After Money

After Money was my thesis project in 2014 — an exploration that questioned the logic behind our modern monetary system.

Money is arguably the single most powerful influence on Earth. Yet the currency we use today carries no intrinsic value. Understanding how the system works can feel like a Herculean task. Are we truly using currency effectively and consciously? Is our value system still primitive? Do we need to evolve beyond money?

The problem

• No backing — value is based purely on trust and belief.

• No cap on supply — theoretically limitless.

• Easily abused by corrupt governments.

• Growing disparity — trillions are generated yearly, yet the wealth gap widens.

• Inflation — housing and living costs becomes unattainable for many families.

• Generational burden — passing debt to younger generations.

• Outdated — no longer suited for humanity’s stage of evolution.

• Environmentally detached — irrelevant to resource sustainability.

• Violence-driven growth — war, destruction, and enforcement boost economies.

• Fragility — if a government fails, so does its currency.

The Solution

What if money were backed by something essential to life itself — water, calories, land… or energy?

All production is, at its core, a transfer of energy: harvesting raw materials, manufacturing goods, transporting products. If money were tied to energy, currency would gain a tangible, universally relevant measure of value. Energy is an undeniable, timeless asset.

Benefits of an Energy-Backed Currency:

• Universally accepted.

• Encourages circulation due to storage limitations.

• Finite and measurable supply.

• Retains value even if a government collapses.

• Supports the well-being of future generations.

• Aligns with the current state of civilization and economy.

• Timeless connection to standard of living; ideal for long-term investment.

• Promotes sustainable energy and raises awareness of consumption.

• Drives innovation in energy production and storage.

• Removes war and destruction as “logical” paths to economic growth.

Go to thesis project

Reflection 10 years later:

I see the innocence in this work — the youthful optimism of imagining a utopian system that could fix everything. I didn’t truly believe it could be implemented wholesale, but the core idea still stands: energy has undeniable intrinsic value. Without it, nothing else matters.

And the flaws I identified in the monetary system? They’ve only deepened. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies come close in spirit, yet in practice they’re often the opposite, consuming staggering amounts of energy just to exist.

When I hear Michio Kaku describe the Kardashev scale, I imagine an energy-backed currency as a hypothetical stepping stone — helping us move from a Type 0 to a Type 1 civilization.

It’s comforting to know that some of that innocence is still with me.