I have heard about it in a text book as a way of life "back when." I can only relate to trading my entire baseball card collection for a Dynamo bike. (That is a stunt bike). Yet, the idea does have promise... What would it be like to barter now, in today's world?
Well, consider the world as you know it. Everything requires cash. Even cash is not accepted in some areas - where electronic funds or plastic are required. You purchase a house, you must have the money - or have someone with money to pay for you. Then you pay them money for the money they paid you to pay someone else. Well - it's the truth. The same applies to most major purchases. So, in light of breaking it down to smaller level because no one that I know has $100,000 to toss around, what about going to the grocery (or grocery store, depending on what part of the country you are from)? When you want to purchase meals for your family to eat, or foods to prepare the meal, cash is tendered to the store of choice. Now, try to follow me as I paint outside the box...
The item you purchased... Let us say that it is a can of soup. What ingredients are in the soup? What about the can? Label? As I break down each item below, I will take a look at it from a high view. Granted, I do not know the entire process per item, but am simply trying to paint a picture. Each portion of the process adds money, which will later lead to the topic sentence that I laid out to write this.
The Label: Pre printed from a supplier of materials to the company making the soup. The soup company buys from the material supplier and incorporates into the cost model, or cost to make the product. The material supplier creates fees or cost of making the label based on the inks and paper (more than likely two separate companies), which are purchased from another company who then pays his or her employees (X's 2 remember we are looking at paper
and ink)
The Can: Purchased from a supplier of materials to the company making the soup. The soup company buys from the material supplier and incorporates into the cost model, or cost to make the product. Let's just assume that that can material is purchased material and Jim Bob's Ore company makes some money and pays his/her employees.
Now look at each of the other items. The above two were merely to get you thinking. What about the meats? Further processed by the soup maker from the "ready to eat" company which may or may not be the slaughter facility... Each of these has employees. Many of the other companies involved have multiple materials - but look at the salt, corn syrup, hydrogenized... and every other word you cannot say. There are SEVERAL other material suppliers involved. Not one supplies all of them, but some many supply more than one. Each of these companies has to pay the bottom line. Which means that a cost is instituted, and passed on to the next person or company until it gets to you who pay for each part of the processes.
Now, where the heck am I going with all of this? I have had, for some time, a fetish for bartering. Most PC's that I work on have bartered fee's. The websites that I have done, are based on some form of barter.
Barter is by definition, is
to exchange goods or services in return for other goods or services. Many cultures still do this by trading handmade garments or livestock for other items. Some of the more civilized versions used currency or notes to indicate what was owed. Still, I do not think it has to be that complex. I think the simply beauty of having your own items to give in exchange for something else is amazing. Part of this thought process comes from a movie, a documentary, called Commune. Granted that I do not agree with many things in the movie - there are some great truths to the governance of life. The idea to farm and make your own produce. Why would you need to go to a store to purchase "organtic?" You would be aware of every additive to your process. You would not have to work to go to the store to purchase a can of soup which has hundreds to thousand of people involved. You would have made it. Not to mention that the time you spent away from home to get that money so the company you worked for could make profits... Or the sales tax on the money you worked for so that other people can perform their jobs...
Look... this subject could go on and on. I could break it down to taxes, the complex part of the processes such as companies involved, lack of family togetherness (working outside the home) or simply enjoyment of working a good days work, making your own living and being rewarded from that. The simplicity of life without the media selling you things or even being a part of your life. The community being a large "farmer's market" where you trade goods for goods or services. Simply put we've made things way too difficult.
Bring barter back. Visit the FaceBook Fan Page here.
Soup Image retrieved from http://www.thesneeze.com/art/loose_art/hobo.jpg, on 02.16.10
Labor Certificate retrieved from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/LaborNote.JPG on 02.16.10
Circle of Trade retrieved from http://www.artistsurvivalskills.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/barter-thumb.gif on 02.16.10
BarterQuest is a cashless trading site. A trade occurs when a user makes an offer (or counter offer), another user accepts the offer, and the first user confirms the trade. (In the case of a MultiParty trade involving three or more users, the trade is automatically confirmed when all parties have accepted.) The following explains how to use our site.
