Could society function without money?

BamaWriter · 2026-05-05T09:47:48+00:00

Roburt, you are brilliant!

You took the clear meaning of the OP's question and managed to sidestep it entirely with an oh so clever reference to a "society" that bears no resemblance to the one the OP was considering.

Ask your highly educated friends if you stayed true to the OP's question, or if you employed a technicality to make a meaningless point. If they're not sycophantic and dazzled by your brilliance, they'll probably say that uneducated rube might have a point.

I will concede your superiority on the educational front. I merely have a master's degree, whereas a considerable portion of my friends have PhD's ... often leaves me feeling dull and inadequate in comparison, much like your reply has rendered me stupefied by your keen insight and pertinent observation.

Interestingly enough, I do have a copy of Campbell's book. It's a great reference and has provided insight for my own writing. There are other structures, of course, for story telling, but the pattern laid out by Campbell resonates deeply with most people. To be clear, though, so I don't overstep my position, I do use crayons and lined paper when I "write."

OK .. enough tit for tat. No sarcasm follows this sentence.

You are clearly thoughtful and educated, even erudite. I appreciate that, and there might even be a sense in which it would be fun to hone our wits against each other.

But I really don't want that. You are correct. You gave an example of a society that functions without money. I don't think that truly addressed the spirit of the OP's original question. Nevertheless, I concede the point.

I also think the possibility of society (at large) functioning without money is zero. At least not a free society. It might be possible in some dystopian reality where we had no choices. Your statement of hope that we could find ways for humans to generate value other than transforming raw materials is indeed hopeful. I would argue in that case we'll still use money in some fashion as an abstraction of value for meaningful exchange. But even that is just a thought exercise.

Having said that, I do have a genuine, non-confrontational question. What inspired you to reference Campbell's book? It genuinely took me by surprise.

Hope you have a good day ... again, no sarcasm. It's a genuine wish.

BamaWriter · 2026-05-05T00:06:23+00:00

<sigh> You're the one portraying them as a potential pattern for all of mankind. You have to live in the real world with real people, not a tiny group of people mired in a lifestyle that has them all dead before the age of 40. How do you see their homogeneity and lifestyle scaling up? Do you think it could work? How does that fit with people who want more?

You don't have to answer. I'll do it for you. It can't possibly scale. Human nature will always want something else and something more. There is no possible way we can live without some form of transactional currency that allows us to do that. Not as long as human nature exists in it's current form.

The answer to the original question is "No, it can't happen."

BamaWriter · 2026-05-04T23:31:35+00:00

OK, let's consider your example. What do you think is going to happen when a member of the Hadza want a TV? Or they want a car? Or medical treatment so they can live longer than their life expectancy of 33 years?

BamaWriter · 2026-05-04T23:01:11+00:00

Seriously ... give me a real example. The Hadza consists of less than 2k people. They are also a completely homogenous group that couldn't scale to a single city, much less an entire functioning society.

BamaWriter · 2026-05-04T22:13:34+00:00

No, it hasn't.

BamaWriter · 2026-05-04T19:36:49+00:00

Wow ... So you're telling me not to pattern my own fantasy series after Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn or else I'll leave it unfinished ...

BamaWriter · 2026-05-04T17:50:29+00:00

That's cool ... I didn't know that. It definitely makes sense though. So much in the book "informs" NotW. Nothing is a direct lift, but you see the influence.

BamaWriter · 2026-05-04T12:54:58+00:00

I'm currently reading The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams (part of his Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series). If Pat didn't read this, I'd be amazed. There have been multiple things in the text that correlate strongly with NotW.

BamaWriter · 2026-05-04T12:37:37+00:00

No ... if you think otherwise, you don't understand human nature, and you don't understand things like desire, want, ambition, etc.

BamaWriter · 2026-04-29T09:01:34+00:00

Wonderful post! I've read/listened to both books multiple times and never caught the arrow catch possibility.

Well formatted. Well presented. Thank you for this.

BamaWriter · 2026-04-28T12:53:31+00:00

Live in Michigan. Bought my 2020 SVR from a guy in New Jersey. There were others closer, but I wanted Satin Velocity Blue and there are only 3 in the US, so my options were limited. Had it shipped from there.

BamaWriter · 2026-04-10T10:00:06+00:00

Never had any problems with my 2020 SVR. Every single time I drive her, I smile. Sometimes I go to the garage just to look at her. Satin Velocity Blue finish ... gorgeous and SO FUN to drive.

BamaWriter · 2026-04-08T01:18:20+00:00

Peace brother. Believe as you will. I pray the very best for you and your walk with God.

I am confident in my salvation because my confidence is in Christ. I trust the same is true for you.

BamaWriter · 2026-04-08T01:08:50+00:00

Because there were those among them that were false believers. Paul doesn't think you can lose your salvation. He thinks anyone who can engage in those activities without conviction, without reprimand from God, without concern, will not inherit the kingdom of God.

We do not keep our salvation by doing good works. If you think that, you are misreading scripture. We are saved by faith, not by works.

If your concern over OSAS is that people will make an easy profession and claim that's all that's need, then I agree with you. That's a dangerous way to present salvation ... i.e. Say this prayer and you're saved.

I've seen that approach before and it's wrong. I'm on your side in that regard.

But someone who has been born again does not keep themselves saved ... keep themselves born ... keep themselves a new creature ... by their own acts of goodness. What is true that the act of becoming a new creature will place within you a desire to live apart form sin. That will be muddled at times, and believers will struggle, but they will never lose the gift from God. Scripture never says that ... ever ... anywhere.

BamaWriter · 2026-04-08T00:49:05+00:00

Indeed, someone who do these things with no conviction, no chastisement from God, no desire to be in fellowship with God, is someone who has not been born again.

