Slate Magazine has a series on the cashless society. The meme is alive and well, although the whole concept seems to be a novelty in the public mind.
The Cashless Society – Slate Magazine.
Seth Stevenson just closed his serial first-person account of the cashless life today at ten o-clock. He points out all the opportunities for markups, surcharges, and fraud on both sides of the cash/cashless divide. Matthew Yglesias explains the economics of virtual currencies, and whether they could replace the dollar. Katy Waldman and Stevenson take opposing sides in the debate over whether cash facilitates crime, and how to buy drugs and sex without cash. Paul Collins and Jeremy Stahl discuss currency, coinage, and the tricks of catching counterfeiters.
Stevenson’s signoff after a two-month stint in strictly virtual money: cash is still king.
