What If Money Didn’t Exist?

1. Looting and crime would skyrocket. Food stealing would happen a lot. Farmers with grains and stock would be the richest people.
2. Humans have needs. We get hungry, we get cold and we get jealous. Law and economy normally keep these drives in check, determining what we can afford and what we can get away with. But suddenly, everything has lost its value. And whoever’s job it is to watch the goods or maintain order no longer has an incentive to do so.
3. No one wants to work for free, Without paychecks, we lose important services. No police, No school, no fire department, no doctors, no military.
4. Technology would also be affected. Power isn’t free. Neither is running water. Definitely not gasoline. And same for cell service and the internet.
5. Our world would be thrown into dark and anarchic chaos.
6. In this scenario of no money, gun owners will rule and they would likely to get what they need.
7. The streets would no longer be safe. You’d have a high chance of being ambushed, and anything worth taking would likely already be under armed watch.
8. Humans would establish stationary communities in fortified positions. They may send teams out to raid nearby communities or to establish partnerships with neighbours.
9. We have to re-establish the barter system.
10. Early civilization had fewer commodities, making fair trade easier. But since we’re used to so many different goods and services, it might be difficult to establish a proper exchange rate.
11. Without money, there will be a big opportunity to restructure our society.
12. Without money, we might learn to be comfortable with less. We might enjoy working freely for a greater good.

Of course, a better world doesn’t have to be a ‘What If’ scenario. Through trade, we’ve learned to cooperate, and when hard work pays off, we’re encouraged to innovate.

The challenge, then, is to improve upon the existing system and to empower more people within it.