Bartering: Turn Economy Upside Down

Reader Contribution by Anna Twitto
Published on February 27, 2017

Can bartering turn economy upside down? 

Long before money arrived to complicate our lives, bartering existed as a local-centered, community-based, viable economical system that worked with startling simplicity: trading what you have for what you don’t.

While I’m not naïve enough to believe we can opt out of the money economy altogether – the modern world is too populous and complex for that – bartering can still work exceedingly well in small communities with close-knit personal relationships where people choose to earn less, spend less, and support each other rather than a large chain-store or a mega-farmer.

The beauty of bartering is in its flexibility, personal approach and, last but for me certainly not least, its freedom from tax.

If I, for example, have some backyard-grown organic eggs to spare, I can trade them for some cheese from my neighbors’ home dairy, vegetables from someone’s garden, and so on. By doing so, I’m supporting a traditional, community-centered economical system, forging connections and exercising a creative mode of living. It’s completely win-win, and it bypasses the money economy entirely.

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