LC1 Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 http://www.trueactivist.com/the-man-who-lives-without-money/ Inspirational or impractical? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahBell Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 http://www.trueactivist.com/the-man-who-lives-without-money/ Inspirational or impractical? Impractical for more than a handful of people. Unless someone's giving away 60M caravans on freecycle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19 year mortgage 8itch Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 So that's what happened to Durch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starla Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 http://www.trueactiv...-without-money/ Inspirational or impractical? A bit of both. I'd be interested to know what he's done with all his money. He had a successful career, is an established author and writes for the Gaurdian. Does he give it all away and stay true to his ethos or stash it away in case he gets bored of this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spaniard Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 More money, it seems, does not equate to more happiness. I suspect that servicing the consequent additional debt contributes much to the widespread unhappiness. Our rent-a-currency system provides ample opportunity for parasitic greedy sociopaths to control and exploit the rest of us, making our lives far harder and more stressful than would otherwise be the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19 year mortgage 8itch Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 Looks like he's been working out too. He looks good for a 64 year old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LC1 Posted October 23, 2013 Author Share Posted October 23, 2013 A bit of both. I'd be interested to know what he's done with all his money. He had a successful career, is an established author and writes for the Gaurdian. Does he give it all away and stay true to his ethos or stash it away in case he gets bored of this? Interesting question, plus he still works, so surely has an income? Odd. A good comment underneath the Guardian article: AkaSomethingElse28 October 2009 12:28pm 303 So who's paying for his mobile phone calls then? More seriously, the real question here is 'What would happen if we all did this?' It's true we waste way too much food, but that supply isn't sufficient to sustain our entire population, and would obviously disappear once we got this way of life up and running. Foraging isn't going to work; there simply isn't the supply & we'd rapidly strip the countryside bare. So we'd start growing our own crops; all well and good. But, it'd soon occur to us that rather than us all doing this, it would make much more sense if some of us concentrated on growing crops, while others tackled some of the other essential tasks (rounding up cuttlefish perhaps). We'd probably get by for a while bartering the results of our individual trades, but as the trades would inevitably multiply and become ever more specialised, we'd probably find we'd need a more convenient means to mediate the exchange of goods and services. So, back to money again. Bugger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swissy_fit Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 See the last few lines of the article.... His mates won't buy him an occasional pint now? Maybe he's a bit smelly. It sounds OK, I thought, except I like being warm, dry and clean at night, I doubt if this is always the case for him, I could only deal with that life if the land was mine and the home was a bit more permanent and comfortable. More interesting than competing to buy the latest gadget or fashion item, anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LC1 Posted October 23, 2013 Author Share Posted October 23, 2013 See the last few lines of the article.... His mates won't buy him an occasional pint now? Maybe he's a bit smelly. It sounds OK, I thought, except I like being warm, dry and clean at night, I doubt if this is always the case for him, I could only deal with that life if the land was mine and the home was a bit more permanent and comfortable. More interesting than competing to buy the latest gadget or fashion item, anyway. Yeah, I'd quite like to give it a crack, but I'd be investing some significant cash beforehand in making it comfortable - safe dry shelter, water purification kit, fuel stores etc. And you would need access to a sizeable chunk of wilderness for foraging - not easy to find within easy distance of civilisation also needed for the bartering/dumpster-diving side of things... (and for connecting to free wifi hotspots, obviously). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeDavola Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 Self-righteous tw@t. Like all 'hippies' nowadays, he probably has a huge pile of cash somewhere, either from mummy and daddy's trust fund, or in this case it would seem, a very lucrative career. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LC1 Posted October 23, 2013 Author Share Posted October 23, 2013 Self-righteous tw@t. I know what you mean. I doubt very much that he has surrendered all his worldly possessions. Tied up his capital in a bond that matures in a few years perhaps?! But the fact that he's rich enough to flirt with this kind of lifestyle wasn't lost on me either. EDIT: But maybe that's being unfair to him. Would be interesting to see if he's still doing the same in a few years... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hail the Tripod Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 I know what you mean. I doubt very much that he has surrendered all his worldly possessions. Tied up his capital in a bond that matures in a few years perhaps?! But the fact that he's rich enough to flirt with this kind of lifestyle wasn't lost on me either. EDIT: But maybe that's being unfair to him. Would be interesting to see if he's still doing the same in a few years... Yes, you cannot help feeling that if he had given away all his money it would have rated a mention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidg Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 Sounds a bit like me. I never have any money on me. On the rare times I want to buy anything I have to get the missus to pay for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erat_forte Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 He's probably seeking material for a book. Anyway, whose caravan is he sleeping in and on whose land is it? Rent free, can't be bad. It says he got the caravan on freecycle. I would say his lifestyle is better than most humans for most of human history. We get so used to our modern comforts that we forget how much of an aberration they are in the long term. