how to go about creating a society w/o curency

[sypher]

While reading the "what would you do if you ran a country" thread I noticed that people want a society w/o curency. How would you go about doing that?

Please start with the basics since I have NO clue how you'd even lay out the blue print for this.

[Sasafrás]

A lot of people I know who want to do so say that it would solely be about trade and not buying and selling (with currency) - just trade.

Honestly, I don't really know how one could achieve this goal either. Give me an in-depth explanation.

Enlighten me.

[Lardlad95]

we need money. The problem with no money is that no one can buy anything, they are just given things. And I'm pretty sure the government is going to buy a computer for everyone, or the type of clothes people like, or the cd's people want. The world has gotten to commercial and since people have different tastes people should be allowed to buy what they want. It is impossible for people to be happy with out currency

[samaniego]

SO THEN MARX' COMMUNIST WORLD CAN NEVER COME TO BE. IF WE CAN'T DO WITH OUT MONEY. THE ULTIMATE GOAL WAS TO GET RID OF PRIVATE PROPERTY, MARKET, AND MONEY.

[CheGuevara]

I think that once the whole world, or at least a large enough section to be economically independent, has become communist, or has at least progressed to a very advanced stage of socialism, and has created single governmental entity, then we can eliminate currency and wages and that filth.

[Anarcho]

Never happen.

Sad as it may be, currency is a social lubricant. Many here have said that there will be free market business in a socialist country. That would have no place in a cashless society.

How would one go about buying luxuries? For there must be luxuries, otherwise life is drudgery. I can't honestly expect the gov't to give me armor, or models, or computer games...... so how do I aquire those things in a cashless society?

[STALINSOLDIERS]

to make this work it would take lots of thinking....in my view just look at this way...its like your in a island with a group of people lets say 100 and enable to survive you need to work together... make food,shelter,and it done with out money well its not that perfect yet but it well happend ....

[Lardlad95]

Quote: from samaniego on 9:21 pm on May 2, 2002
SO THEN MARX' COMMUNIST WORLD CAN NEVER COME TO BE. IF WE CAN'T DO WITH OUT MONEY. THE ULTIMATE GOAL WAS TO GET RID OF PRIVATE PROPERTY, MARKET, AND MONEY.


Who says I was reffering to strict communism.Personally I think that groups of people can own buisness as long as there isn't a soul owner of the buisness. When the government owns everything problems occur.. COmpanies should be owned by the workers

[Nateddi]

I agree with LardLad and CheGuevara.

We need money as of right now. All we need to do is keep money to be stricktly a medium of exchange. Not capitalism where money is god.

In a well-developed communist society, money can no longer exist, but not in the forseeable future in my opinion.

[STALINSOLDIERS]

when i meant a group of 100 people in an island here in the world its about millions that has to work together and work together....and like i said theyll have to be lots of thinking to make this happen...

[Lardlad95]

Quote: from Nateddi on 4:19 pm on May 3, 2002
I agree with LardLad and CheGuevara.

We need money as of right now. All we need to do is keep money to be stricktly a medium of exchange. Not capitalism where money is god.

In a well-developed communist society, money can no longer exist, but not in the forseeable future in my opinion.


exactly, we need oney right now to keep our country stable. When companies become publicly owned and people are willing to share then we can have no money.

However I am conceredned that people will live with the bare minimum not being able to buy what they want

[Ian]

I think the way to go in creating a currency-less society is to use the economic system found in the book Utopia. I can't think of it off the top of my head but I remember thinking that it was clever. I don't like the way they have slaves in Utopia but I do like the way they manage to make people associate gold with bad stuff by making their criminals were it.

[Lardlad95]

still I was thinking, if there was no currency their would be no vsriety we would all have the same crap. I mean With out currency I would have the same stuff as people who share none of my interest. If I didn't have money how could I skateboard. or how could any of you pursue your interest?

[kingbee]

wouldnt it be almost impossible without the whole world being communist? what, with trade etc.

[honest intellectual]

In Utopia, people go to the market and take whatever they need. There is enough for everyone and no one takes more than they need. (By the way, kingbee, they do use gold but only for trade with other states)
The fact of the matter is that there currently is enough for everyone. (the world produces enough foood to give everyone 3000 calories a day. 2000/ 2500 is the RDA). The problem,of course, li8es in the uneven distribution of resources, which in turn, boils down to a question of greed. People want more than they need.

[James]

I;ve seen an anti-capitalist site that claims that the spartans (greek race) existed without a currency. but i was reading up on them, they arn't really the best race to base an idieology on...very strict, lots of slaves, war like etc etc etc

[sypher]

what site is that james?

[Lardlad95]

Quote: from James on 9:51 pm on May 8, 2002
I;ve seen an anti-capitalist site that claims that the spartans (greek race) existed without a currency. but i was reading up on them, they arn't really the best race to base an idieology on...very strict, lots of slaves, war like etc etc etc


A society with out currency could have existed back then but now its to damn hard. The govenrment wont provide us with every little thing we want.

