Compeerism recognizes that the dominance of exchange-value driven thinking expounded at the outset of the last chapter is ultimately rooted in the three-headed apparatus of capture, which combines the governance of property, labour, and money in the service of capital. Each of these reinforces the other, making it difficult, at least from within the limited commons realm, to overcome just one on its own. Most of this book has thus far been focused primarily on the potential for exit and replacement within the two ‘heads’ of property and labour governance, yet it is clear that the third component, money, must also be addressed.

It is money, after all, that enables exchange-value monopolization and the subsequent commodification of everything (property and labour), hence degrading the perceived worth attributed to the non-commodifiable commons and commoning. This underlying function of money as the third ‘head’ is honed and guided via its current iteration: the monetary-banking apparatus. This apparatus governs money's creation and distribution in the form of debt issuance, which, being focused solely on making more money, is a purely exchange-value driven process. Thus, if compeerists could succeed in shifting how money is organized and managed, essentially removing it from capital's control, then the commons-oriented modes of organizing property and labour could be allowed to function within a much more conducive environment. More to the point, however, if all three components of the apparatus of capture could be replaced with synergized, commons-based alternatives, then capitalism as we know it would cease to exist.

Following from this, then, a fundamental, long-term aim on the part of compeerists must be the reinvention of money as a technology and tool that is designed to bolster the commons and commoning. Yet, achieving such a breakthrough means overcoming the currently dominant monetary-banking apparatus introduced in the previous chapter. There are essentially two options to meeting this challenge. One is a bottom-up effort from within the commons subeconomy itself aimed at a wholesale exit from the state-based monetary system. The other is a top-down approach that seeks to compel a monetary restructuring through a commons-friendly state. We can start with the latter.