Thursday 25 August 2016

Sacred Economics


This week I’ve occasionally been prying my eyes away from the pages of Charles Eisentein’s 2011 book, Sacred Economics: Money, Gift and Societyin the Age of Transition.  There are so many well-articulated thoughts in the book that I’ll need some time to absorb them, so this post will consist mostly of quotes lifted straight from the text.  I’ve nothing else to add but the “of course!” sensation that lights my mind on almost every page, that feeling you get when a book falls off the shelf and into your hands at exactly the right time, one of life’s strangest little pleasures.

The first section of the book concerns the “gift economy”, a provocatively (oxymoronic?) phrase I’ve always liked the sound of but never properly explored.  According to Eisenstein, we can only begin to construct a solution to our current crisis once we accept the that the “axioms of rational self-interest” on which modern economics is based were never really axiomatic at all.  This might seem obvious to anyone with a healthy, lefty scepticism of capitalism as an ideology: we should, by now, have moved well beyond the notion of “homo economicus” – the fully independent Cartestian self, acting only in his rational self-interest in a world of “resources” separated from us, a world of other essentially identical (and interchangeable) individuals.  But have we?  To what extent have we ever adequately challenged this economic ontology?  For Eisenstein, we need to look way back before the Enlightenment and into our hunter-gatherer past, out of which “the first money appeared in the first agricultural civilizations that developed beyond the Neolithic village”.  For all its remarkable achievements, money is in fact the cause of as many problems as it solves.  Primarily, it is the instrument of our separation: from nature, from ourselves, from the land beneath us.  Money did not replace the barter system, as generally supposed, but a system of mutual co-operation based on the cyclical nature of the gift.  We give to one another because we have received: not merely out of an expectation of gaining something for ourselves, but out of gratitude for what is already held in common.  Unfortunately:

“Primal though it is, gratitude and the generosity flowing from it coexist with other, less savory , aspects of human nature.  While I believe in the fundamental divinity of human beings, I also recognise that we have embarked on a long sojourn of separation from that divinity, and created a world in which ruthless sociopaths rise to wealth and power.  This book doesn’t pretend such people don’t exist, nor that such tendencies don’t exist in everyone.  Rather, it seeks to awake the spirit of the gift that is latent within us, and to construct institutions that embody and encourage that spirit.  Today’s economic system rewards selfishness and greed.  What would an economic system look like that, like some ancient cultures, rewarded generosity instead?”
“Our culture’s notion of spirit is that of something separate and nonworldly, that yet can miraculously intervene in material affairs, and that even animates and directs them in some mysterious way.  It is hugely ironic and hugely significant that the one thing on the planet most closely resembling the forgoing conception of the divine is money.  It is an invisible, immortal force that surrounds and steers all things, omnipotent and limitless, an “invisible hand” that, it is said, makes the world go ‘round.  Yet, money today is an abstraction, at most symbols on a piece of paper but usually mere bits in a computer.  It exists in a realm far removed from materiality”.

The gift, on the other hand, is essential material.  As such, it could be the basis of economics in ancient societies, small and intimate enough for the giver and the receiver to exist not merely as individuals but as persons for each other, related through community ties in every instance.  It is to this understanding of economics that we need to return, says Eisenstien, and I could not agree more.

“The next stage of human economy will parallel what we are beginning to understand about nature.  It will call forth the gifts of each of us; it will emphasise cooperation over competition; it will encourage circulation over hoarding; and it will be cyclical, not linear.  Money may not disappear anytime soon, but it will serve a diminished role even as it takes on more of the properties of the gift.  The economy will shrink, and our lives will grow”.

Later chapters explore this insight and its implications for various, apparently sacrosanct notions – most of all, perhaps more familiar to traditional leftists, but no less uncomfortable to question – private property.  I’m still working my way through these chapters, and on into the more technical aspects of economics I used to run screaming from but can’t – ahem – afford to any more.  For now, let’s just consider this, from page ninety-four:

“Nearly every good and service available today meets needs that were once met for free”. 