I mean the government ait gonna go around asking people ," So you say you don't want the governemtn issued running shoe....so you say you want nikes? but not the black ones? THe red and white ones? But not the red and whit ones with the white check. You want to red and white ones with the red check...but sir thats just the whire and red one not the red and white ones....ok I'll place your order and you'll receive shoes in 3-6 months...I know its a long wait but we have lots of shoes to buy"

I know I went overboard but its crazy to think we can survive without money now...maybe if there wasn't so much crap around today

[DaNatural]

I hate to break alot of your hearts but in a developing communist society there is going to be little luxury. The luxuries are food, good education, good health care and peace, both physical and mental. If you want luxuries continue voting for right wing parties which will provide you with limited opportunities to make a fortune.
A society does not need currency. All people are given ration cards, which are sort of like credit cards, except you dont owe anything. You are allotted a certain number of abstract dollars to buy what you wish. now of course food is what will make up the most of these cards and luxuries such as video games, which i doubt would exist, would probably be allotted a low number of points or abstract dollars. So money isn't totally eliminated, but the society being based on money is no more. Rather, for your hard work, you are given the basics and how you choose to spend your points is up to you. But I stress that it will not be for things like games or parasuco jeans.
The ideal communist's/socialists/humanitarians believe that these material things are unnecessary and therefore probably wont be discussed until production and quality of life has risen to such a high level that luxurious items will not hurt the regular cycle of necessary goods from being distributed or produced.
It goes much deeper than this but thats what your currency-less society would look like.
Cuba is a good example of this except that alot of people dont have necessities like soap or in some cases food. Theres not need for money cus theres no big market and the government gives you everything you need. Unfortunately, in many cases, the things that are needed are not properly distributed.Peace.

[DaNatural]

I apologize for going on about this but just to repeat what someone else said, the problem does not lie in resources but rather the distribution of them. The UN reported that farms produce 1 and a half times the amount of food needed for everyone in the world to have an adequate diet, full of nutrients etc.
The big problem is capitalism which of course dictates who gets to eat. peace

[Lardlad95]

Quote: from DaNatural on 5:32 am on May 11, 2002
I hate to break alot of your hearts but in a developing communist society there is going to be little luxury. The luxuries are food, good education, good health care and peace, both physical and mental. If you want luxuries continue voting for right wing parties which will provide you with limited opportunities to make a fortune.
A society does not need currency. All people are given ration cards, which are sort of like credit cards, except you dont owe anything. You are allotted a certain number of abstract dollars to buy what you wish. now of course food is what will make up the most of these cards and luxuries such as video games, which i doubt would exist, would probably be allotted a low number of points or abstract dollars. So money isn't totally eliminated, but the society being based on money is no more. Rather, for your hard work, you are given the basics and how you choose to spend your points is up to you. But I stress that it will not be for things like games or parasuco jeans.
The ideal communist's/socialists/humanitarians believe that these material things are unnecessary and therefore probably wont be discussed until production and quality of life has risen to such a high level that luxurious items will not hurt the regular cycle of necessary goods from being distributed or produced.
It goes much deeper than this but thats what your currency-less society would look like.
Cuba is a good example of this except that alot of people dont have necessities like soap or in some cases food. Theres not need for money cus theres no big market and the government gives you everything you need. Unfortunately, in many cases, the things that are needed are not properly distributed.Peace.


but the material things that we buy define who we are. Not to say we should be greedy but I mean I don't give a fuck if the government wont let me buy it I want my Bob Marley cd's. I'm not about to listen to what ever the government can afford to give me.

Food, education, housing thats fine but not being allowed to have possesions strips us of our individuality. Having posessions isn't a luxury. A luxury is having a limo and shit like that. I should be allowed to express my self and if we get rid of currency we all become the same and that isn't right.

[DaNatural]

lardlad i hear what your saying. but in all honesty if u having those bob marley cd's interferes or hurts the distribution of food and medical supplies then the government will tell you to buzz off. I dont think we need items to establish who we are. i think we have our own thoughts for that, having nikes that are white wont make me any more different than anyone else. Its all in our heads, thats what the capitalists want.
But i do understand what your saying but from my understand that individualism that you yearn for would disappear my friend. peace

[MindCrime]

I doubt some starving child in a third world nation would care whether his shoes had red swooshes or white.....

[thebigcom]

The idea of an economy/society without currency is almost impossible to accomplish. to do that, you would need the whole world to function on the old system of bartering. good luck trying to get the rest of the world to make that change.

[anti machine]

in contrast to the communist doctrine, i believe the ideal system would have to consist of money. every man who worked would recieve the EXACT sum of money as his neighbor, whether he be a doctor, a trash collector, or a politician. a sum of, say, $30,000 annually with a 1% increase in pay for each year of work. education would be free, and a doctor going to medical school would, after his graduation, be re-embersed for his years of schooling at the same annual rate of 30,000. The working man would be appreciated the same as a white collar lawyer. Someone please tell me, what would be wrong with this economic system?

oh, and sypher, give me my icon back dammit!

[honest intellectual]

Quote: from James on 9:51 pm on May 8, 2002
I;ve seen an anti-capitalist site that claims that the spartans (greek race) existed without a currency. but i was reading up on them, they arn't really the best race to base an idieology on...very strict, lots of slaves, war like etc etc etc

oh yeah, hundreds of civilisations existed without currency