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Corvida Raven

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If you woke up today and money ceased to exist, what is the first thing you would do? Why?

Money is a motivating factor in a lot of actions people take on a daily basis. What if money didn't exist? What would you do then?

Let's NOT get into the technicalities of how removing money from the world would change things. This Conversation is SPECIFICALLY about the FIRST thing you would do if money ceased to exist today and why you would do that particular thing.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

Topics: life money
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  • Niki Springett

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    Jul 28 2011: I'd get straight on a plane and go anywhere and everywhere
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    Mireille Chéry

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    Jul 28 2011: I'll probably panic at first! Thinking what to do; to survive, food, paying the bills etc... After that, I'll probably think this is probably the best things that could happen to our beautiful planet; finally equality for all...people will be more humble, wisdom and go back to the roots, values, respect etc...

    Great question, love it !
    Peace

  • Jason Lilly

    • +1
    Jul 27 2011: Travel, travel, travel. There are so many places I have wanted to see but money was ALWAYS the obstacle. I've never been out of the country, never been on a plane, barely left the U.S. east coast. But I'm still young, so things might change.

  • Sorin Tanasa

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    Jul 27 2011: There is a project called Venus, by the Zeitgeist movement. Although not all their ideas might be popular, they do offer an utopian view of a post capitalist civilisation. Anyone curious about it could read their stuff and find out a response to the thread. The point is it is posible to live without money if property is disolved and everything is shared (cars, houses, TV's, etc.). No need to steal if you are not allowed to accumulate objects and privileges. No social disention because someone thinks others have more stuff than you. Equal distribution of base necesities and necesity driven production would eliminate waste created by competition. Work would be done acording to personal enclination and not financial pressure. Money drives most of our decisions these days, not allowing us to do what we were born to do, which is to live free. So the first thing I would do is apply for an institution where I would best be in a position to clean up after the money driven polution and social decay.
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      Krisztián Pintér 200+

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      TED Translator
      Jul 27 2011: read their stuff, or you can just look around here, and find like half a dozen of conversations about them. i don't buy that at all, but i must admit that they do a great job motivating people, it seems.

    • Luis Marin

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      Jul 27 2011: Key word there is utopian which is an ideal... but then again so is this question... either way keep thinking forced equality, forced economies, forced property and forced behavior are heaven...

  • Chris Sells

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    Jul 27 2011: Rediscover it and claim the distribution rights, failing that nothing different... except I would be worrying about something else.
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    Scalino Corleone di Napoli 30+

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    TED TranslatorAssociate
    Jul 27 2011: drink coffee, as usual... Then, probably, I'd take my day off...

  • Guerric Haché

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    Jul 27 2011: "Let's NOT get into the technicalities of how removing money from the world would change things."

    This is, frankly, absurd - at least if understood in the broad sense of "Let's not discuss how the world would be different." At the very least, you need to say whether money disappears because we have attained post-scarcity, because we've now got a government that equally distributes everything among everyone, or simply because it's disappeared from circulation. Otherwise, we can't respond adequately to the question, unless the question was meant to tease out what we think the disappearance of money would require.

    If the first, then I'd go to British Columbia and build myself a house on a four-acre piece of land. If the second, then I'd inform myself; what are my new rights, my new restrictions? If the last, then I'd pour through the Internet to figure out exactly how I need to adjust my behavior to continue enjoying a comfortable standard of living, and what new possibilities, if any, are open in the likely brief time-frame before people start establishing basic currency again. And I'd probably arm myself because, yes, chaos would ensue.

    It's a mistake to see money as a motivating factor - material wealth is the motivating factor for most people, not money for money's sake. So removing money, realistically, would probably just result in people rapidly figuring out some new way of distributing material wealth.
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    Steven Postle

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    Jul 27 2011: I would get on my bike and head to the nearest farm where they grow their own vegies and meat and help out there. Would have to be close to a rock wall too so I could go climbing. I would do this so I had a place to wait out whatever would happen post money dissapearing. Would be interesting.

    Also, I think a lot of people have missed the point of the question. This is not a debate about what you think money means to you or the world, Corvida clearly states that she wants to know the first thing you would do. Stop being so pretentious.

  • Chandramouli Pandya

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    Jul 27 2011: As long as someone else has something I want, "money" will never cease to exist.