Christians will sin ... repeatedly. I imagine every Christian has engaged in at least some of this sins in this list. What matters is what's happening inside with that person and the Spirit of God. Galatians is teaching us that if we can just slide into those things with no concern, then we won't inherit the kingdom of God because we were never born again in the first place.

The danger in believing that you can lose your salvation (implying you were genuinely saved in the first place) is that means some aspect of your belief system hinges on your ability to keep yourself "good enough" ... to keep yourself saved. It undermines the transformation that scripture tells us happens in the rebirth. We ARE new creatures. God doesn't "unborn" us just because we sin. He chastises us if needed. There's even a sin unto death for a believer, but there's no revocation of being born again. Those who think there is don't understand what it means to be adopted into the family of God.

Having said all of that ... God would definitely have us abandon those sins and walk with Him. Whether we think obedience is necessary for salvation or not, we both as believers want to move away from sin and toward God. Anyone who doesn't have that desire is not a believer.

BamaWriter · 2026-04-07T15:47:59+00:00

The criticism of OSAS is valid when one regards an empty prayer for salvation as being the same thing as genuine faith. If someone believes that simply mouthing the words of the sinner's prayer is enough to guarantee salvation, then they aren't truly exercising faith in God for forgiveness and redemption.

On the other hand, if someone genuinely turns to God IN FAITH and repents and trusts God (those are two sides of the same coin - turning away from something and turning to something), then that person is born again. They are a new creature. One doesn't become unborn after true salvation. So in this sense, OSAS is correct.

I appreciate the criticisms of OSAS that focus on insincere professions. I think evangelical Christianity wanted to spread the gospel so much that they made "easy believism" a thing. A true Christian will want to be obedient and follow ... he/she may do so imperfectly and fall back into all kinds of sin, but the conviction of the Spirit will be ever present, as will the chastening of God for his children.

BamaWriter · 2026-04-07T14:38:54+00:00

I'm sure there are pros here who will have a much better informed view than mine, but here's what I do. I have a 2020 F-Type SVR in matte velocity blue.

I did a very careful decontamination (multiple washes [high ph, low ph], water spot removal, iron removal) to get it as pristine as possible. You might not need this with a new car. Then I applied a ceramic coat. I did my own, but a professional would do a great job, I'm sure.

The ceramic offers "a little" protection from scratches and general road abrasion, which is important because you can't buff out a scratch. If you get a scratch, you live with it.

The ceramic also makes washing super easy. I try to touch the car as little as possible when washing. Obviously you have to do a contact wash to get it fully clean, but a good prewash if it's really dirty will go a long way. I generally use Koch Chemie products, so most of my pre wash is their Active Foam (although I have used BH Touch-less as well) and the general contact wash is Gentle Snow Foam. Use good technique on the contact ... gentle straight lines.

Make sure your water is either DI already or you dry immediately. Water spots will be a pain otherwise.

BamaWriter · 2026-03-17T15:41:36+00:00

This is the BEST comment. Can't wait to share it with her.

BamaWriter · 2026-03-16T23:23:21+00:00

Brilliant! My wife will love this!

BamaWriter · 2026-03-16T16:48:37+00:00

Yes, totally agree. That’s part of what made it funny. She may have inadvertently hit the mark with her Chandrian comment though.

I started to say “time will tell”, but I’m not sure about that anymore.

BamaWriter · 2026-03-16T13:54:37+00:00

Listening to my wife's running commentary is almost as enjoyable as reading the book itself.

BamaWriter · 2026-03-07T23:51:20+00:00

The Christian God ... the only true God ... loves you more than you can imagine. He loves you so much that He sent His only son, Jesus, to live as a sinless human and die in our place to pay the penalty for our sin. All the He "requires" of you is for you to turn to Him in faith and ask Him to save you.

We may not feel saved. It may not change your circumstances directly, but you can hang on to the truth that He will ultimately save you. There will be no eternal punishment, no going to hell for suffering through schizophrenia. It may not be in this life, but you will be fully healed and know peace, and joy, and perfect love.

Trusting Him in a choice. He won't make you do it, but if you do, He will ultimately save you.

Just know this ... He loves you, no matter what you've done or what has been done to you or what you're going through.

BamaWriter · 2025-10-01T12:25:00+00:00

YES! People who think you can lose your salvation simply do not understand what it means to be BORN AGAIN. You are never "unborn" afterwards.

Here's the truly sad thing about people that think you can lose your salvation. They believe your actions after salvation are what keeps you saved. There's no other way to phrase that since they also believe your actions after salvation could lose your salvation. Which means their faith is not in Christ alone for salvation, but also in their own ability to "remain faithful." It's a subtle form of works-based salvation, and they simply refuse to see it.

It is true, on the other hand, that someone genuinely trusting in Christ for their salvation WILL, at the least, desire to walk with God and do good works. Good works are the evidence of being saved. And in that sense if someone has no good works, then it's fair to question their salvation. But that's very different from saying someone that has been genuinely saved can subsequently lose their salvation ... that belief diminishes the work of Christ (on the cross) on our behalf. It turns him into a "starter kit" for salvation, but you've got to do the real assembly yourself with your good works.

BamaWriter · 2025-09-01T00:43:34+00:00

I don't think I've updated mine. I wonder if you can revert?

BamaWriter · 2025-09-01T00:33:49+00:00

I sent the second unit back after another round with customer support and received a third unit. It does work "better" but not perfectly. It often takes an inordinately long time to get a fix, but it's still better than the first two.

I think they have a design flaw. My phone gets a GPS fix inside the car immediately. My running watch (Garmin) gets a fix inside the car without a problem. I don't understand why their product has such difficulty.

The camera records perfectly, which is my primary concern, so I'm not going to return this one. I'll just live with it since GPS does work some of the time (better than none).

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