[Serial No.8-2]Chapter 3. 2. An Experiment in an Economy without Money Intervention（Part 2）
Creating the Next Society - Part 8-2
Toward a society where people can live gently and without conflict
Masashi Ono, ScienZ Institute, Inc.
Chapter 3. 2. An Experiment in an Economy without Money Intervention（Part 2）
Possession is a human idea that the owners do not allow others to use his or her things freely. It is a social system, in which one can use a thing with the owner's permission, but is punished for using it without the owner's approval. In other words, once one person owns an object, the rest of the world cannot freely use that object without that person's permission. In today's society, people all over the world are trying to expand their ownership, so no matter how abundant things become, there are few things that can be used freely except for the things one owns.
In such a society, the only way to use things freely is to own them in a self-protective manner. In such a negative cycle, we seem to be strangling each other and suffering. If we leave the idea and social system of ownership alone, trying to achieve more freedom and affluence, it will be no different from trying to do so in a prison of bondage.
In the As One Suzuka community, an innovative economy has been operating; that has escaped from the fiction created by human. In other words, an economy is being operated according to the human nature, i.e., without exchange, without possession, without reward, and without money.
It is important to make things rich, of course, but it is also important to have a system and operation that everyone can obtain freely. At present, I think there is a strong economic concept that each individual has to earn and live separately. However, we do not have to work hard individually. We can all enrich society and live in peace with its blessings, so that we can live a unique life, fulfilled both physically and mentally.
The Suzuka community members live in an ordinary town, each building or renting a house, flat or condominium, so it looks like the lives of separate families, but the community has become like a 'home' and there are more than 70 people who live in 'one household' with no separation. It is an economy where goods, services and money (wages, household income and property) are freely utilised by each other.
Because they are a very tight-knit family, free from fiction, it is very natural that there is no money involved and that money can be freely and flexibly shared with each other. If you are in a close family relationship, it is normal not only for family members not to transact money within the family, but also for money to freely and flexibly flow between them, isn't it? It means that many people have such close family relationships.
To ensure the smooth flow of 'one family budget', there is a system of community HUBs. It is a place where people can openly and freely discuss all aspects of their lives, including work, housing, education, health, family, taxes, health, money and even psychological matters.
They professionally help each family to understand their financial situation and take care of procedural paperwork and administrative tasks, so that each person can focus on their own area of work without the hassle of worrying about the family finances.
I also live in the As One Suzuka community, but I don't usually carry a wallet.
The act of giving is not limited to goods, but extends to wisdom, skills and abilities.
People's acts do not require a favor or reward in return. There is no need to exchange a person's act for money. All the work comes from the person's willingness to do it. It is an act or gift from the person's heart.
People who have skills, such as hairdressers, repair and maintenance of cars and bicycles, repair of household appliances and installation of air-conditioners, give the best of what they have.
In addition, people who are good at what they do can easily take on tasks that are too much for amateurs or people who are not good at them, such as buying and supporting computers, houses, land, appliances and cars, and arranging travel and moving.
It is a joyful chain of satisfaction for both the person who does it and the person who gives it.
In a close, friendly relationship, there is no need to worry about money. One after another, a system is created in which necessary goods, whether cars, home appliances, books or clothes, flow to the necessary people.
In a rural city like Suzuka, many households have two or three cars per house. However, In the As One community, the number of cars is very low.
For people are closer than family members, and lots of such people live in neighborhoods. Their workplaces are close by and they rarely need to go shopping because of the community space Joy and the family dining system. Some cars are used exclusively by the person and some are used by people from different members as car shares.
I don't have a car in my name either, but I have a car that suits my needs; a car for when I go far away, a car that suits my needs when I carry luggage, or a larger, clean car when I pick up people, etc. I live in a lifestyle where I am provided with and allowed to use a car that suits my needs. When a close relationship is achieved, a good ecological and economical lifestyle is achieved with ease and simplicity.
Many people say, "I love it! I want to bring JOY back home!" I want to create JOY in my community too." when they visit As One Community, But it doesn't work if you try to imitate the form. The key is familiarity before form.
To achieve that, it is necessary to be aware of and release the fixed fictions of possessions of households, exchanges and rewards; that disturb the closeness, isn't it?
If you try to imitate the form, you may find that you are bound in the opposite direction, as you should not own anything, and this can be crippling.
A world free from fixed fictions is an inherently free world. It also means a relationship where people can talk to each other about anything.
It means that once you have really close relationships and can talk about anything, a world that does not need money is easy to create.
