moneyless...

By mugen shiyo · May 18, 2011 · 563 · 5
  1. Quick question

    What would the world look like without money?

    And by money, I mean anything of value exchanged for a good or service. if money did not exist, what would the world look like?

    Would there still be jobs?

    Would we have these sprawling civilizations and nations?

    Would we be motivated to do the things we do now...if we weren't paid for it?

    I call money the great excuse for civilization, because without money, this great civilization would have never existed. we are barely "united" as it is. We can hardly stand our own neighbor, let alone someone on the other side of the world who is not a family member or loved one.

    What do you think? if no money existed, how would the world look?

    After answering that, then ask yourself,

    Is it even possible to exist without money being invented? If money we're removed today, would the system simply reinvent itself?

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  1. Trish
    Our civilization was built on a barter system, exchanging goods/services for other goods/services. Money was created to make it all more even (in theory) and regimented and to make things easier (again in theory). Now, we both know it's not that simple really and the creation of money had more to it, but that simple version works well enough.

    If there was no money the world would go back to the barter system. It would make life more difficult for a lot of people and a heck of a lot easier for others. The tides would turn I guess you could say. Nothing would be reinvented per se. Just different. There are already sites devoted to trying to turn the tide back to barter.
    Trish, May 18, 2011
  2. teacherayala
    And if there was no barter system, people would find ways of fighting over land. It's our sad legacy... :-(
    teacherayala, May 18, 2011
  3. mugen shiyo
    @ trish, i was thinking that they are basically both open to our need to profit. like you said, we ideally trade 1 for 1 but we would much rather 1 for 2. the problem is that this is unequal trade and one done at the expense of the other party. one gets richer and the other gets poorer. this is the most basic exchange. systematize that so that one person is selling trading something to many people and one person becomes richer while a lot of people become poorer. this giant system trading amongst other systems of it's like, great and small, creates the huge system of economy which is regulated more or less by the government and becomes the defining motivation of a great group of people or civilization tied together by money. and so i wondered what would happen if someone went snip.

    barter sounded just as bad as money because so long as a person wishes to profit from another, the need to gain greater and greater profits just seems to reinvent the economic system in whatever shade it takes on

    @ aya. agreed. we'd fight over our belts if nothing else
    mugen shiyo, May 19, 2011
  4. madhoca
    Even before metal coins were used, primitive forms of exchange like shells and stones did the same job. These are just as old as the barter system. And before 'jobs', slavery and serfdom existed. Putting a worth on goods and services seems a basic human instinct; but I personally have no problem with a decent fee for work, or profit going to an entrepreneur who takes the risks.
    madhoca, May 20, 2011
  5. Charmichan
    I've seen one utopian community here in Japan who tries to live without money (I believe they still do). They have the system of tickets in exchange for services; it’s like an "I owe you" policy. Some smirk at their effort and calls them a cult, I think their experiment is one big leap into putting an idea to action. Although in many ways, I believe that the system will eventually evolve into barter ways and spout chaos from demands of equal compensation, whether it be in the form of goods or physical labor.

    Honestly though, I don't think such a society would exist within our times. It would take a biblical rulership to rid all people of greed and materialism. I doubt no human leader would be able to govern with such a no money policy.
    Charmichan, May 21, 2011
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