Related posts

Good Things are H|appening
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"I have everything I need"

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Friday 19 August 2016

Freedom, Work and Boredom (Some Disparate Thoughts)


I’m bored.  Every child’s complaint, from lack of stimulation, or just the frustration of having to wait for the next gratification of whatever fleeting whim.  Are we nearly there yet?  You want, and you want it now, whatever it is.  Try to think of a time when you didn’t want anything.  Can you?  Kurt Vonnegut said that every character in a story has to want something, even if it’s only a glass of water.  You’re a character in a story.  You might not be writing it, but you want something.  Right now, you almost certainly want something.  What is it?  Why?

Boredom isn’t quite like wanting something.  It’s different.  I’m bored, as I said, and what I mean by that is something I can’t really articulate.  That seems to be in the nature of boredom, in fact.  Boredom is transcendent.  It’s almost…metaphysical.  Don’t be scared of these words, we’re going to need them.  Boredom isn’t wanting something; it’s more like wanting to want something.  It’s not knowing what to want.  It’s the feeling that you should want something, and if only you could work out what that was, it wouldn’t be so bad.  You could concentrate on that, and that at least would be something to do. Close relative of boredom is despair.  The feeling of having nothing to do, when indulged, over-analysed, leads you on down the path to feeling that nothing is worth doing.  What if I just stayed in bed all day?  Boredom is the event horizon of the abyss.  You know the abyss – the one you'll get into a staring competition with if you don’t stop boring at it.  Don’t get yourself spaghetti-fied.

What’s the point?  Every intelligent person asks this question.  (I think, maybe, that a genius is someone who asks it a little too much).  We need things to do, if for no other reason than to avoid having to think about why anything is worth doing at all.  “All men’s miseries derive from not being able to sit in a quiet room alone”, said Pascal (who, irrelevantly, died at the age of only 39).

In a world where our material needs can be met more immediately all the time, every minute saved meeting them is susceptible to boredom.  Our hunting-and-gathering ancestors didn’t get bored.  No time for boredom when every day is a struggle to survive.  Frightening though that may well have been, it must have been exciting too.  Perhaps this is what makes supermarkets some of the most boring places on earth.  The weekly food shop will never compare to flooring a mammoth with your own-made spear.

Work can fill the void.  Millions of us work at jobs we know are probably pointless, could just as well be performed by a robot, and which very soon probably will be.  But if the alternative is “unemployment” (and by implication, boredom) then most of us would rather get paid for being bored for eight hours a day than have the freedom to fight for our survival outside the economy twenty-four-seven.  “Freedom” and “boredom” don’t rhyme only by coincidence.

It’s easy to dismiss the office drones, the checkout assistants, the call centre operatives, the amazon warehouse workers of the world as boring, as “sheeple", as pathetic slaves to monotony, preferring a quiet life of relative ease to the uneasy life of uncertain, inspirational poverty - not the poverty of today, about which there is nothing inspirational, but the poverty of tomorrow - the poverty of imagination that will blossom as material needs vanish into the background hum of our techno-utopias.  But can we really blame them?  We just don't know how soon the future will arrive.

So from that perspective, perhaps I am inordinately brave; I and others like me who are choosing unemployment and a higher degree of poverty than is really necessary.  Perhaps not, of course.  I spend a lot of time these days just sitting on my arse.  Staring into the abyss.  I really can't help myself.  I don't think the abyss has started staring into me just yet, but you have to be patient.  Maybe I need to do more to attract its attention.  Maybe I'm just too boring.

Related posts

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Friday 12 August 2016

Nuts and Bolts


I'm pleased to report that I've found myself somewhere else to live.  It's a one bedroom flat in Bury and the rent is only £350 a month.  This is a big deal because I'm paying £675 a month to live in Manchester City Centre now.  So I'm calling this a win.

I also got myself some temporary work, by accident.  If you've never worked in the health and social care sector, it might be unsettling to learn how easy it is to get a job working with vulnerable people.  Last week I bit the proverbial bullet and still accepted I've some way to go before I can live the money-free life I want, and registered on some job search websites.  Less than a day later I got an email from a manager asking if I wanted some work.  She has a small organisation that cares for 16-18 year olds in supported accommodation, would I be interested in working in one of them?  Well, not really, but it's something worth doing and something I have some relevant experience with, so whatever.  Do I have a current DBS?  Yes, I do.  One five minute "interview" later, in which I did probably about 10% of the talking, and I'm on the rota.  It's more or less minimum wage stuff, but it'll pay the (soon to be considerably lower) bills.