    If a day does come when I have everything I want and there is nothing I would want from anyone else, I will be either dead or have attained nirvana :) I wont have any motivation to do anything after that..
    To answer your question, what will I do? NOTHING !!

  • GABRIEL DAUDT

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    Jul 27 2011: What is money?
    We don`t use money any longer. Companies don`t use money. Governments don`t use money. Everybody is using something that we pretend is money. Even the money itself doesn`t mean anything, because is based in a structure and not in a real value (as it use to be: gold). So, the question is not absurd. There is a possibility for the world to loose, for some period, the reference of value. Nowadays is easier than in the last century.
    The thing is that, even the money cease to exist, the human way of thinking would stay the same. And, in it`s almost universal (we have to be careful with the ˜universal`word) the idea of contract, the idea of reciprocity. If we don`t have money to do so, we are going to do it with other ways.
    In Argentina, during their crisis of 2000, the money was so rare and the people`s needs were so extreme, that they create market with informal money to make their trades.
    The human being will not change because of the lack of a currency. He will create another way to do the trades. This is the historical development of the human being, not some accident of the last century.
    For me, the FIRST THING I would do if money ceased to exist, is evalluate everithing I have, every item I have in my home, because there would come times when basic trades were be needed. Guns would be needed too, despite I hate it.
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    Luigi Vampa

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    Jul 27 2011: Money is a simbolic structure very flexible as all simbolic structures from myths. If that thing happens all the myths modified their paradigms and soon we invented another form to buy and exchange and barter things, services and goods. The first thing to do, for me is walk to my studio here in Rome and see how all the people going mad. And laugh.
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    Mireille Chéry

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    Jul 27 2011: Great hair Corvida !!

    This is something to think about...got to sleep on that one, I'll back at you !
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    Brian Gonsalves

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    Jul 26 2011: The first thing I would do is doggedly determine what the current means of barter is.
    Because money ceases to exist does not magically transform our communities into some Shangri-La, where people exchange goods or services for free.
    People are not motivated by money as they are about the things (stuff) it may allow them to have. Many have used it to do wonderful things in our communities and elsewhere.
    Every generous endeavour and every worthwhile pursuit may be realized whether money exists or not. Just do it.

  • JULIA FARGAS

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    Jul 26 2011: Have breakfast!
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    Pranav Bagaddeo

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    Jul 26 2011: Then everything would be free....
    Life, Love, Living....
    Coz majorly money revolves around these.....
    So id fill her Up & let it rip.....
    Cloud 9.... cruisin speed.
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    simon roger

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    Jul 26 2011: I worked in IB during the financial crisis, and their was a moment when it seamed money would sort of "cease"...the first feeling i got was that i felt relieved...suddenly a huge burden of pressure and competition fell my mind...to answer concretely your question,...I would try to be close to peolpe I trust and feel comfortable with...
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    Nicholas Lukowiak 50+

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    Jul 26 2011: Money is no where near my motivator, I would rather be the most famous poor person then the richest unknown.

    If money went away: 1. Get a weapon, just it case, and head to where the most people are or to the nearest world leader to see what's up next.

    2. I would far too curious to do anything besides explore what others were doing and watching the transition of world history.

    3. Continue on with my current life plans, just more excited!

  • Luis Marin

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    Jul 26 2011: I would request to be taken to space and be left there floating for a week...
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      Steven Postle

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      Jul 27 2011: Why?

      • Luis Marin

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        Jul 27 2011: Because I don't have the $30M it would cost to do now... plus it would be AWESOME to go to space!
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          Steven Postle

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          Jul 28 2011: I agree with you there, space would be incredible!! Would there be space travel without money though? Serious question, not rhetorical.
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    melissa kiser

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    Jul 25 2011: Well after I got over the shock I would really breathe. Without the pressure that comes with money I would realy breathe and figure out a batering system. Try to really work as a community.
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    Eun A Jo 10+

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    TED Translator
    Jul 25 2011: I would spend more time meeting new people. There are too many people I didn't get to know because I was working to pay for college/living.
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    Thomas Jones 100+

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    Jul 25 2011: Money has never motivated me. I've actually tried to use it as a motivator (setting monetary goals and so on) and it just doesn't work for me. I do what I do because I want to do it. The money comes or it doesn't.

