Gradido as a Possibility for Germany — An Invitation to Co-Create

Germany is among the richest countries on earth — and yet it is coming apart along several seams: between rich and poor, between shrinking and growing industries, between what the state promises its citizens and what it can deliver. This country study asks whether these hardships share a common root in the way money arises — and what Gradido could contribute. Gradido is a complementary currency that runs alongside the euro and arises out of people's participation instead of out of debt. It rests on three components of money creation per person: an Active Basic Income for common-good-oriented activity (unconditional for children, the sick and the elderly), a contribution to the public budget beyond tax and debt, and a Balancing and Environmental Fund for harmony with nature. The study proceeds in five steps: the country's hardships among the people, the businesses and at the level of the state (Chapter 1); why Germany could be especially receptive to a new path — the basic-income debate, regional currencies such as the Chiemgauer, the cooperative and common-good culture (Chapter 2); what Gradido looks like as a possibility, including the relief of labour and debt dissolution (Chapter 3); how a beginning could start small and without permission, through staged paths to the regulatory sandbox and the European level (Chapter 4); and what limits and open questions remain, above all the scaling question (Chapter 5). Written from the inside — Germany is the home country of the Gradido Academy — the study understands itself as an offer and an invitation to co-create, not as a blueprint. In the disputes over basic income, taxes and distribution it deliberately takes no side. Second country study in the series after Namibia.v1.1 (30 July 2026): Recommended citation in the imprint completed with the concept DOI. Content unchanged from v1.