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Oct 2, 2006 8:41:43 AM
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Wow, I like this Question. Also there are a lot of answers posted on this question. However most of them tended to say “I don’t know what’s after capitalism”, or people in favor of socialism, humanism, localization, and even those who this “there is nothing after capitalism” capitalism is it, or worse capitalism will kill us all we’ve already doomed ourselves mentality, or it’s a never ending cycle there is nothing better then repeating what we already know over and over again. Of course any of these could be right, but most of them are kind of depressing to keep reading. I like the people who tried to think of something after but the reoccurrence of old ideas like traditions kept coming up. I not saying that communism and socialism doesn’t have good qualities, I’m just saying it’s like people can’t move passed the old alternatives presented. That is what I think that is depressing.
Here’s my take:
Why hasn’t anyone ever heard or had the guts to utter “Anarchy” or “Anarchism”?
Sure you can say that there hasn’t been any real economic critiques that came from any Anarchist, and that it seems up until recently that most Anarchists relied on the old Communist and Socialist critiques of Capitalism. Though something new is now being born, to where it’ll take us no one knows for sure. Some call it the “Gift Economy”, others “Participatory Economics”, then again even the “Localization” of stuff has its Anarchist roots and values as well, as well as the people who believe in a “value system”. Again no one has the absolute answer for this. I can attempt to give you a glimpse of what my understanding is.
I see things as ever evolving; there most likely is something after capitalism. I also believe humans will not stop there, we will always grow and learn and create new things and ways of doing and being.
The reason I brought up Anarchy/Anarchism is because based on its fundamental values I would propose that the following should be tried:
Why not a system of free exchange, as in everything is free to everyone and everything? Just like it once was, in the beginning when humans came into existence. After all no one really can own land or the water or the air, sure capitalist would like us to believe you could harness them and monopolize them and then sell them back and keep people in oppression through denying them their living right to such necessities. They think anything can make them money, and money is freedom. But a lot of us have figured out that money is only paper and ink, it is us that decide to give it value at the expense of our selves and our planet. We oppress our very selves by not acknowledging that it’s just paper and ink, or data in the electronic cyber space, just ink written down to represent numbers that we gave names to. Though this time around we actually know what we got before we squander it. A free system of sharing, of giving, of receiving, of recycling but with no expectations projected onto others, only expectations of our selves. For everyone contributes in their own unique way and how they wish to contribute. No one is meant to be judgmental and say well you don’t do this therefore you are not contributing. That would be a form of control so “NO”, then it wouldn’t be free, and free has to be voluntary which is the opposite of controlled I would say. Just because one person doesn’t see value in what another person chooses to do doesn’t mean that person is wrong or lazy, it just means we have different definitions of what we think is worth what. I believe we can all help each other provide the basics for one another. It’ll be like walking into a street market but you’re free to take what you want and how much you want, and you are very welcome to bring what you would like to share as well.
Even though we can not understand all the exchanges doesn’t mean they are not of all equal value, there is always equivalent exchange in a free giving system. Nature is a free giving system, it’s sustainable because it is a circle. Nature doesn’t demand something our of what it gives it knows that an equivalent exchange will take place no matter what it gives or how much it gives.
Take for example if a person produced corn because they loved to eat corn, they could take what they produced and keep what they wanted, the rest they can give away. I’m pretty sure someone would get sick of eating nothing but corn, and they would be foolish to let extra corn rot. The most logical thing to do is give what they will not need or use to others, and when doing so look to see what others have brought to the table and then take what they need. Like say they didn’t have sugar, I’m pretty sure someone out there will have and give them sugar and they can take as much sugar as they think they need or want.
This would rely on people participating locally to a great degree, but it’ll also rely on networks with other local communities. If you’d like to look to an old example you can look with how Native American tribes traded with other tribes for a similar but not exact model. Don’t get me mistaken for bartering though, it would be foolish to go back to bartering, again everything is priceless and everything was meant for everyone and everything else on this planet. Just because we are human doesn’t give us the right to control it.
To just rely locally would be foolish too. There will always be something that someone else or some other group or some other area of the world made or has that another might not be able to make themselves, due to either lack of knowledge or lack of locally available resources, or even the fact that everything is unique and nothing will ever match the uniqueness of someone else’s knowledge, item, or whatever. So whatever one lacks the other needs and they can help support each other.
In a simple way, just think FREE, FREE, FREE.
People will do stuff because they want to, and they do what they like naturally, I also believe we are social creatures and like to share our joys, our joys can manifest themselves in anything from food to a computer to art to emotions but we always love to share those joys. The think we would need to learn is to become mature enough to realize that we shouldn’t limit us from sharing our joys to just our families, friends, and local communities, but to open up to everyone everywhere. Just like in Dropping Knowledge we will find that helping people outside of our circles will in the end help us as well. If you are one to think that humans are too selfish to achieve such things, then I say to you this:
Is it not selfish to help someone in need? When you know if they get on their feet then they will be able to help themselves and you have a better life? This understanding indeed means one needs to have an open mind and a degree of maturity. Though if you look at giving something away as an unselfish act, I think you’re wrong. By helping others you also help yourself, even if you do not notice it right away. For my self to become truly free, everyone and everything else has to be free with me, so to achieve my goal I will selfishly help others to achieve it with me so that I too can benefit from the same freedom I hope to attain. I know that if everyone is not happy, then I too will not be happy, I think for me it’s a fact that sooner or later I will become unhappy if others are not happy.
Some systems of “Free Shares” have already been started. Just look around. No one has drawn up a blue print or a map, because a lot feel like such things should be a proposal not a rule, and should be built upon and expanded. Also everyone will have their own ideas and they will make it reality in how they see fit.
If yall are interested in more, I am working on a project to have a working living example of this… just contact me if you can. After all the more people who help out the better!
by AnarchyAm
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