How Central Banks and CBDCs Could End Democracy

cryptonews.com:

Ori Freiman, Postdoctoral Fellow, Centre for Ethics, the University of Toronto._____ 

In recent years, we have witnessed a growing interest in the idea of central bank digital currencies. Similar to cash, central bank digital currencies are a form of money issued by central banks.

In each country, a central bank manages the local currency and the monetary policy to ensure financial stability. Unlike cash, central bank digital currencies are expected to update national financial infrastructures to the changing needs of the economy and technology.

Led by international financial institutions such as the Bank of International Settlements and the International Monetary Fund, central banks examine technologies, conduct experiments and prepare national economic scenarios. However, central banks cannot — and should not — identify the social consequences of implementing this technology.

The transition to national digital currencies gives governments the ability to automate transactions and create conditions under which it can be spent. This raises crucial implications about democracy that must be identified and considered before central bank digital currencies become a reality.

Central bank digital currencies are expected to hand authorities the ability to completely control the finances of their citizens. States would be able to restrict citizens from purchasing any services and goods, and governments would gain a greater influence and control over people’s lives.

For example, societies will be able to decide whether limiting someone who is addicted to gambling from buying a lottery ticket is a positive feature of money. Similarly, they might also be able to decide whether welfare assistance can only be used for food, medicine