what is another way mankind could survive without the dependence of money?
November 17, 2008
the shiz asked:
seems like that’s all my life is, is working for that dollar. and what I make is nothing compaired to some. It’s depressing and I’m sure it’s that way for alot of other people too. (except those that are rich and have no worries.)
money for love. money for fun, money for everthing.
seems like that’s all my life is, is working for that dollar. and what I make is nothing compaired to some. It’s depressing and I’m sure it’s that way for alot of other people too. (except those that are rich and have no worries.)
money for love. money for fun, money for everthing.
any good ideas ?
what could replace money ?
4 Responses to “what is another way mankind could survive without the dependence of money?”
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November 20th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
Barter system
and
credit cards
are two alternatives.
November 21st, 2008 at 9:42 pm
If you had the money,…..you could buy a piece of land out in the “boonies” and homestead it — live off the land. Maybe then you could do something to earn enough income for what you need to have cash for. Much of your expenses, however, can be satisfied by utilizing agriculture, & possibly aquaculture, to raise your own food. If you learned to tan hides, or sheared sheep, alpaca, goats, etc. you could sell that. A wife or mail-order company might even process it for clothing for you. I once met a man in NM who said that he quit growing pot because he found that he could grow organic produce (fruits/vegetables) and made the same kind of money doing that, and it was legal.
November 24th, 2008 at 11:11 am
At this point that will never happen. We need money to maintain a stable society. Would fall into caos without it.
November 27th, 2008 at 8:53 am
I hear your frustration – we all do, but unfortunately, life is what it is. Money seems to be required for all of our basic needs, and if you don’t have enough of it, life can get miserable at times.
However, people survived for centuries without money as we think of it and use it today, and even now there are people living happily without money all around the world.
There are still many tribal peoples living exactly the way man started out living. They live completely off the land, they hunt and gather everything they eat, they make everything they use, they build their own houses, they occasionally barter, but they use no money system. And the kicker is – they are very happy and content. Some of them have even been introduced to more “civilized” society – with clothing, money, electricity, etc. and they wanted no part of it – they truly enjoy their way of life. To answer your question, mankind can and does survive without the dependence of money.
Unfortunately, in countries like American and modern Europe, if you “lived (completely) off the land”, you would be considered homeless and therefore an ugly stain on society. Even communities/cultures like the Amish and Mennonites who are primarily self-sufficient still use money – they are just much more frugal with it than the average American.
It’s easy for people to say, “be happy with what you’ve got”, or “count your blessings”, or “you’re better off than a lot of people, so quit complaining”. But many of the people who say those things aren’t the working poor and don’t understand the despair that can come with struggling every day.
All I can tell you is – I’ve been poor all my life – there were nine children in our family and we grew up very poor. My parents worked multiple jobs to support us and we NEVER took charity or state assistance of any kind, such as food stamps, welfare, etc. However, we were very close and our strong bonds were apparent. When you don’t have much, you don’t take anything for granted. It sounds cliché, but we were rich with love.
At this point in my life, I still don’t make/have the money I would like to have – and I still have debt, but I’m making it. I don’t live anywhere real nice or fancy, but I’m sitting in a place that has running water, electricity, heat, air conditioning, a stove, a refrigerator, a microwave, a dishwasher, a toaster, a can opener, a coffeemaker, a tv with cable, a computer with high-speed cable internet and I’ve got food in the fridge and the pantry. Oh, and I’ve got a car outside. Seems like a little overkill to list all that, but it makes you remember that there are people who have NONE of that. And yes, we have to work to pay for it all, but we have the able bodies and the opportunities to do so. There are plenty of people who live in places where there just aren’t enough jobs to go around, so they have no choice but to starve or move somewhere else – but if they have no money, how can they move?
The only thing I can tell you is… and this almost sounds unacceptably crazy, is to be happy about going to work and about what that work affords you, even if it isn’t much. When you get there, be pleasant with your co-workers, who are working for a living just like you, be happy that someone is paying you to be there, be happy that when you get home – you can get a bite to eat and sit in front of the tube, be happy about each and every friend and family member you’ve got and the time you get to spend with them. Try as hard as you can not to think about money… you have to think about it when you’re paying a bill or buying food, but other than that, just don’t think about it. Thinking about money or our lack thereof, is what depresses us. You don’t need money for fun – think of all the fun you had as a child that didn’t cost anything. It sounds hokey, but do things that don’t require much money and they will still be just as enjoyable. Get together with a friend for a dollar movie and talk over a cup of coffee – cheap but still a pleasure. Go to a park, a lake, a waterfall. Go on a walk, a bike ride, watch the sun set, go somewhere to people-watch. Look around and see the beauty in everything. Enjoy everything you do have and don’t think about what you don’t have or the money to buy the things you don’t have.
It’s easy to think that the rich have no worries and be resentful about it. It took me a long time to accept the fact that they DO have worries. Just like the rest of us, they get injured, they get cancer, they get depressed, they get divorced, they lose children, they become addicts and alcoholics, their families die, they die. More than you’d think even commit *******. It takes some terrible unhappiness to be rich and still be miserable enough to kill yourself. Despite their money and all that it brings with it, something causes them to feel so hopeless that they end their own lives.
I wish I could tell you how to live your life and be happy without the dependence of money – but short of moving to another country and living the tribal life, I can’t. I can only tell you that you CAN live a happy and fulfilling life without a lot more money than what it takes to survive. And if you ever do make more money and live more comfortably, then congratulations and I hope you get to enjoy it.