-Caveat Lector-
One place to start might be with local currencies, such as the one in use in
Ithaca, NY, which uses work as its medium of exchange--almost but not quite
a barter system. It operates only within Ithaca proper, but could easily be
extended. Such a currency encourages the growth of voluntary local
community; no one need participate--you can still use the "official"
currency if you want to. In addition, the "new" money carries an expiration
date; in other words, you *have* to use it within a certain period of time
in order to redeem its face value.
Another crucial point to realize is that, during a crisis, normal social
structures break down. There is, very roughly, a three-day cycle of crisis.
During Day 1 and the first part of Day 2, *there is no government*--the
people are forced to rely on themselves and on each other. This is the
closest you will ever see to pure Kropotskian mutual aid. By the middle of
Day 2, self-interest begins to reassert itself, causing mutual aid to break
down; and Day 3 sees "government" in some form (often military) taking
charge. HOWEVER, when a new crisis occurs before the earlier crisis has
resolved, it is possible for mutual aid to remain in effect for a much
longer period. Although the temptation is always for government to maintain
the public in a state of crisis and uncertainty, this very tendency contains
within itself the downfall of the government itself, because it will
encourage the development of community institutions which function without
any reference to the government.
So...carpe diem, people! Seize the day! If government is incompetent, it's
also irrelevant. Take matters into your own hands; create your own money;
run your own lives.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
> Sent: Sunday, September 19, 1999 9:46 PM
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subject: Re: [CTRL] The glorious capitalist free market economic
> system.
>
> -Caveat Lector-
>
> In a message dated 9/18/99 8:22:36 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> writes:
>
> > What should we DO? I'm more of a THINKER than a DOER, in case you
> hadn't
> > noticed.
> > I've got no easy answers, even for myself; but it's necessary, IMHO, to
> > begin asking that question with a much more serious tone than we've
> been
> > doing up until this point.
> >
>
> I agree and the same is true for me. I think it is imperative that people
> start to DO SOMETHING, no matter how seemingly small or "insignificant."
> Sometimes this is enough to get the ball rolling, so to speak.
>
>
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