In this thought-provoking and visionary book, the author explores what the future could be with the creation of electronic markets underpinned and guaranteed by government. Many writers have focused on electronic sales channels, but Wingham Rowan goes much further by asking the question: How far could electronic trade go? He outlines a world of Guaranteed Electronic Markets in which open online marketplaces are routinely used to trade everything from office space to bicycles. Each transaction would be guaranteed by the system, not by the reputation of the seller, so buyers could participate without anxiety. Could such marketplaces now be set up? This book demonstrates with sample transactions how systems dedicated to this end could work, the steps necessary to make such services reality, the opposition they would arouse and their likely impact.
