what would the world look like without money

[fallian]

Iv just got this genius idea that i should start some sort of new religion that would completely revise how the world works. Like a new fresh start with the experience of all the flaws we had in the previous world system. First of all i would get rid of money because it makes people do things they dont wanna do. Second of all i would get rid of all the useles things people do, for example banks who are actually wasting a lot of peoples time and are completely useless if u think about it, what do u think about that?

[moonrambler]

First of all, if you get rid of money, how do you get someone to fix your car?

[ZephyrusX]

More importantly, how would I get my coffee?

[fallian]

well youll have to use youre imagination a bit, its an ideal thats very very hard to practically realise. But the kinda world i imagined was one were everyone had total development of the principle of oneness and everyone would try to , in group, make this world a better place. So for example if a bridge had to be build, everyone would gather and build the bridge together because it would develope the comfort of all mankind, everyone could use it. In case youre car was broke you would rely on people wo really love cars and would fix it with pleasure, because when he helps you, you could now use the car to develop the greater good.. you see? feel free to ask more questions though

[supertom]

Originally Posted by fallian

well youll have to use youre imagination a bit, its an ideal thats very very hard to practically realise. But the kinda world i imagined was one were everyone had total development of the principle of oneness and everyone would try to , in group, make this world a better place. So for example if a bridge had to be build, everyone would gather and build the bridge together because it would develope the comfort of all mankind, everyone could use it. In case youre car was broke you would rely on people wo really love cars and would fix it with pleasure, because when he helps you, you could now use the car to develop the greater good.. you see? feel free to ask more questions though

That sort of this exists in this community already

The world would be strongly aligned with Oneness, brotherhood and unity but also authority and courage. Most important we would have to outgrow the concept of money instead of removing because a "root of evil" perception.

[fallian]

do you think this is achievable in real life? i would love to have some more posts on this "idea"

[Medusa locked]

I agree that we would have to evolve our economy to one that doesn't have currency. But the human race itself would have to undertake a vast cultural and sociological transformation because the things that truly sucks about money isn't the money itself but how we relate with it. Sure, money and its associated lack and other implications has some significantly negative impact on a lot of people(me inclusive...sooo inclusive ) but if you were to remove money, we would still have to interact in this world by exchange of value in some form, and all the issues we have about money or currency is really about our sense of value. THAT, is the seed within us that ultimately impacts our level of prosperity.

That being said, it would be better if we lived in a world that was more geared to encouraging people to get in touch with what they love doing and monetize and serve with that. I sometimes wonder if the barter system would be smoother or not.

[Curtis2011]

Originally Posted by fallian

do you think this is achievable in real life? i would love to have some more posts on this "idea"

What you described is sort of idealistic Communism. Everyone contributing for the greater good.

In reality, no it is not possible. All life forms are selfish first and rarely do they evolve to the point of genuinely wanting to help and give to others.

[Le Roi]

Originally Posted by ZephyrusX

More importantly, how would I get my coffee?

Even more important, how would you be able to go to Las Vegas and gamble money at the poker tables if money didn't exist?

[fallian]

haha good point le roi yeah it will probally always be a dream, there are not enough people in the world that think on the same level as steve pavlina ( im just using him as an example for people who understand higher conciousness). But the idea of starting everything over with the knowledge we now have still seems like a good idea to me , though also very hard to realise. I wonder how the world would enough evolve the second time...

[Agota]

I've just skimmed this thread, so sorry if someone mentioned that before me, but you can watch Zeigeist 3, they have this idea called Resource Based Economy.

..you can see opinions on that in:

How can humanity go from monetary system to resource based economy

[James Fletcher]

Personally I believe that in any civilization, the establishment of some form of currency is inevitable, as is - whether we like it or not - a market.

[Brutha]

Organisation is useful. Getting people together to create mutually beneficial transactions is useful.
Money is a great way to allow people Alice to give some value to Bob when Bob has nothing that he could give Alice in return.

[moonrambler]

I really like the barter system but sometimes it just doesn't work. My neighbor and I barter all the time, like he plows my driveway and I let him store his boat in my garage, but sometimes he's looking for cash to pay his cell phone bill.

[ZenBlue]

We have had a money-free system. It was the bartering system. The person with the most resources on his land was the richest. Wars were still fought, people were still in poverty, and humans still looked for a better life.

[ZephyrusX]

I'll raise you five chicken eggs Le Roi. I'm not bluffing

Originally Posted by Le Roi

Even more important, how would you be able to go to Las Vegas and gamble money at the poker tables if money didn't exist?

[KaleidoskopicVision]

It can't be done in a reasonable manner with today's technology.

A moneyless society would need a near limitless resource capacity to draw upon at leisure. Think Star Trek's Replicator. However as there is a theoretically infinite capacity for a human being's creative potential, there will always be works to exchange and there will of course be a medium for that exchange (money).

As far as wage slavery, poverty and other sociotechnological plagues these would be mostly resolved by an exponentially larger source of energy to draw upon which by its volume and ease of access outstrips one's immediate demands. Think the bare bones of economic principals, supply and demand. The supply of energy would be so disproportionately greater than the demand that the price would be practically free (the cost only being utilizing the energy).

