Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak has proposed, along with other G7 states, the use of Central Bank Digital Currencies, which are a form of digital money centralised through the Bank of England, in the case of the UK. Sunak claims that this new currency would help to put the UK at the forefront of the global financial centre, as the losses of jobs and businesses post-Brexit has shown to threaten such standings. While this could be of great utility in stabilising not only the British economy, but others in the G7, as debt and inflation sky rocket with the threat of a 2008 crash looming. There are a few points of scrutiny - particularly when deemed to be living in a democratic society.
While Sunak has said that this currency would be phased in and thus would operate alongside cash and cheques, further reports have revealed that these currencies when fully implemented in the future will be programmed in such a way as to limit freedoms. Similar to the Chinese Social Security System whereby the State control where and what you spend your money on, ultimately stripping rights and freedoms for behaviour deemed unacceptable, as well as communication with private companies to transfer data. In a few years down the line, when Sunak aims to have fully implemented CBCD's in place of fiat paper money, this could mean that the State has full control over what your digital currency is spent on and how much of it you receive. With an article by the Telepgraph revealing that this programming could well mean that employers would have the power to withhold your CBDC due to unsatisfactory performance. Also claiming that CBDC programming would mean this currency can only be spent on items the Government or employer deems essential. A stark contrast to the fundamental pillars of neoliberalism and free market economies.
As well as the freedom of choice, there exists the question of what this could mean for free speech. With the monitoring of social platforms and public spaces becoming increasingly omnipresent, there could well arise situations where something the Government deems against the grain of conservatism could lead to further rights and freedoms being stripped of the individual.
It seems Orwellian but with the Tory Government already stripping rights away under the new Bill of Rights policy, and the accelerated transition towards a cashless society as a result of the pandemic, this totalitarian nightmare could well be a fast approaching reality.