Moneyless ''Gift-Economy'' nowadays?

[RevolBoy]

How would it be possible to have a moneyless ''gift-economy'' nowadays with this worldwide population?

[Geiseric]

As in everybody gets what they need provided by democratic planning, where there is no private property, thus no token to represent that property? That's socialism.

[Brosa Luxemburg]

I made a thread on this, about "How Socialism Can Organize Production Without Money". http://www.revleft.com/vb/socialism-can-organize-t176746/index.html?t=176746

The article is an interesting read and so is the discussion that takes place on the thread.

[Clarksonist]

I think the general idea of free-access distribution in a communist society is one that’s generally positively regarded by a lot of leftists on here and one which I think can be attained. Scarcity as we know it today is, in part, a byproduct of the capitalist mode of production. I'd have to find the proper sources, but I've read somewhere that organizations like the European Union promote the waste and intentional destruction of surplus products in the name of retaining profitability, and that the amount of grain destroyed in practices like this would be enough to eradicate famines in Africa. The idea is that this excessive waste, artificial scarcity and misuse of human resources would not be a problem under a socialist system (coupled with technological advancements as well). Granted its certainly farsighted and likely won't be possible for a good long while.

[ckaihatsu]

How would it be possible to have a moneyless ''gift-economy'' nowadays with this worldwide population?


I'm going to interpret this as being a concern with the seemingly unwieldy *logistics* of systematizing an entire worldwide network of intertwined mass production and consumption.

It's a valid political issue, and one that I'm particularly interested in.

The short answer is that capitalism has already built up extensive economic accounting methods and professional networks -- a bureaucracy -- for handling this kind of thing already. Seizing the banks (and media, manufacturing, etc.) might very well be sufficient as a starting point, since all of today's supply chain networks are already set up and operating. It could just be a matter of 'updating' those components, and moving off of capital-based financial accounting, to something more appropriate to a liberated-labor-based system for mass global production.

The 'gift economy' is also a suitable concept to begin with as well because it *precludes exchanges*. (Something you give to someone else with the expectation of a reciprocal response is *not* gift-giving.) Socialism / communism also precludes exchanges since they would only create complications along the lines of what exists today. Better would be supply chains that feed into each other, according to mass planning by liberated labor, with the final products being shipped directly to those who ordered them.

Even this, though, leaves a feeling that something's lacking, since we would want to 'balance' production with consumption, while also empowering all liberated labor while *also* maintaining technological development and keeping it humane for all.

I've made efforts to encapsulate all of this, and have done some models on both *policy* and *structural* grounds (see below).

'Moneyless' probably sets off alarms right away for most people since it seems too hippie-utopian and unrealistic -- that's why many suggest some kind of formal accounting of labor-hours, which could also provide ready flexibility for a truly worldwide-interchangeable system. I advance a unique form of labor credits myself, which is at my blog entry.


tinyurl.com/ckaihatsu-concise-communism


Multi-Tiered System of Productive and Consumptive Zones for a Post-Capitalist Political Economy

http://s6.postimage.org/lcehnq1v1/2180381160046342459b_Bql_Rp_fs.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/lcehnq1v1/)

[RevolBoy]

Thank you for all the answers :)