Everything should be free. Really.

[MineralMan]

I mean why should anyone have to pay for anything? People should be happy to plant and grow food, build cars, erect residential dwellings, supply energy, and do all those other things without demanding to be paid to do the work.

Look at the news industry, for example, why isn't the news free for all to read, watch, and explore? I mean, how much can it cost to put a news story on the internet? A guy types it on his free computer from his free office in his free home and clicks Send and there it is. Couldn't be simpler.

We're just all too wrapped up in our greed for money. If everything was free, you wouldn't need any money, after all, right? Why should a new car cost thousands of dollars, really? If auto manufacturers built them and gave them away, it would be much better. People would gladly work in the factories to create cars for everyone, I'm sure. And the steel mills and foundries, and tire companies and everything like that. All free, thanks to the spirit of freedom.

Cars need fuel, of course, but why can't you just drive up to the pump and fill up without having to pay? If everything was free, the oil field workers, refinery workers, gas truck drivers and everyone else would be glad to make sure there was always gasoline to put into your free car, right?

Yes! Make everything free. Get rid of economic realities. Everyone will want to get on board that train, I'm sure, and the train ride is free, too, so no problem.

Sincerely,

Idealistic MineralManny

[yortsed snacilbuper]

1. I call it eerf,

that's free spelled backwards, my favorite things are eerf.

[MineralMan]

2. We can all move to Eerflandia.

[cilla4progress]

3. Love it.

And while we are at it: open borders. That's no borders ever, anywhere!

Won't need them if everything is free.

Imagine.

[MineralMan]

4. Sure. Why not?

We could also have an "Open Door" policy wherever we live. Need a place to crash? C'mon in!

[cilla4progress]

5. Hey -

sounds like the 60s! Crash pads.

You know what else was free back then? L-O-V-E! 🤣😍👍❤

[MineralMan]

6. Yeah, that was OK, but there were drawbacks to all that free love.

A guy could get a rash or something, but there was always a free clinic nearby, it seemed.

[cilla4progress]

7. Yeah.....

thanks for the giggles ....

[Lochloosa]

8. ....

[MineralMan]

11. Imagine, indeed...

[TreasonousBastard]

9. Stop it! I'm still trying to get my head around buying a $1000 iPhone to get free news.

[MineralMan]

10. iPhones should be free, too, see...

Why should Apple charge you for a cell phone? They don't even make it. It should be free, although I prefer my free Samsung A10e, really. My wife uses a free iPhone.

Everything should be free!

[Thekaspervote]

12. Yeah!! I'm headed out right now to get some free stuff... thx for giving me permission

[MineralMan]

14. LOL!

Drop by my place. I have all sorts of free stuff you can have. Yes, indeed. However, you must remove it from my property immediately.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

13. People believe they need money

Nobody replies to that,the inequality these rich people foist upon us. Paying less as products cost more.people are trapped in the world veiw where they are leashed in thier minds that a few have the right to extract from them in a slave like arrangement.
Truth is we do not need money,we don't need capitalism,we don't need
jobs bossess or ceo's to live our lives.
Fear of a life free from money comes from the conditions pushed upon kids from a very young age that jobs are needed,work for peanuts and grow old as your irreplaceable days in your life are extracted from your life serving a rich fuck who could care less about you or anyone elses quality of life.

Why do we become caught in such a terrible lie,called money. We put up with so much shit from these arrogant greedy assholes.The rich extractor is a parasite upon people and people are taught to play thier game, at very young ages and are afraid of losing everything.if they decide enough with this big Ponzi scheme called capitalism.

[MineralMan]

15. LOLOL!

You tell 'em!

I haven't worked at a W-2 job since 1974. I've been a freelance writer and have done a number of other things. One thing is certain, though: You do need money to survive in this particular society. How you get that money is a matter of some choice, though.

I'm guessing that you also live in the money economy. Where do you get yours? What are you using to post on DU? Where do you sleep? How do you get from one place to another? Now, maybe you're posting from a public library and you live on the street. I don't know, but I think it's unlikely.

[Garrett78]

16. Gift economies have existed and do exist. Money is a social construct with no intrinsic value.

That said, it's not going away anytime soon. But nothing is forever. David Graeber's Debt: The First 5000 Years is an interesting read.

Someone earlier in this thread mocked open borders, but there are actually some very strong arguments for open borders. And borders are actually a fairly recent construct.

[MineralMan]

17. References, please, to "gift economies"

On a major societal scale, of course. Not the Diggers or the Trobriand Islands.

[Garrett78]

18. I already mentioned Graeber's book.

And there's always Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gift_economy.

So, I guess it comes down to what you mean by "major." Are there nation states consisting of millions of people that don't use money? Of course not. But, just as "there is nothing natural, inevitable, or immutable about the nation-state," there's nothing that says societies must consist of X number of people.

Nothing is forever. Humans predate money and borders. And there's no guarantee humans won't outlive those things.

[keithbvadu2]

19. Everyone here gets our two cents' worth free.

Everyone here gets our two cents' worth free.