More proof than argument! Come and see our attempt at an economy without money!
Toward a society where people can live gently and without conflict
Masashi Ono, ScienZ Institute, Inc.
Chapter 3. 2. An Experiment in an Economy without Money Intervention（Part 2）
Possession is a human idea that the owners do not allow others to use his or her things freely. It is a social system, in which one can use a thing with the owner's permission, but is punished for using it without the owner's approval. In other words, once one person owns an object, the rest of the world cannot freely use that object without that person's permission. In today's society, people all over the world are trying to expand their ownership, so no matter how abundant things become, there are few things that can be used freely except for the things one owns.
In such a society, the only way to use things freely is to own them in a self-protective manner. In such a negative cycle, we seem to be strangling each other and suffering. If we leave the idea and social system of ownership alone, trying to achieve more freedom and affluence, it will be no different from trying to do so in a prison of bondage.
In the As One Suzuka community, an innovative economy has been operating; that has escaped from the fiction created by human. In other words, an economy is being operated according to the human nature, i.e., without exchange, without possession, without reward, and without money.
It is important to make things rich, of course, but it is also important to have a system and operation that everyone can obtain freely. At present, I think there is a strong economic concept that each individual has to earn and live separately. However, we do not have to work hard individually. We can all enrich society and live in peace with its blessings, so that we can live a unique life, fulfilled both physically and mentally.
The Suzuka community members live in an ordinary town, each building or renting a house, flat or condominium, so it looks like the lives of separate families, but the community has become like a 'home' and there are more than 70 people who live in 'one household' with no separation. It is an economy where goods, services and money (wages, household income and property) are freely utilised by each other.
Because they are a very tight-knit family, free from fiction, it is very natural that there is no money involved and that money can be freely and flexibly shared with each other. If you are in a close family relationship, it is normal not only for family members not to transact money within the family, but also for money to freely and flexibly flow between them, isn't it? It means that many people have such close family relationships.
To ensure the smooth flow of 'one family budget', there is a system of community HUBs. It is a place where people can openly and freely discuss all aspects of their lives, including work, housing, education, health, family, taxes, health, money and even psychological matters.
They professionally help each family to understand their financial situation and take care of procedural paperwork and administrative tasks, so that each person can focus on their own area of work without the hassle of worrying about the family finances.
I also live in the As One Suzuka community, but I don't usually carry a wallet.
The act of giving is not limited to goods, but extends to wisdom, skills and abilities.
People's acts do not require a favor or reward in return. There is no need to exchange a person's act for money. All the work comes from the person's willingness to do it. It is an act or gift from the person's heart.
People who have skills, such as hairdressers, repair and maintenance of cars and bicycles, repair of household appliances and installation of air-conditioners, give the best of what they have.
In addition, people who are good at what they do can easily take on tasks that are too much for amateurs or people who are not good at them, such as buying and supporting computers, houses, land, appliances and cars, and arranging travel and moving.
It is a joyful chain of satisfaction for both the person who does it and the person who gives it.
In a close, friendly relationship, there is no need to worry about money. One after another, a system is created in which necessary goods, whether cars, home appliances, books or clothes, flow to the necessary people.
In a rural city like Suzuka, many households have two or three cars per house. However, In the As One community, the number of cars is very low.
For people are closer than family members, and lots of such people live in neighborhoods. Their workplaces are close by and they rarely need to go shopping because of the community space Joy and the family dining system. Some cars are used exclusively by the person and some are used by people from different members as car shares.
I don't have a car in my name either, but I have a car that suits my needs; a car for when I go far away, a car that suits my needs when I carry luggage, or a larger, clean car when I pick up people, etc. I live in a lifestyle where I am provided with and allowed to use a car that suits my needs. When a close relationship is achieved, a good ecological and economical lifestyle is achieved with ease and simplicity.
Many people say, "I love it! I want to bring JOY back home!" I want to create JOY in my community too." when they visit As One Community, But it doesn't work if you try to imitate the form. The key is familiarity before form.
To achieve that, it is necessary to be aware of and release the fixed fictions of possessions of households, exchanges and rewards; that disturb the closeness, isn't it?
If you try to imitate the form, you may find that you are bound in the opposite direction, as you should not own anything, and this can be crippling.
A world free from fixed fictions is an inherently free world. It also means a relationship where people can talk to each other about anything.
It means that once you have really close relationships and can talk about anything, a world that does not need money is easy to create.
More proof than argument! Come and see our attempt at an economy without money!
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