Are people so uneducated as to think the world could function without monetary systems?

Originally posted by grapesofraft
I keep reading info from people who think that the world would be a better place if we got rid of all monetary systems. That has to be one of the stupidest things I have ever heard. The only reason I can think of why they would want that is because they have no money, and do not plan on getting any in the near future.

How would we buy anything that was expensive, like a house, a car, another business, etc?

How would the world function without some form of money?

Am I missing some profound sort of knowledge or something?

It is not stupid at all. In fact, I think the world would be a better place without a monetary system.

I think that we could implement some form of bartering system. Robots could replace 90 percent of the workforce as well. A system like that would ensure that the majority of human beings actually enjoyed life.

I think that we have been indoctrinated in to believing that the current system is our only viable option.

The majority of us work until we are 65, where upon we retire. If we are lucky, we live another 10-15 years before we die. That certainly doesn't sound like a life time of freedom and enjoyment. It sounds like a life time of slavery to me.

I think that many of us need to break free from our shackles of dependency and realize that there is more to life than money.

Unplug yourself from the matrix that consumes you.

well thanks for the conversation, not everyone agrees, so i agree to disagree, that it is not people it is money. ever heard of the saying absolute money corrupts? have you ever seen a fat and happy well established bank robber before? no its always the poor thug that couldnt keep up with the american dream. then media and the matrix people say," what a bum he is". but we can bail out the rich and kill the poor. if there was a barter system of sorts, where everyone and i mean everyone had there hand in the cookie jar. you wouldnt have robberies, bet you crime would go down 100 fold. i bet you would start seeing a whole smarter generation too! as playing the dumb fool to get a hundred dollar bill wouldnt get you anything or anywhere. but beleive what you will
best luck!

I think it is truly amazing how much currency has brainwashed people, just because your painting in the hallway that you love so much cost money doesn't mean the artist who painted it did so for money. Think about how many people in the world are passionate about making great new and innovate products for people whether they are essential or luxury. It is true people work for money but that's not the only reason, people work and choose fields that they are interested in or passionate about to fulfill their lives so they have a purpose but the more it cost for us to live in a place we were born, then the harder it becomes to follow those dreams.

[edit on 22-6-2009 by Mtheory]

reply to post by tatersalad


Best of luck to you and I also agree to disagree. You are going to need all the luck you can get if your dream comes true. All of your life will not be about choice but rather what those in power are willing to share with you.

reply to post by astrij


Have you ever seen people on welfare? They are the most miserable people on earth. There is nothing worse for the human spirit then handing something to someone and expecting nothing in return. Sure there is nothing wrong with giving people a little help every now and again. But once you make them dependent and lazy you disempower them to the point of near death.

reply to post by Mtheory


I agree that people should find work that they have a passion for if at all possible. But we all need to face the fact that we all have days where we do not want to work and so if there is no carrot or stick there eventually you will become less and less productive. Just look at the former USSR.

Originally posted by grapesofraft
reply to post by Mtheory

 

I agree that people should find work that they have a passion for if at all possible. But we all need to face the fact that we all have days where we do not want to work and so if there is no carrot or stick there eventually you will become less and less productive. Just look at the former USSR.

Well where does our laziness come from?

reply to post by Mtheory


It is human nature. Why do you think that there are all the parables and stories about the negative consequences of sloth. It is too teach us the dangers because it is a common behavior unless put in check.

Originally posted by grapesofraft
reply to post by Mtheory

 

It is human nature. Why do you think that there are all the parables and stories about the negative consequences of sloth. It is too teach us the dangers because it is a common behavior unless put in check.

Well I don't agree but if that is the case than currency still does not fix that problem so the root must be deeper than we think.


[edit on 22-6-2009 by Mtheory]

Why do you assume that people will get lazy? Maybe people will get much more active? Imagine all the great things you could do if everything was freely available. You could borrow a yacht and sail the high seas. You could go on scuba diving or rock climbing expeditions. You could see the world. You could learn about new cultures and interests. Money is no limitation anymore so instead of working all the time you are just enjoying life to its fullest. What is so wrong with that?

[edit on 22-6-2009 by theyreadmymind]

Originally posted by grapesofraft
reply to post by astrij

 

Have you ever seen people on welfare? They are the most miserable people on earth. There is nothing worse for the human spirit then handing something to someone and expecting nothing in return. Sure there is nothing wrong with giving people a little help every now and again. But once you make them dependent and lazy you disempower them to the point of near death.

Yes, but this is because money, in our society, takes a back seat to no-one.