A "DBS", by the way is a certificate from the national "Disclosure and Barring Service" that verifies any criminal convictions, reprimands or warnings you may have, if any.  I have none, and my DBS proves it.  It's required for anyone working in the care sector in just about any capacity, for pretty obvious reasons.  One thing it doesn't prove of course, is whether you're any good at caring for vulnerable people.  This is why it's probably a good idea for care organisations to have a more rigorous recruitment process.  However, many of them don't, and as far as I can tell there seems to be no legal requirement for them to do so.  The joys of a semi-privatised social care system and a crumbling National Health Service, I suppose.  (Vote Corbyn).  What this means is that anyone with no actual experience of caring for and supporting others can more or less walk straight into a job doing exactly that, provided they haven't been caught breaking the law yet.  It's a fairly low standard to hold the people who help some of the most vulnerable in our society to, I think you'll agree.  I happen to have ten years experience in this area, so know one or two things about it, but has my employment history even been checked?  Have I been asked for references?  No.  I may be biased, but I've always had the inclination that the paid carers in our society deserve a little more than minimum wage for doing what they do.  In contrast with, say, the people who are paid hundreds of thousands a week for kicking a football around or lip syncing to ABBA songs on television.  So it goes.  

My first shift is next week.  I'll have to see how few I can get by on in order to make ends meet, which may take a month or so of experimentation.  Still, it's a positive step and I'm feeling quite good about it.  The new flat doesn't look too shabby, either. 

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Monday 8 August 2016

The Cost of Living: July 2016


When I started this blog six months ago as a way to get some kind of handle on my new life, most of my thoughts concerned money and how I might get to a place where I could live without it.  I knew that earning money wasn't something I wanted to spend my time doing, and I knew that given the choice between earning money and having time, I would always choose time.  For those lucky enough to earn money by doing something they would do anyway, something they loved, I understood that there is no need for such a choice.  I knew that I wasn't so lucky, and that I had this in common with probably most other people in the world.  I wondered how happy all the others were, giving over their time to work they had no passion for.  I wondered how many people had no passion at all.  I wondered if I might be such a person.

Certainly when I come across the platitudinous gibberish that passes these days for inspiration - the memes about "living your dream" and "being yourself", "waking up", nothing comes to mind.  I am crippled by the sense that all of this is almost certainly another aspect of the inescapable spectacle that is life in post-everything consumer capitalist society.  Last week I read Terry Eagleton's review of a new book called "The Happiness Industry" by William Davis, which touched upon the problem:
"What matters in the narcissistic world of late capitalism is not what you think or do but how you feel. And since how you feel can’t be argued against, it is conveniently insulated from all debate. Men and women can now stroll around in continuous self-monitoring mode, using apps to track their changes of mood. The brutal, domineering ego of an older style of capitalism has given way to the tender self-obsession of the new. One of the few pieces of good news is that mindfulness can apparently drive you mad"
I gave up working full time to find a way to live a more joyful life.  I thought that by keeping track of my spending I could tear myself away from a preoccupation with money.  I was naive to think this would be easy.  I have become preoccupied with not being preoccupied.  Here are this month's numbers:


OUTGOINGS
Food: £83.85
Postage/ebay costs: £6.27
Rent: £750 (£675 + £75 arrears)
Mobile/internet: £100.44
Council Tax: £84
Electric bill: £159.74
Alcohol: £35.78
Other: £133.97
Total outgoings: £1354.04

INCOME
Income from work: £739.09
amazon/ebay selling: £59.12
Other: £17.53 (refunds)
Total income:  £815.74

BALANCE:  -£538.31


Previous 'cost of living' posts have been followed by some comments on how and why I spent my money in the way I did, and how I might go about doing better next month.  There is some virtue in this, but it has become stifling.  I have nothing to say about this month's numbers that is of any interest: they are what they are.  The only important point to learn is that I can't afford to go on living as I am now.  This is something I knew already, but I suppose there is some value in living that knowledge.  The timing of all this works out fairly well, as there's only one month left now before I have to move out of my flat, and this month I think I'm going to have to start dipping into my savings to make ends meet.


Related posts

The Cost of Living: June 2016
The Cost of Living: May 2016
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