A world without money

The world would theoretically be perfect, but the scenario is impossible because people are inherently greedy. Plus there are certain parts of the world where subsistence alone could not support the population. Perhaps there would be less people in these areas, which would inevitably create a power imbalance which would create some form of oppression.

Reply 2

Thud

17

....you mean....communism?

:rolleyes:

Reply 3

Tory Dan

11

We would be living in caves and think it was the end of the world every time the sun went down.

Reply 4

ForeverIsMyName

People would barter with goods instead of currency, trade would be a huge problem and the world as we know it would cease to exist. Essentially, it'd turn the whole world into a third world country again.

Reply 5

Fusion

20

An economy without a currency is known as a barker economy whereby people trade goods for goods (like ages ago). This is obviously inefficient since a common currency allows us more options in buying and selling.

Reply 6

OP

Thud

....you mean....communism?

:rolleyes:

But communism still has a form of money doesnt it? Or is this perfect extreme communism that i dont know about?

so this is your perfect opportunity for propaganda i guess :rolleyes:

Reply 7

Clubber Lang

If the concept of money/currency never existed what would the world be like now?

Would a world without money be a better place or would it be worse?

(i.e in the capitalist sense - would less things have happened because there was less of a driving force behind doing thingsdue to a lack of money available as reward. OR could more have happened due to money not being a restraint) ?

What could exist in the place of hard currency...goodwill?

The same things that existed/exist in place of currency? Gold, silver, nails, or simply pay in kind. It would make things extremely inefficient, but exchanges would still take place. People seem to forget that people traded with each other long before the concept of currency was created.

Fusion

An economy without a currency is known as a barker economy whereby people trade goods for goods (like ages ago). This is obviously inefficient since a common currency allows us more options in buying and selling.

I'm always amazed by the fact that only people who know any economics here are liberal (in the classical sense). While virtually all leftists have absolutely no idea when it comes to economics...

Reply 8

Tory Dan

11

Bismarck

I'm always amazed by the fact that only people who know any economics here are liberal (in the classical sense). While virtually all leftists have absolutely no idea when it comes to economics...

Shock horror!

Reply 9

dan_man

Shock horror!

It's like people believing world peace is possible until they actually open an international politics textbook. Quite amusing really.

Reply 10

OP

so ideally (perhaps) we need to do away with the concept of trading and have people workin together for the common good...

yes i did realise people traded goods before but currency as we know it today has taken things to a new level..

Reply 11

Clubber Lang

so ideally (perhaps) we need to do away with the concept of trading and have people workin together for the common good...

yes i did realise people traded goods before but currency as we know it today has taken things to a new level..

Do away? How? Do you not realize the fact that people acting in their own self-interest is better for the common good than having some central body dictating what everyone should do? How can we predict how everyone will act if we don't know the rationale behind their actions? If everyone is acting in their own interest, we roughly know how they'll react to a given situation. If everyone tries to help society, do we know how they'd do so? It would completely destroy efficiency and make it impossible for the government to pursue economic policies.

Yes, it actually made things efficient and allowed the Industrial Revolution to take place. What a pity, right?

Reply 12

Thud

17

Clubber Lang

But communism still has a form of money doesnt it? Or is this perfect extreme communism that i dont know about?

so this is your perfect opportunity for propaganda i guess :rolleyes:

an extreme form? no, it's basic marxist communism. there is no need for any form of money under communism.

Reply 13

OP

Its only a theoretical look at how things could be different..

I think i'd much rather see a system where everyone worked together for everyone else - of course this could never happen *now* or in the future but maybe it would have been possible at one time back in in the day..or maybe not as people obviously wanted to be greedy and look after their own self interests

Reply 14

L i b

19

dan_man

We would be living in caves and think it was the end of the world every time the sun went down.

Reply 15

Thud

17

Bismarck

I'm always amazed by the fact that only people who know any economics here are liberal (in the classical sense). While virtually all leftists have absolutely no idea when it comes to economics...

i do, so nur. :eviltongue

Reply 16

Clubber Lang

Its only a theoretical look at how things could be different..

I think i'd much rather see a system where everyone worked together for everyone else - of course this could never happen *now* or in the future but maybe it would have been possible at one time back in in the day..or maybe not as people obviously wanted to be greedy and look after their own self interests

Why not start a thread about what would happen if humans had 2 heads?

Why? You care more about the means than the ends it seems. Self-interest leads to the best results. Your suggestion might make hippies feel better about themselves, but it would lead to sub-optimal results.

Reply 17

Profesh

20

Bismarck

It's like people believing world peace is possible until they actually open an international politics textbook. Quite amusing really.

Zing.

Reply 18

OP

I care about what would be better for the majority of people even if we were not as advanced as we apparently are today...depends on where the 'end' is.

This was only a theorectical question so maybe you shouldn't put an emphasis on what HAS happened and how the world is but what WOULD have happened if things were different back in the day.

Maybe some people need to open their minds a little and go back to a time when the world more of a 'blank canvas'.

Reply 19