Anarchist market

[gal3on64]

would an Anarchist society have money? or would everything be "for volunteer" like in communism? I know in Barcelona they had money, but it was for how many hours you worked, instead of what type of work you did.
Genuinly i really don't believe society can function as purely a volunteer basis. Scarcity does exist, and until we get that problem solved, that ideology doesn't work.
Now with the matter of money, if they do have money, doesn't it effectively make it a capitalist society? How are you going to stop people from trading the money(or selling goods and services) if there is no government? Wouldn't for-profit companies eventually form?
just some thoughts...:rolleyes:

[Stranger Than Paradise]

would an Anarchist society have money? or would everything be "for volunteer" like in communism?
We advocate a gift economy. Meaning each person has free access to the fruits of labour.


I know in Barcelona they had money, but it was for how many hours you worked, instead of what type of work you did.

Yes Barcelona still had money but you have to remember this was a very shortlived period of Anarchism, during a transitionary period I forsee money still existing but when Anarchist society is reached and class conflict no longer exists money will no longer exist.


Genuinly i really don't believe society can function as purely a volunteer basis.

To say that is to completely regard the natural traits of the human species. Humans are naturally co-operative and see the benefit of mutual aid for themselves and for others.


Scarcity does exist, and until we get that problem solved, that ideology doesn't work.

Scarcity does not exist, Capitalism gives us a false impression of Scarcity because not all goods are equally distributed. In Anarchist society there will be a surplus of goods for all because of equal distribution.

[revolution inaction]

. Scarcity does exist, and until we get that problem solved, that ideology doesn't work.


If something is scarce then money doesn't deal with that effectively. In fact economics based on the exchange of things for money often create scarcity, for example in many famines food was exported from the region suffering the famine because the local people couldn't afford to pay as much as people elsewhere.
If something is scarce then it can be rationed.

[robbo203]

If something is scarce then money doesn't deal with that effectively. In fact economics based on the exchange of things for money often create scarcity, for example in many famines food was exported from the region suffering the famine because the local people couldn't afford to pay as much as people elsewhere.
If something is scarce then it can be rationed.


Yes. And an additional point to consider is that a money-based capitalist economy is extremely inefficient from the standpoint of directly meeting human needs. Most of the work we do today in the formal sector does not actually create any real wealth or augment human welfare. It simply exists to keep the capitalist system ticking. Im referring to jobs like banking, insurance, arms production, pay departments , salespersons, tax inspectors and a thousand and one other jobs

All these will go in a free access voluntaristic communist society. This means we will more than double the amount of resources and labour power available for socially useful production at a stroke. You need to bear this in mind when talking about "scarcity". Capitalism creates and maintains scarcity, not only as a psychological condition (you are considered to be socially worthless unless you consume and the more you consume the higher your status in capitalism) but also as an objective fact - in the grossly inefficient and indeed increasingly inefficient way in which it utilises resources.

The case for a free access voluntaristric alternative to capitalism has never been stronger!

[yuon]

gal3on64, there are a variety of different sorts of anarchism. What makes anarchism is the shared idea of promoting freedom. Some say that an anarchist-communist system would be the best method of providing maximum freedom. Others have suggested collectivism, and still others a more market based system (mutualism).

All agree, however, that freedom and an end to oppression, hierarchy and similar are the aims of anarchism.

I don't normally suggest people look at Wikipedia for introductions to anarchism, however, in this case, I can suggest some specific pages. Just be wary of believing everything, and come ask more questions if you are unsure. Oh, and to be clear, anarchists are against much more than just the state, and "anarcho"-capitalists are not true anarchists, because they still want hierarchy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutualism_(economic_theory)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collectivist_anarchism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarcho-communism and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individualist_anarchism

Those are the major strands of end result anarchism through history. By "end result", I mean what the eventual anarchist society will look like. The "how to get there" varies a great deal as well.

---

Now to specifically address some of your questions.


Now with the matter of money, if they do have money, doesn't it effectively make it a capitalist society?
Capitalism has many features, only one of which is money. Others include a market, unrestricted/unlimited ownership of resources (beyond what can be used by one person), rent and interest (both ways of making money without doing any actual work), profit (selling a good or service for more than it costs to produce) and, most people would include the state.

There have, however, been many different market systems across the ages that haven't been capitalist. Money hasn't always been used (barter for example is an alternative). And it has been suggested by some anarchist writers (e.g. Tucker) that profit, rent and interest are all un-anarchsitic. Indeed, the individualist anarchist writers tend to reject binding contracts, and promote ownership of resources on a "use" basis. That is, if you don't use it, you loose it.


How are you going to stop people from trading the money(or selling goods and services) if there is no government? Wouldn't for-profit companies eventually form?
Well, it depends on what sort of system you eventually have. In an anarchist communist system, no one will want to trade, because they can get everything for free. In a mutualist type system, trading is the point, but without a government, and without capitalism, profit would be basically non-existent, due to unfettered competition. As such, cost would be the limit of price (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cost_the_limit_of_price).

But, anyway, in an anarchist system, if you aren't hurting someone else, I would suggest you should be free to trade as you like. :) (Though, as I said, who would in a communist system?)

:cool: