"If we go into that realm where FEAR has to wait outside..."

This is the key isn't it? The corporatocracy wants us to stay fearful. The accompanying stress keeps our creative imaginations stunted.

This and a steady diet of materialism via information overload, a gradual dumbing-down of the masses through a willful de-funding of our public education system, tax payer dollars gifted to faith-based organizations (another Bush era Constitutional-gaffe that Brand O has yet to rectify), 24-hour infotainment disguised as 'news', and American Culture (Way-of-Life) does indeed become an oxymoron.

I reacted negatively to the "massage therapy" part--a little loosey-goosey and what everybody thinks of to discredit alternative economic initiatives. That said, I support efforts at building economies outside the system. Note the use of plural. Monolithic economic systems don't have a great track record in terms of human rights or even fulfilling human needs. While we build new economic entities, we need to pressure those commandeering vast social value for purposes of trinkets and wars and liberate as much value as we can as cash. In the near term, most of us live in the capitalist cash economy with at least a few opportunities to put a least a toe into a different kind of economy--coops, alternative currency networks, gift economy. There's a role for both alternative economics and mass economic struggle.

Well, it's a nice idea, and perhaps it has some limited usefulness. Once upon a time, commerce used to kinda, sorta be this way. Trouble is, how do you keep track of, for example, fractional massages? For example, one massage may be worth about $50. Not every purchase you make is exactly equal to one "Massage Note."
Before Congress standardized U.S. currency in 1861, there were more than a thousand different kinds of money floating around (and a lot of it was counterfeit or worthless). I don't have a problem with the particular unit of currency, whether it's a Gold Certificate, Federal Reserve Note, Massage Note, or whatever. My two problems are (1) I'm having to give more massages for the same amount of goods and services, and (2) I don't offer massages anyway; my skills are useful only in a product-development test-lab environment. That implies receiving monetary compensation. I really don't want my boss to give me massages or mow my lawn or whatever.
However, I definitely agree that, along with getting money out of politics, we need to get politics out of our monetary system.

Consider electricity as an alternate form of money. Electricity is a primary societal need. Everybody is wired to electricity. To not have electricity would severely disrupt society. The intrinsic value of an electrical unit, measured in kilowatts, is uniform and measurable. One root of all comparative valuation could be a kilowatt.

http://theformofmoney.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2007/6/21/3015861.html

This is a positive decentralized effort that works for some people. Attempting to apply one idea to everyone would be wrong headed. Widespread experimentation in new lifeways that make sense in this world of climate change that enables more sustainability is priceless. The decentralized nature of these new lifeways reflects the realities of life in different places and should be encouraged. If it works, use it. The new lifeways also allow the circumvention of greed and centralization. As we each change individually, communities change. As communities change, States and Nations change. These new lifeways are a bullwark against the uglyness of the change process. Don't worry, be happy, just do it!

Great concept! There is a strong movement in my community, and it is one of the reasons which I stay here despite being in one of the reddest states in the union.

As people have commented, there is no one size fits all which is in many ways the strength of the concept.

I have a couple of additional comments:

- Housing is a big hurdle in any alternative system. I love bartering, trading, and sharing abundance of materials - but I am unfortunately locked into a mortgage. As one commentor on this site (whose name escapes me) always points out, private property ownership is a gigantic stone around our necks. I have not figured out how to unchain that stone quite yet, and it keeps me and many others tied to the larger economy.

- In reponse to another comment that, "Not every purchase you make is exactly equal to one "Massage Note."" I believe at some point in time we need to consciously evolve past this way of thinking and move towards a community based way of living. Not necessarily commune living, but to the point of thinking that sometimes I will get full value for my massage, and sometimes I will not. But it doesn't matter and it will all work out in the long run because we will look out for each other and make sure we all have what we need. Keeping track of credit - be it $$ or massage notes - slides us back to the capitalistic way of thinking, and capitalism creates serfs, debt, and all other ways of keeping us in servitude (not to mention also capitalism kills). I truly believe the large majority of people are not looking to rip each other off, and in most cases agreeable terms can be met.

It's time for everybody to read, or re-read, the classic book "Walden Two" by B. F. Skinner.
Trylon

This is an excellent article that has many good ideals. But what she is talking about would be good if our current system would, say, completely collapse. This is basically a hard goods and services economy she's talking about. It is nothing new; it's the original economy of human beings.

In WWI,for example, money meant nothing to soldiers. It was hard goods. Do you have food, ciagrettes or liquor; ammunition or weapons. If you're a woman, you do for me and I'll do for you type thing. This is the most basic of economies. There's a great depiction of this in All Quiet on the Western Front.

The thing is we are in a very complex culture. The problem is our funds or efforts are mis-allocated into the hands of the few by the whole system-lock, stock and barrel. Basic human services should not be controlled by market forces. Housing, water, healthcare, food, education should all be available to the general public at regulated prices or for free. Market forces can still play a role in this society for non-essential items.

One example. The way housing is set up in the US is ineffective. Giving vouchers, having year-long waits and racial quotas. Taking tax payer money and throwing it down a rat hole. The government should build good, not cheap, housing for everyone. No questions asked;no paperwork. Many of the urban flat houses and hotels can be reburished at low cost. If you can't pay, it's free; but once you can, pay 25% of your earnings. You make $800; you pay $200, ect. This way the government could pay for it's own housing. People would be gladly putting money into the government for good affordable housing.

Take social security. The government ripped us off for 2.5 trillion. Now the government will have to spend another 2.5 tax dollars to meet the obligations of what it misappropriated, totally 5 trillion. If that money had been instead put in special low interest, private bank accounts instead, and lent out at low interest back to state and local governments, our infrastructive would be almost rebuilt and America would have it's retirement money.

But this wont happen, because the powers that be want it all...

Now this is the sort of discussion I always felt any site like CD should be used for, rather than simply crowing about the who, what and why behind how trapped everyone is feeling.

An honest exploration of alternative thinking about a specific brick in the load we all somehow have convinced ourselves we are required to carry? Go figure.

Thank you, and now, let's find some more. So what if it's been thought of before? Valid ideas need not always be original to be "fresh".

Tax-evasion in the 'massage economy'? Sounds like a disaster for those depending on the Obamacare subsidies. Making and having a reasonable amount of money makes the world go round. We all have to face that fact or face a life of limits. Most everyone gets to make a choice on how hard to strive or how much is enough...