    So, on a personal level, I would do what I "normally" do ... which is enjoy life and respond to whatever situation I am participating in.

    Of course, how one operates within "the system" would have to be renegotiated ... rebuilt I suppose. But I don't think that's what your asking.
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      Tiana RAVEL

      • +1
      Jul 25 2011: I agree with Thomas.

      If you can get everything for free, they won't worth their value anymore.

      But to answer to your question, I think I'll go back to my country to see my parents. I miss them so much. Tickets are too expensive.

  • jonah skoles

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    Jul 25 2011: life is based on exchange. our body's work by exchange of energy, oxygen.... if money ceased to exist we would quickly find a replacement.... if we all were able to still do our share of work and do it for free then there would be no need for money or exchange, one would give what one can and take what one needs.... if i woke up one day and this change had happened i would go out and do my best to give my share of effort to maintaining life for the collective and probably come home at night after a hard days work feeling better then ever......
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    Jimmy Strobl 30+

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    TED Translator
    Jul 25 2011: Has anyone here heard of http://www.justfortheloveofit.org/ ?
    I found it through TED-ED's Facebook page! Check it out!

  • Luvanatis Vedorick

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    Jul 25 2011: Hmm, I'd probably try to make a self-sufficient community by gathering other groups of people specialized in various fields. This would highly create dependence but it would be necessary. These needs would include food, water, electricity, transportation and the like. I guess I would have to start small with gardening, micromanagement, rallying, etc. Security might be a concern, although this depends on others. Maybe a few collective communities with many people with technical skills would be able to survive with their own governing systems. After that, teaching these skills to the next generation of people would be the next concern for me.

    I rather preferred if people spent time learning these skills as a trade-off for being allowed to live in a collective society and continual development in various areas than any predefined age/group limit, tuition/administration fee, marketing/job-hunting/investing or whatever confining us to constraints which theoretically don't exist. On one hand, it may mean I no longer have luxuries, people are more dependent on one another but on the other hand any form of unemployment or "marketing venture" or "grant proposal" is completely invalidated in itself because the only values upheld by the community are those with technical/practical/researching/relaying information skills. And in most cases, I guess its pretty idealistic but I'd say many people wouldn't want to live their entire lives having everyday as a Sunday weekend (if resources were always available).

    Regardless, resource allocation/governing and relying on "help you; you help me" mentality would be the greatest factor in post-money era.
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    mojtaba azari

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    Jul 25 2011: I call you and say: your question is a fact now.

  • John Royal

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    Jul 25 2011: What I always do, Help people. Need never changes, money or not. Make sure I am safe, fed, watered and housed. Doing that ensures, I can see to others Health, Safety and welfare.
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    Maureen Dilger

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    Jul 24 2011: Great question. First thoughts - I'd make sure my kids and husband were safely within reach. Then I'd reach out to my network of "dream team" folks - you know the people in your life who inspire you, stretch you, make you a better and smarter you. Next, we could dream up several solutions and rapidly iterate.
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      Christophe Cop 500+

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      TED AttendeeTEDx OrganizerAssociate
      Jul 25 2011: Why don't you reach out to your dream team today? I bet you can find several solutions now, and make money as a side-effect...

      Or is it really money that keeps you from doing that?
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        Maureen Dilger

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        Jul 25 2011: Love the poke - working on it in my current gig where I'm lucky to work with a dream team who fundamentally cares about making a difference in other people's lives vs their own wallets. When and if that ever changes, I'll come looking for you and convince you to join yet another team.
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    Alicia Gradson

    • +1
    Jul 24 2011: Think. Assess the skills and commodties I have that can be used to barter. Organize a community meeting (4-5 block area to begin) and assess how we can help one another through barter. Set up structure to ensure necessities are availablle to all (water, food, shelter).

    Begin to think about longterm needs once shortterm comforts are met. Find information on the pre-industrial household, which was self-sufficiient,.

    A social organization must be created to contend with the changed circumstances.

  • rolf nesse

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    Jul 24 2011: Quickly study known societies that have existed without it in the past , I beleive the Inca had no direct equivant of money and we a very large succesful society, at least for a while. I would do this because it would help us a lot to copy what else worked in the past. No sense going thru so much chaos without a plan.
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