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Thursday, February 12, 2015

The world can function without money

Many different political groups and thinkers have given the word socialism many different and often conflicting definitions. The term is loosely defined. Perhaps the worst one being Hitler's national socialism which no advocate of socialism would associate with. Still, sadly, today, socialism is often associated with state ownership or government regulation. When members of the Socialist Party speak the phrase ‘Abolition of Money’, people look at us as though we are mad. Someone who has no money cannot live. This is the way the world is at present. Even in today’s corrupt society, no-one could say that this is right and proper. The Socialist Party describe socialism in terms of free access to all the social wealth of society. The term ‘resource based economy’ was coined by Jacque Fresco in The Venus Project as the name for what kind of economic system he envisions in the future.

There are some criteria of a socialist society that the Socialist Party apply to its meaning and those include that it uses no money and possesses no market system, that all goods are freely accessible to everyone, and that work is voluntary. Socialism does include the idea of a society controlled by everyone, instead of elites. Such a society would ultimately be lacking a state, political leaders and classes. Even Karl Marx realised that the idea and system of the state is wrong, and opposed it.

Thus we would therefore claim that a "real" socialist system has never been established before. Socialism carries ideals, and a theoretical strategy, but factual plans backed by hard proofs are not laid out in blueprints of the future. Everything would be different. This brings us to socialist principles of common ownership and systems without money. Money will become unimportant through the availability of advanced technologies to provide all the means to obtain a good life. To put it simply, money is a commodity and commodities exist because property exists. I make something (property) and you make something I need, but you don't need what I make, so a universal equivalent has to emerge to facilitate this movement of value from one person to another. "Ah ha!" someone might say "this is overcome by labour vouchers". Wrong. Substituting a piece of time-chit for a dollar isn't going to change the nature of the money-form. It can exist as wheel barrows for all that it matters. This is really where the majority of so-called "socialists" fall down, they don't know what property is and they don't know what capitalism is. Money in a post-capital society would not exist because property would not exist, which is the fundamental constituent of capitalism, even if this is state-owned property. No one is selling their labour-power commodity for a wage (money) to buy more commodities produced by people, institutions, corporations, etc that are separate from them.

Billions of us go to bed hungry every night and despite considerable advances in science and technology. We've been accepting widespread poverty, famine, disease and war as part of life. If the economy doesn't serve our needs, then why do we serve the economy? Why do we continue to give our consent to the rule of the few? Why do we vote for our own continued enslavement? Why do we do these things when we know that there is an alternative? The economic system we choose does have a large influence on how we treat each other and the way we think about life in general. It defines much of who we are.

Imagine a world where all property other than personal possessions is held in common, for the benefit of all. Consequently, there is also no money. If you are hungry, you eat. If you want to work, you work. When you are sick or old or too young, society takes care of you. The vast majority of us would like to live in a global community where neighbours help each other and none get left behind. Imagine if we eliminate the very concept of money from our society. This does not mean going back to bartering. It doesn't mean violence to overcome the wage slave system. It only requires that we realise that that together, the people, which includes everyone, have the power to run our own economy.  Implementation of a cooperative commonwealth would establish the basis for a more egalitarian relationship with the values of sharing and caring among the members of society.

Socialism envisions an attainable democratic society in which workers have direct control of their work and environment. It is based on the production of goods and services that meet the needs and wants of the society as a whole - it is not one that merely enriches an elite. Therefore, creative individuals would be free to do what they do best. The engineers could design their idea of the best car, the chef could create and convince people to eat his or her newest dish, the clothing designer could put his or her newest creation on the runway for consumers to see and choose. In a socialist society, the individual's creativity, desires, and talents are at the heart of a socialist economy. Socialism essentially levels the playing field by clearing the economic and educational hurdles that prevent individuals from fulfilling their dreams and their potential. In short, Socialism seeks to ensure that everyone reaches their full potential. Human society existed for many millennia before the advent of money, and it would eventually be rendered redundant in a socialist economy. It is a myth that socialists seek to do away with all personal property. Socialists have no intention of taking away your house, your car, your material possessions, etc. What socialists do desire, however, is common ownership of the means of production, the factories and work-shops, communication, and transportation.


Why don’t people who want to improve the human condition and the ways of the world stop their petty squabbles and put their efforts into achieving socialism? If they did this, it would be the quickest way for them to achieve their objectives. We can speak up for our planet as one community with intertwined interests that can only be satisfied through mutual respect and cooperation. We can replace capitalism with a system based on social ownership, equal human entitlement and workplace democracy. We can exist in harmony with our environment if we get rid of capitalism and promote respect for nature and understanding the interdependence of all forms of life. We can work together in organizations that exist in local communities, but which also connect with like-minded regional, worldwide groups to accomplish the changes we need. Through our words and actions we can demonstrate that the realistic alternative to capitalism is an expansion of democracy. In order to build the peaceful, ecologically sane world we desire, our tactics are non-violent

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