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiveinHope Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 Quite a few living an alternative lifestyle on land Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happy_renting Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 http://www.trueactivist.com/the-man-who-lives-without-money/ Inspirational or impractical? impecunious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrashedOutAndBurned Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 Interesting question, plus he still works, so surely has an income? Odd. A good comment underneath the Guardian article: Thing is, though. Only a few people want to live like this. I have no idea why people spend lots of money on, say, Ikea furniture. It's cheap as chips on Gumtree and often pops up on Freecycle. In less than 15 years of living as an independent adult I've not spent more than a few hundred quid furnishing my homes - in total. I'm not sure I've bought any clothing in 2013 aside from some socks in Aldi. No car payment. £15 mobile package. Food is 15-20 at the fruit and veg stall stall a week, about £20-£25 same again in Aldi, and about a tenner averaged out in specialist food shops for a household of four! I use some wild greens and other foraged bits here and there. If I could do anything it'd be writing, reading, walking, riding my bike, seeing the countryside. A treat is catching up on some quality sleep. Cheap or free pursuits. Some people might have expensive tastes and hobbies but I just don't. If I won the lottery I could spend perhaps 5k on tat before I'd have no clue what else to buy. But I'm fully aware that a whole bunch if not all of the clients I work for depend on mindless consumerism to stay in business. So I'm a parasite of sorts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkie Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R K Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 He's answered his own question...... The world would mostly live in someone else's caravan, with no running water or sanitation, would sh1t in a hole in ground and dress like a tramp, whilst the 1% would live in Windsor Castle living high on the hog. It's kinda been done before.......... "If we grew our own food, we wouldn't waste a third of it today" That's nonsense - most people I know who grow their own food have to give it away 'cause they can't possibly eat it all. If everyone did it there would either be surpluses or people would starve. China/N Korea/Africa for example, depending on the vagaries of the weather. Still, if he's happy being a tramp good luck to him. edit: typo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Hovis Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 Thing is, though. Only a few people want to live like this. I have no idea why people spend lots of money on, say, Ikea furniture. It's cheap as chips on Gumtree and often pops up on Freecycle. In less than 15 years of living as an independent adult I've not spent more than a few hundred quid furnishing my homes - in total. I'm not sure I've bought any clothing in 2013 aside from some socks in Aldi. No car payment. £15 mobile package. Food is 15-20 at the fruit and veg stall stall a week, about £20-£25 same again in Aldi, and about a tenner averaged out in specialist food shops for a household of four! I use some wild greens and other foraged bits here and there. If I could do anything it'd be writing, reading, walking, riding my bike, seeing the countryside. A treat is catching up on some quality sleep. Cheap or free pursuits. Some people might have expensive tastes and hobbies but I just don't. If I won the lottery I could spend perhaps 5k on tat before I'd have no clue what else to buy. But I'm fully aware that a whole bunch if not all of the clients I work for depend on mindless consumerism to stay in business. So I'm a parasite of sorts. Snap! Are you me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNACR Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 Interesting if you're a degree educated, writer in the Guardian and all-round eco-w@nker it's a laudable and worthy rejection of, what's perceived as, society's warped values. If, you're not, you're a pikey. So you, seemingly have to be qualified, for this to be deemed a socially acceptable alternative lifestyle choice ergo it's subscribing to exactly the same type of values it's pretending to reject. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrPin Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 Snap! Are you me? The template for all of us Frank! We here live in a post-tat Universe! I have all the "goodies" I can think I ever wanted. I can't think what to buy next! Maybe a Rolls-Royce, and a Grand Piano, but I have space for neither. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrPin Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 Interesting if you're a degree educated, writer in the Guardian and all-round eco-w@nker it's a laudable and worthy rejection of, what's perceived as, society's warped values. If, you're not, you're a pikey. So you, seemingly have to be qualified, for this to be deemed a socially acceptable alternative lifestyle choice ergo it's subscribing to exactly the same type of values it's pretending to reject. I would agree with your analysis. When this chap is not pikeying it up, I imagine he lives in an "investment grade" property, with easy access to the west End! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saving For a Space Ship Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 He's probably seeking material for a book. Anyway, whose caravan is he sleeping in and on whose land is it? Rent free, can't be bad. The books already out. http://www.bookfinder.com/search/?author=9781851687879&title=+〈=en&isbn=&submit=Search&new_used=*&destination=gb¤cy=GBP&mode=basic&st=sr&ac=qr I have it, on back it says 'Authors' proceeds donated to charity to set up forst freeconomy community " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LC1 Posted October 24, 2013 Author Share Posted October 24, 2013 The books already out. http://www.bookfinder.com/search/?author=9781851687879&title=+〈=en&isbn=&submit=Search&new_used=*&destination=gb¤cy=GBP&mode=basic&st=sr&ac=qr I have it, on back it says 'Authors' proceeds donated to charity to set up forst freeconomy community " And is it inspiring? Or impractical? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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