A weird mix of surrealism, bizarre philosophy, politics, personal views and, of course, smoked salmon milkshakes. One reader said: "....you have an excellant writing style! Thanks for the information and a few laughs!" - Dr. Guy
An unusually non-silly article for me
Published on January 31, 2005 By Toblerone In Misc
Okay this is a series of articles I have been considering doing for a while now. Part of what I want to do with Keeping it Surreal, aside from write bizarre essays and point out how strange the universe is, is to point out how different life could be if we broke away from our unquestioned beliefs the staple diet of ‘normality’. For instance why do we alway use boring compliments like “You look gorgeous today ” why not say, “You’re looking quite bipedal today.” I’ve used it, it gets a laugh and breaks the ice quite well, not that it ever got me anywhere, but I digress.

Abolishing the monetary system is not an original idea, neither are many of the other ideas I will bring up in this series. However, I feel that when people lay out plans for a moneyless society they don’t properly explain why it might be a good idea. It is important to keep in mind that the concept of money has been around for so long and there have been so few viable alternatives that suit of our lifestyle that no other system seems workable or even desirable. I’ve been thinking about this problem for a long time and every once in a while I think “Oh this will never work because of this, this and this.” but when I think about it further realise that “this, this and this.” are only issues under our current system. My point is that the influence of money is so all pervading that it strains the human imagination to think of a world without it.

In an effort to remedy this and also to make my thought processes clear to both you the reader and myself I shall go through the pro and cons of the current system, misconceptions about the current system, possible alternatives and hopefully come up with something better. The series will be as much a journey for me as it is to the reader since I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to write, I hope I'm not in over my head. The name of the game is to break free of our "money is the only workable system" mindset in a search an alternative system that still fosters an expanding creative and technological society.

This will not be a manifesto for some mythical utopia. I believe that no system is perfect just as no people are perfect (except for me of course). The important thing is to have a system with faults you can live with. I can’t live with starvation in a world that can feed everyone. I can’t live in a world where profit motive promotes the popularity of shit music, shit actors and shit products to name but a few things. I can’t live in a world that promotes destruction of the world I live in.

This is not just going to be series about money. Money is linked to so many other concepts and issues: trade, ownership, employment, crime, punishment, government and society to name but a few.

I’m afraid this is all for now. The purpose of this article was to explain the reason for writing this series. My reasons for wanting to abolish the monetary system will come later. I will say for now that I think money has served its purpose. The monetary system has a certain beauty and elegance; I don’t deny this. The monetary system has had many advantages over other systems at least when viewed from certain perspectives. Unfortunately the fact of the matter is that is it only serves the minority well and even they experience bad side effects. The very fact you are reading this means that you are probably a part of that minority. Even for those of you that are struggling to pay the electricity bill, remember, there are some that don’t even have an electricity bill to pay.

P.S. To my loyal followers: I have not given up on the Understanding the Universe series. I’m just waiting for muse 23a to get back from her sex romp in the Bahamas. I asked her if I could come but alas she said it was only for talented people. Shame.

P.P.S. I will try to make the series entertaining or at least interesting but I won't deliberately try to put jokes in as I usually do simply because my arguements will be fairly wordy to start with. You have been warned. Due to the research required the articles will probably be fairly spaced out (in time that is, not because they are tripping or something) so I will still post my normal sort of articles in the gaps.



Comments
on Jan 31, 2005
Interesting, Toblerone, I can already tell this is a series I will want to read. I would love to hear your alternatives to the monetary system; it is a system I have often heard criticized but never given a viable alternative. I can't wait for the next one.
on Jan 31, 2005
Money is nothing more than a standardized barter system. No matter what it is replaced with, the most sought after commodity of barter would eventually become as important to people as money is now. Having been in situations where money was basically worthless, there was always something that presented itself as the "wanted item".

On a wildland fire or in the army, during field training exercises, cigarettes, "dip" and candy could get you pretty much anything you wanted. Dollars meant nothing. We used to refer to toilet paper as "mountain money" because even that meant more than dollars. Of course, we are talking about only a few bucks anyway, since most didn't bring cash to the field or fireline and, if someone did offer a lot of money for something, we all knew that in a few weeks (unless it was a deployment) we would be back home.

You're off to a good start with this series though, I am looking forward to the next chapters.
on Jan 31, 2005
You make a good point ParaTed2k. You've touched on some of the stuff I want to mention in my series. I want to talk a bit about the "logic" of switching from the barter system to the money system.
on Jan 31, 2005
Do your best, but be warned, I've pushed more than a handful of economists and economic professors into a corner over the topic. To me there is really no difference between the "monetary" and "barter" system. Money is just a standardized commodity of barter.

Good luck!! ;~D
on Jan 31, 2005
I shall be mindful.
on Jan 31, 2005
The only way to eliminate a monetary system is through technological advances. The level of technology today permeates a monetary system.
on Jan 31, 2005
I am very interested to hear your alternatives to money. However, I don't see any viable ones.
on Jan 31, 2005
Evorg is getting at something else I want to mention as well. As I said this isn't just about money; if you take away money you need to change a lot of other things too.
on Feb 01, 2005
My sister and brother-in-law are already firm believers in the barter system. They run their own business in the ACT and enjoy much barter trade with many different businesses. If they had their way, they would not do anything with 'real' money.

I'd also like to see a good discussion regarding international borders. These are something I'd like to see done away with as well. Like you, I've thought about this a lot and realise there is no easy solution given the current state of play.

I look forward to your next article.

Cheers,

Maso
on Feb 01, 2005
Cool, you introduce me to them, I live in the ACT.

I agree with the borders thing too.
I'm beginning to fully realise just how big the scope of this topic is, I'm scared!
on Feb 01, 2005
Send an email to masonm@sesahs.nsw.gov.au and I'll discuss this further with you.

Cheers,

Maso
on Feb 01, 2005
Wow, first the monetary system and now national borders? This is beginning to sound more like a thesis than a series!! ;~D

I guess I'd have to read your thoughts on which direction you would want to see it go. Are you talking about removing all borders in favor of a centralized world government, or local communities (Or is anarchy more to your liking)?

Either way, this is going to be an interesing (and hopefully fun) ride!
on Feb 01, 2005
I say we abolish food. I mean, who needs to eat, anyway?