Ask a communist. didn't work.

Money is a promise, a statement of a favour that needs to be returned. If everything is free, some people will take advantage and not do their fair share. So we need to keep account, to ensure that everybody puts in as well as takes out. In family, or in a small group, you can do this by just remembering what people have done, or not done, and bawling out the person who doesn't do their fair share. Which is why small groups of people don't need money - but they do remember who owes a favour to who. But once the group gets large, you cannot do this. Suppose someone a long way away has something you want - an iPod, a new pet, medicine to cure you, smart clothes. You ask for them, and promise you will do your fair share to give someone else the nice things that you make. How does that remote person know that you are going to be fair? So you give them some tokens that show them that you owe them a favour. Then, when they want something form someone else, they can give those tokens to the other person in exchange for something they want, so that you now owe that other person a favour. We call those tokens, those "I owe you one favour" markers, money.

that's how this country works. someone can always move it they didn't like it...;)

Humanity is too self-centered a species to make this work on a scale larger than tribal communities.

It sounds good in theory. But under Communism, nobody has a motive to work and to continually improve goods and services. Eventually, everyone will become poor and your economy will crash and burn.

1) Humanity has been using some kind of money (barter) for the last 100,000 years: "The use of proto-money may date back to at least 100,000 years ago. Trading in red ochre is attested in Swaziland, from about that date, and ochre seems to have functioned as a proto-money in Aboriginal Australia. Shell jewelery in the form of strung beads also dates back to this period and had the basic attributes needed of early money. In cultures where metal working was unknown, shell or ivory jewelery were the most divisible, easily storeable and transportable, scarce, and hard to counterfeit objects that could be made. It is highly unlikely that there were formal markets in 100,000 B.P. (any more than there are in recently observed hunter-gatherer cultures). Nevertheless, proto-money would have been useful in reducing the costs of less frequent transactions that were crucial to hunter-gatherer cultures, especially bride purchase, splitting property upon death, tribute, and inter-tribal trade in hunting ground rights (“starvation insurance”) and implements." Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_money 2) "The absence of money causes an economy to be inefficient because it requires a coincidence of wants between traders, and an agreement that these needs are of equal value, before a barter exchange can occur. The efficiency gains through the use of money are thought to encourage trade and the division of labour, in turn increasing productivity and wealth." Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money 3) various systems in history have tried to reduce the use of money. The more social your state is, the less money you get for your work and the less you have to pay for social services. The problem is that if you consider what a particular person could produce according to her capacities, it seems injust that they get the same services as another whith the same capacities, but only producing the half of goods and services for the community. Making a part of the retribution dependent of what one really produces helps retablishing some justice. And we also consider some professions more useful that others, or not easy to do good for anyone. Usually, a society who suppresses mony has strong means of pressure on its members. 4) Even communism does not suppress money: "Communism is a socioeconomic structure that promotes the establishment of a classless, stateless society based on common ownership of the means of production." Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communism So only the means of production are owned by everyone.

now that would be such a nice life! but not everyone sees things as plainly as you do, zack :) now that people have money, they're'n't going to give it up :)

I'm with you on that one! Bartering is much nicer. We still do it a good bit here in The Woods. I help a friend one day raise roof trusses; later in the year he shows up to help me turn the garden . . . that type of thing. If more of that went on, it would make for more people that actually communicated and had compassion for one another again. Of course there will always be a few sour apples but you can't let 'em ruin the whole barrel.

The whole problem comes from people's laziness. A few people will never put forth the effort to build a better world or contribute in any meaningful way. Eventually others will see that they are getting along as well as they are, so they will decide to slack off as well. This becomes a vicious circle leading to the decline of the whole society. I wish it weren't so. Peace.

Problem is not everyone would build for others.

Who would build roads? Who would bust their asses the long hours it takes to create things? I watched my father come home for three hours of sleep a night, maybe four, before turning around and going right back to work in the Texas heat, in the sun. No one in their right minds would do this voluntarily for free. Money is needed to persuade people who would otherwise not do it at all. Look at shelters and fire stations. THEY can barely get volunteers, and that's easier work, considering.

Because in the world we live. We have gotten spoiled and some what lazy...It is hard to get up make things when you work and got a family to come home to tend to. Yet, you can buy dinner and everything else . OOOHHH Nothing in life is really free..except Gods love

We live in a capitalist society, not a communist one. HungryGuy makes an excellent point about the lack of motivation... Communism may seem nice in theory, but it just doesn't work in reality.

I said something a while back on this same subject Zack and got the same response that you are. I tried to find it, but that would take forever. I like the Star Trek way , no money to kill for and no one would rob banks or mug people in the street. It could be great, except everyone starts calling you a commie around here?

You may be able to find that in some communes, but it never really last very long.

Too many rich and powerful people are addicted to capitolism, so it won't happen in our lifetime.

Pesky details like food, shelter, clothing and other miscellaneous bills kind of demand that we pay attention to it.

Money used to control my life. Not so much anymore. With all of the commercials, ads, and peer pressure it is easy to understand why so many people are in debt. I have worked very hard to be one of those cash only people. When I drive up the parking garage at work, you can clearly tell all those that still worship money. All of the "important" people get to park at the bottom of the garage. It starts with the Bentleys, Jags, BMW's, Astin Martins, and as you climb to the top the cars get less and less expensive. It's funny to see that people place so much value on things. I feel sorry for those people because they are slaves to their jobs, and work so much they do not even know their own children. I know that many of them, when they are old, will wish that they had not worked so much when they were younger and will have regrets at what they have missed out on. They have money when they are old, so what, I am sure that they will agree, it was not worth the price that they paid. Money is not worth the paper it is printed on.

You do money to survive, other than that, people make the choice that material things are important to them, there are many different reasons why. Some were poor, some are obsessed, some like finer things, etc. It all depends on the person if they allow money to be the most important thing, wether it will be harder or not.

Money can't buy you happiness but it does bring you a more pleasant form of misery? I've got all the money I'll ever need if I die by four o'clock this afternoon.