These people are miserable because they have no money. Nearly everything we do in our day to day lives requires money.

Look at how high the divorce rate is in developed nations. The majority of these divorces are caused by financial troubles. Look at the stress related health problems that are prevalent in our society due to the lack of financial stability.

If our dependency on this monetary system was eradicated, these problems and more, would cease to exist.

Originally posted by astrij

Originally posted by grapesofraft
reply to post by astrij

 

Have you ever seen people on welfare? They are the most miserable people on earth. There is nothing worse for the human spirit then handing something to someone and expecting nothing in return. Sure there is nothing wrong with giving people a little help every now and again. But once you make them dependent and lazy you disempower them to the point of near death.

Yes, but this is because money, in our society, takes a back seat to no-one.

These people are miserable because they have no money. Nearly everything we do in our day to day lives requires money.

Look at how high the divorce rate is in developed nations. The majority of these divorces are caused by financial troubles. Look at the stress related health problems that are prevalent in our society due to the lack of financial stability.

If our dependency on this monetary system was eradicated, these problems and more, would cease to exist.

Agreed, very good post.

reply to post by theyreadmymind


There is nothing wrong with that other than the fact that it is totally unrealistic. So you are going to have like 3 billion yachts floating around because everybody wants to read there book or surf porn on a yacht.

I guess we will have yacht building robots, tree cutting robots, truck driving robots, and robots to flip the yacht in the water when it is done?

Even if that were true, we would probably run out of decent yacht building would at some point in the process, or do we just have a matter duplication machine that spits out whatever we need?

reply to post by astrij


Ok I guess the welfare people have us on the divorce thing because most of them have their children out of wedlock, so they avoid marriage all together.

They are miserable because they dont contribute anythng to the world around them, they just suck like a baby on its mothers breast.

Let me give you an example you can try at home. If you want your kids to be miserable and whiny and lazy then hand them everything they want for their entire lives. Dont even question the request just run to the store,buy it, and hand deliver it to them and then see what happens.

The world can not function without a monetary system period.

Trading goods for other goods is a monetary system; instead of currency or coins you are trading something else instead the principle is still the same.

Monetary is something that holds value if its not currency its other goods food, rocks, stones, gold, silver etc. they are all apart of a monetary system.

reply to post by jatsc


I agree with you, but this is a wiley bunch. Some of them claim to be able to create a world where everything is handed to them, hence no need for even bartering. Imagine the world as it is in the CARTOON Wall-E. That is what they are saying, but they seemed to have missed the part of the show where everyone became fat, lazy, unfulfilled, and useless.

Originally posted by grapesofraft
reply to post by astrij

 

Let me give you an example you can try at home. If you want your kids to be miserable and whiny and lazy then hand them everything they want for their entire lives. Dont even question the request just run to the store,buy it, and hand deliver it to them and then see what happens.

Now go to Africa and explain to the poor, starving kids that this monetary system is for their own good because at least they're not whiny, lazy brats.

reply to post by theyreadmymind


Well buy me a ticket to Africa and I will do just that. I always wanted to go on Safari. Unfortunately it isnt true that monetary system left them starving and miserable, because that would be easy to fix. It is their leaders that left them starving and miserable.

Once again we blame the money for a problem caused by people.

But I can bet you none of their kids are bitching and whining for that new pair of $150 tennis shoes while there are people starving in Africa for God's sake.

You know truth is that if it was up to me I would take over the whole continent of Africa and run it right. I bet it wouldnt take ten years before I had them all fat, happy, and bitching for a new pair of shoes when they already have 10 pairs.

[edit on 22-6-2009 by grapesofraft]

reply to post by grapesofraft


I'm not saying money is the cause, I'm saying a resource-based economy would be better than the system we have now. Not perfect, but better. It would most likely have to be world-wide in order for it to be effective though. I can imagine too many scenarios for it to fail if it wasn't on a large scale.

BTW, I'm mainly playing devil's advocate here. I actually kind of agree with you in this thread. I don't really think it could work unless everybody worked together towards this and we put a great deal of money towards it, and I don't really see that happening.

reply to post by theyreadmymind


Well I like a good devils advocate. It makes me think harder. Thanks for playing along.

So I think this world where we all get everything we want sounds fun at least for a little while, then it might get a bit boring.

Eventually we should be able to get tech to do most of the work we do now. It might take another 50 or 100 years, but that is a small amount of time in the grand scheme of humans.

The sad thing is that we are the problem. Our human nature is a hell of a drug, in the kind of altered words of Rick James.