How can the vision of Life-Coherent Finance be translated into everyday institutional practice? This critique identifies three opportunities to strengthen the proposed Eastern Caribbean financial architecture: simplify its conceptual frameworks into usable decision tools, confront the political economy of banking reform, and demonstrate the system through a practical end-to-end regional case study. Read More
The Eastern Caribbean dollar has maintained its fixed exchange rate for fifty years, but can monetary stability become the foundation for productive growth? This debate examines whether a Life-Coherent Financial System can convert the region’s abundant liquidity into resilient development — or whether administrative complexity, weak data, public debt, climate exposure, and the realities of small island economies will overwhelm the proposed architecture. Read More
Fifty years after the Eastern Caribbean dollar was anchored to the US dollar, the currency remains one of the world’s most durable monetary success stories. But does monetary stability alone create genuine prosperity? This Deep Dive explores the paradox at the heart of the ECCU’s economic model and examines Dr. Bichara Sahely’s proposal for a Life-Coherent Financial System capable of transforming financial stability into long-term human and ecological flourishing. Read More
The Eastern Caribbean currency arrangement is one of the region’s most durable collective institutions. Since 7 July 1976, the EC dollar has remained fixed at EC$2.70 to US$1, supported by pooled foreign reserves, common monetary authority, legal commitment and sustained political cooperation. This monetary anchor has protected convertibility, payment continuity and confidence across eight highly vulnerable small jurisdictions. Yet monetary stability has not by itself generated the productive diversification, distributive inclusion, ecological resilience, regional ownership or institutional capability required for long-term viability. This paper argues that the next fifty years should not be organized around abandonment of the peg, but around completion of the architecture attached to it. Drawing on the ECCB’s founding mandate, regional economic integration, development-finance practice, human-development theory, comprehensive-wealth accounting, environmental-economic accounting, sustainable-finance taxonomies and governance safeguards, the paper develops a life-coherent framework for finance. It proposes a seven-part test covering life-necessity, capacity, distribution, external viability, resilience, regeneration and democratic accountability. It then outlines a layered architecture comprising regional project preparation, wholesale development finance, strengthened guarantees, purpose-governed credit, voluntary mobilization of regional savings, a life-coherent investment taxonomy, an Anchor-and-Purpose Dashboard and protections against political, private, bureaucratic and epistemic capture. A sequenced transition moves from foundations in 2026–2027, through demonstration in 2028–2030 and integration in 2031–2035, toward longer-term institutional maturity. The central thesis is that the anchor should be preserved while the vessel is repaired: monetary confidence must become a platform for productive, resilient, just and ecologically viable regional life.