It's a far off but theoretically possible reality. Our knowledge of the universe and technological means to generate energy may eventually reach a point where our supply outlasts demand on a scale so exponentially greater that it would appear infinite unless calculated.

Gawd that'd be awesome.

[Medusa locked]

one thing to note IS the emergence of downloadable resources. That is a form of inexhaustible resource. Its not gonna replace material necessities like food, clothes and housing but its interesting to speculate how our current economy will evolve if downloadable resources address more and more of our needs.

[KaleidoskopicVision]

Originally Posted by Medusa locked

one thing to note IS the emergence of downloadable resources. That is a form of inexhaustible resource. Its not gonna replace material necessities like food, clothes and housing but its interesting to speculate how our current economy will evolve if downloadable resources address more and more of our needs.

Ever looked into 3d printing? The reality of downloadable three dimensional goods is already here. The leap to printing out actual food is just a matter of time I think.

[Brutha]

Ever looked into 3d printing? The reality of downloadable three dimensional goods is already here. The leap to printing out actual food is just a matter of time I think.

3d printing still needs material to work on. For food that probably means that you grow corn and feed it to yeast that convert it into your favorite food.

[thirial]

Cambodia circa Pol Pot.

[Andrew Brunelle]

The world would look better in some ways, but in other ways, it would simply be a resource war, where we have a barter system, and it would pretty much be similar to what we have today. Money is not the root of all evil, it is power over others that is the root of all evil. And if someone has the resources you need desperately, then they have power over you, so is that really any different from money?

Money has its place and nothing can take place of money in the place that it works. It makes transactions smoother and assigns value to certain things. Otherwise, how would you know how many chickens are worth a brand new car? Or how many apricots are worth a new bobsled?

[KaleidoskopicVision]

Originally Posted by Brutha

3d printing still needs material to work on. For food that probably means that you grow corn and feed it to yeast that convert it into your favorite food.

No doubt, but you can already do things like printing an entire bicycle's parts. All you need to do is assemble them and voila! New bike!

[Medusa locked]

Originally Posted by KaleidoskopicVision

No doubt, but you can already do things like printing an entire bicycle's parts. All you need to do is assemble them and voila! New bike!

Maybe technology is actually moving us into a less and less materialistic way of being.

I mean, think about it guys. If we engage more and more with things that require a source code rather than material it'll effect the amount of resources we go through. That in turn will impact values(if it hasn't already begun) on everything we need and think of the drop labor needs.

Example. Online marketing. It involves simple automation systems that once its set, it takes care of itself.

The machines are taking over.

[Brutha]

No doubt, but you can already do things like printing an entire bicycle's parts. All you need to do is assemble them and voila! New bike!

3D printing takes some polycarbonate and give it a different form.
It doesn't solve the problem of having to create the raw material.

On a different note I think many people in this community would have a problem with:
Corn -> Gene manipulated yeast -> food
That's however what designing food in a way that's similar to 3D printers is all about.

[KaleidoskopicVision]

Originally Posted by Brutha

3D printing takes some polycarbonate and give it a different form.
It doesn't solve the problem of having to create the raw material.

On a different note I think many people in this community would have a problem with:
Corn -> Gene manipulated yeast -> food
That's however what designing food in a way that's similar to 3D printers is all about.

Yes yes I know, that part is still being worked on from the angle of recycled and reconstituted materials. It's the means of production which has been liberated though and that is a very significant progress!

And while yes people who want to tailor their diet to their preferences may avoid 3D printers designing food (at least for a couple hundred years maybe) people who are starving will have no gripes about eating what I suspect will be analogous to the white goop eaten aboard Morpheus's ship in The Matrix

[Brutha]

It's the means of production which has been liberated though and that is a very significant progress!

Listen to people like Bre. He walked around and told people his vision he prefaces it with: "I know that it likely won't come to pass, but hear me anyway."
There are potentials but you should never take possible futures for granted or take them too seriously.

[scotthegeek]

I don't think we can but homeless people freegans dumpster divers and monks try to or have to. Money make things easier to live but if you crash or where shipwreck on tropical island you would not be looking for money to live but resources.

a possible future without money could look like star trek or mad max.

Scott

[aelle]

Small communities can function without money. Most couples provide value for one another without keeping track - certainly without keeping track through a currency. Most families do too. Some communes make a deliberate attempt to function this way too, but there seems to be a critical group size beyond which you can't know and trust each member well enough to keep providing value without a guarantee. A standard currency just happens to be a very convenient guarantee.

[Brutha]

Small communities can function without money. Most couples provide value for one another without keeping track - certainly without keeping track through a currency. Most families do too. Some communes make a deliberate attempt to function this way too, but there seems to be a critical group size beyond which you can't know and trust each member well enough to keep providing value without a guarantee. A standard currency just happens to be a very convenient guarantee.

In Africa there are big families that organize themselves without money. Those clans "work". I'm however happy to live in a different system where I can express my individuality much better.