In A Gift Economy...

[AK]

Would it be possible to take more than you need? How would it be controlled people wouldn't just too much food, clothes electronic devises ect.? I know a person is able to eat a certain amount of food but what is a person goes to the "store" (or whatever is the place where you get your stuff from) and takes 25 different cell phones and 5 SUV's? How many vehicles you'd be allowed to own?Make a new thread for this.

So that's exactly what I did.

Now, discuss.

[maskerade]

well, in a communist society there would be no over production, right? So for things like SUVs, i dont think there would be that many available for people just to take.

And also, don't forget the power of social conformity. In the anarcho-communist agrarian communitites in the Spanish Civil War, didn't the shop keeper write down everything that was taken by each person? Then, at the general assembly or whatever, people could just complain about person X taking too much stuff, more than he needs etc.

Thats the way I see it, I'm sure it would work in practice. If we change the material conditions to allow for a gift economy, things like greed and selfishness would gradually disappear as there would be no point for them

[SeaSpeck]

Eventually, people would start taking the fact that everything is free for granted. After growing up in a society where it's common knowledge that you should produce something and consume only what you need, people will probably stop taking way more than what's appropriate.

[Tablo]

Exactly. This is why a gift economy would also lack currency as that is a feature of market economies. Communities would be pretty tight nit and if you try to walk out of a store with 2000 rolls of toilet paper you wouldn't make it far. "To each according to need" :)