effective form of their promotion. The formal nation-states would not be able to change this situation because modern Russian economy is based and will be based in immediate chronological perspective on a conservative model of non-development. This model will provide simulation of development: the hypothetical possibilities of innovations and transformations will be eliminated because Russian economy will develop as resources based and political elites will prefer to avoid and ignore perspectives and opportunities to transform it in economy of identities in the contemporary globalizing world.

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