Money- Necessary?

[B00]

This was a question asked by my 8 year old and one, which when I thought about it left me utterly stumped for an answer....

Do we need money to survive? What if the entire world didn't have it? Could it work?

[rockyracoon]

You'd need some sort of barter system in place otherwise you wouldn't have everything you need, unless of course we went back the dark ages.

To me, bartering has pretty much the same result of handing over cash so I don't see the difference.

[Octavius]

Its easier to carry coins, notes or a card around than a sack of home grown spuds, some homespun wool or 3 sheep and a camel to the market in the hope they might be worth something in exchage for what you need - further goods for exhange + some subsistence. Assuming, that you have already exchanged something else to get the potatoes, sheeps wool and animals in the first place....

[emmie]

you could try barter system, but i doubt if it would work, after all i might need items that you can't get in this country, how do i buy furniture, clothing, not just food.

[Sqad]

Whatba good answer by rocky.....might i suggest as " bartering items" gold, diamonds, emerald, women, camels and tobacco.

[B00]

Good answers guys, and ones which at 7.15 this morning I couldn't put together, i'll pass on ya comments to her when she gets home from school x

[emmie]

so it would cost to import goods, and export as well, you can't pay the suppliers in something they may need, it really wouldn't work.

[Octavius]

It could work, but we would be reduced to living very basic, and for most of us, immobile lives.

[woofgang]

It works if small communities and for the short term. The other option is barter. If you are not bartering a solid physical existing now thing eg a cabbage for 4 apples, then a record has to be kept of what has been agreed (4 apples now for a cabbage when the cabbages are ready) they you need to keep a record of who has promised what to whom and the easiest way to do this is with an IOU (I own Fred a cabbage in return for the 4 apples you gave me on the 9th of september) When it comes to it, i might not want that cabbage and would prefer to swap it for half a days work on my roof, so I give my IOU to John the roofer. See how we are on the way to local money?
Next I want t sell my sheep fleeces at the market 5 miles away or I need to go to work in the next village and I want to send home to keep my wife and kids. I can't send meat or veg because of the transport and keeping problems so I need IOU's that will be trusted beyond the circle of my village and can be used wider than in my village so i can work or sell in one place and then get what i need when and where I need it....hey presto, money!
So I think that yes we could survive without it but would soon reinvent it because it is such a useful concept.

[DrFilth]

Sqad swap you the who live at leeds cd (mint) for two packs of green -)

[ck1]

Good question. Would you even need a bartering system at all. If everyone went about their normal work voluntarily they could just take what they need from shops etc when needed, as could everybody else. Shop workers could go an board a plane to the Maldives without payment, the cabin crew could get their hotels when they get there etc, drive home in a car they haven't paid for...probably a million flaws in that but...

[B00]

That's what she was getting at ck, and I sort of get where she was coming from, and at that time in the morning I couldn't rationally string a reply together.

Well to be blunt, before 11am and 5 coffees later I'd have difficulty answering any kind of question!

[Sqad]

Filthy.......LOL....done...I'll throw in the wife as well (she is not in mint condition though)

[DrFilth]

-)

[jno]

money actually used to be worth something - a silver shilling would be made of actual silver. Nowadays it's not real silver and the coin's just symbolic. It's like what they have on the notes - "the Bank of England promises to pay the bearer the sum of £1" or whatever. It's not really a pound - that would once have been a bag of coins that actually weighed a pound - it was just a written IOU for £1, as woofgang says.

[emmie]

but imagine trying to barter with the neighbours, well what have you got to sell, well i have some rice, and a goat would go very nice with it, provided you don't mind despatching it, i have a sharp knife you can borrow,
would give the health and safety bods a right turn.

[jno]

thank heavens for Tesco's goat factory farming then

[emmie]

does it do that i wonder, and they aren't going to take groats or goats, they want spondoolicks just like everyone else. Our pound has little or no value, but i would rather that than barter any day. Some of the neighbours are already a pain in the arris, don't want any more ta very much,

[Eve]

I think the main flaw of the barter system would be people themselves. Can you imagine it nowadays with the benefits culture, and what about the more vulnerable who are too young, old or ill/disabled to get involved.

Almost leads back to olden days where you would almost need to breed to have family to carry on with things when you are too old and what if you have a disabled child who will never be able to work or a load of children you suddenly can't support as it's vulnerable to abuse or incident (a flood or disease and an entire stock could be wiped out).

She a bit young at the moment but books like as The Host raises interesting issues (the "aliens" overtaking work on a system where no money is needed as everyone is trusted). Similarly the Hunger Games is in part set in one of many very poor parts headed by a rich controlling state where each of the poorer parts is designed to work on producing things of use, agriculture, mining etc... and has instances of the bartering system in place.

[ck1]

How about forgetting the bartering aspect, you need some rice, your neighbour has it you go get it, they need some bread, the guy in town has it, they go get it. Have to get a bus to town, away you go, the driver is paid by having access to whatever he needs. Bus is made and maintained by people who do the work and in turn have access to anything they need and so on...

[jno]

the advantage of barter is it's hard to tax. If we swap chickens and goats we don't have to charge VAT.