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Mário Crespo

unemployed but I aim to change that..., none so far

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Can we ever stop using money?

Can we ever stop using money? If so, How will we survive?

Topics: money
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    Mário Crespo

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    Apr 11 2011: Great answers love it. Muito Obrigado. That means thnak you in Portuguese.
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    Nicholas Lukowiak 50+

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    Apr 5 2011: In a perfect world where people cared more about each other than being better than one another, yes we can stop using money.

    Venus Project is one of the only ideas revolving around such a system involving futurism. Check it out.
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      Krisztián Pintér 200+

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      Apr 5 2011: this idea is older than dirt. actually, goes back to marx.
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        Nicholas Lukowiak 50+

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        Apr 5 2011: "In a perfect world where people cared more about each other than being better than one another"
        That idea?

        If so, and? That makes the idea inferior?
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          Krisztián Pintér 200+

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          Apr 6 2011: no, it makes it not original. this is not a problem. problem is that it is wrong.
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          Sargis B.

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          Apr 6 2011: Why do people keep comparing the Venus project and Zeitgeist to marxism, communism, and the like?
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        Nicholas Lukowiak 50+

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        Apr 6 2011: SARGIS you have now just become one of my favorite TEDsters because I get to answer your question. In short, elitist ideals (ones created in modern education especially) affect how many educated minds think. So they learn and memorize facts and figures but do not expand on them it respects of being ideas and instead reflect on them as ideologies. HUGE fundamentalist misconception of reality in my opinion, but hey my education ideals are a lot harder to comprehend so I try not to bash intellectuals who were formed in such a system, I am still now learning how to respond to such. (I think/learn open from start to finish, educated people learn then think which is good but not the best.)

        @ Krisztian, I find the result of an idea is how you should determine it to be wrong, and yeah in theory/practice communism, socialism, and Marxism don't work, but capitalism MOST CERTAINLY does not work.

        There is no such thing as an original thought, stop assuming such, it is impossible humans have been thinking for too long for those to exist still. Creative thoughts are what should be appreciated not originality.

        Ideas can't be wrong because they are ideas. Ideologies can be wrong they are systems based on ideas.
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          Sargis B.

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          Apr 8 2011: Capitalism revolves around you getting ahead of everyone else...or should I say... walking over everyone else, trying to eventually get on top of all the bodies under you. Isn't that what's going on all over the world? Cater to the rich, abandon the poor. That's the slogan of capitalism and if anyone is ok with this system, they're also ok with all the suffering and injustice in the world, in which case pardon me but they don't deserve to breathe the air that we breathe.
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    Sabin Muntean 30+

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    Apr 5 2011: Your profile picture made me hungry! :)

    Besides that, I doubt that we can stop using money, at least not as long as we all have certain needs. If in hundreds of years we supposedly reach a new level of development where physical necessities no longer play an important role then money loses its importance as well. So yes, eventually we could stop using it, but not soon.
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    Krisztián Pintér 200+

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    Apr 5 2011: you certainly can stop using money, just as you can stop using clothing, cellphone, healthcare, tools and all. it would not be a joyride though, as you need to revert back to stone age.

    on the other hand, we don't want to stop using money, because it is so practical. just as clothing, cellphones, healthcare, tools and all.
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      Sargis B.

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      Apr 5 2011: There are many who don't want to but have no choice. Trying explaining to them how practical it is lol
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        Krisztián Pintér 200+

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        Apr 5 2011: sell your flat, car, phone. buy a faraway land somewhere, mongolia, africa, places like that. start growing potato and carrot. neanderthal life: done.

        there is no person on the earth, v.p. fans aside, who would not like the idea of money.
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          Sargis B.

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          Apr 6 2011: You seem to have a very neolithic idea of what a world without money would look like Krisztian. Every time I read your arguments on this subject matter, you go to an extreme example. Why would people have to buy water in any type of monetary system if we use the technology that is available to give it freely to all...like its supposed to be? Cars can operate on electricity if we want them to, which will bring their costs down tremendously. Homes can be built with much better materials today using new methods of construction to bring down prices of houses considerably, as well. Food can be grown in very large quantities using new technology too.

          So why does anyone have to sell anything and go to Mongolia, Africa, or "places like that"? The only reason those places are in such a state for you to use them as examples is because of our precious economy and monetary system...
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        Krisztián Pintér 200+

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        Apr 6 2011: sargis, non of the things you have mentioned can be produced for free. they all need effort and resources to produce. better materials, electric cars are not cheaper but more expensive. that's why they don't spread fast. they spread as they become cheaper. new technology comes from investment, which also needs effort and resources.

        you can of course eliminate money, and thus the money cost of resources. but you can't eliminate the resource and time and effort cost. money represents those costs. very efficiently. we love it.
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          Sargis B.

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          Apr 8 2011: Reminds me of the McDonald's advert lol. "You're loving it" while half the world is suffering. Let's ask them what they think...

          You misunderstood me. My point was that if we change the system and get closer to a resource based economy or something else, we won't have a problem with energy or resources. And you really think that the reason why the electric car isn't released along with so many other great inventions is because it's too expensive or something? It isn't PROFITABLE! Do I need to remind you who has most of the patents? The oil companies have them of course. They are the ones limiting the production because they know that once electric cars are released, no one will give a shit about them, or gas, or diesel, or anything else.

          The economy revolves around creating stuff that doesn't last. What you love is designed to be temporary so you'll be sure to get a frown and at that point, the only way to turn it around will be by buying the next piece of junk that looks good. Reminds me of the animated film "Robots". Depicts exactly what I'm talking about.
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    Sargis B.

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    Apr 5 2011: To stop using money, you need to change the entire system, which in my opinion will happen eventually later within this or the next century because most jobs are being taken over by machines and when people start to realize that we can have abundant energy and resources such as food and so on (I'm not referring to oil or fossil fuels, we have much better alternatives), they won't see the purpose of a monetary system anymore. If there is a big stream of clear, clean, healthy water flowing right next to you, will you opt to buy water? The only reason the monetary system was born was because people thought our resources were very limited. Science is starting to prove otherwise, which most don't see because that isn't profitable...
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    Nicholas Lukowiak 50+

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    Apr 5 2011: http://www.ted.com/conversations/1178/read_the_proposal_behind_the.html

    This thread has a lot of debates over money on it already

  • S.B. DAVIS

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    Apr 5 2011: I can't carry enough goats around to pay for a new car stereo. I don't have enough room in my bag to haul around the coal I need to trade in for my groceries... I just hope I can get all my cows to follow my car home again. Long days.
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    Aga Lal

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    Apr 5 2011: I think no.
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    Stacey Mitchell

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    Apr 5 2011: Historically we have been able to survive without official currency systems. You could trade a service or item of value for another service or item of value. Times were much more simpler... I think that in an underdeveloped country, yes, you could stop using money (although you would still trade something for something else). In a post industrial country, no, I highly doubt it because we place so much significance on money in our definitions of who we are, and we use money as an indicator for our success. To stop using money would mean that those who have it would have to give it up, and since money is an indicator and source of power, very unlikely those with a lot of it will let it go. But its a nice idea Mario.
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      Charu Consul

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      Apr 5 2011: Barter System? :-O
      In today's world, a man will kill another man for 10 grains less!
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