There will always be those who do not fit the mould society has created. The reasons will vary, some will make a conscious effort to go against the grain, others will not be able to see past the end of their nose and their own needs while others will struggle a whole life time to ‘fit in’ and ‘get on’.
The world will always have those who want to work, want to make the world a good, safe place to be and their efforts will not be for a desire for money. In an age where jobs are fewer and our population is on the up, how then can we provide enough employment for those who want to work, and why do we force those who don’t want to contribute to take a position someone else is desperate to get? The obvious starting point is that we feel they shouldn’t be supported by us, the hard working community, that it’s unbalanced and unfair. Do we not need the wisdom to know it’s something we can’t change and therefore focus our energy on something far more constructive?
Can those who cannot find work but who want to contribute to society be supported by us so that they can? After all there aren’t enough jobs and there are tasks to help society that have no monetary reward.
If we don’t allow people to barter or volunteer we are excluding them through no fault of their own. Why does it have to be money alone that has leverage in this world? If one can’t work for money there needs to be a system that can accept other forms of payment. We are, at present, becoming elitist. As someone has just said to me, we are allowing them to play our game of football but then taking the ball away.
Paying people a basic income to live regardless of whether they work seems to be the way forward. The amount would be to ensure the basic needs were met, nothing more. It has nothing to do with the idealistic musings of Morris. It is a solution to the in-balance in society. Money no longer makes the world go round. We need a new way forward.
February 20, 2009 at 11:23 am
Any practical suggestions on that? I like your blog post.
February 20, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Thanks for your comment. Implementing any change is always hard and there are those that would dig their heels in just because it’s a change from the norm. With the economy on it’s heels, perhaps now is the time for us to make small changes and lead the way. Many people already barter, swap or charge realistic fees for their work; either through initiatives such as Freecycle or in their day to day business with Bartercard. As a therapist I charge a fee relative to income in some cases and even swap services.
I think that any idea is worth a try – within reason! I am far from having all the answers, but when like minded people get together things start to happen!
February 20, 2009 at 9:05 pm
I agree very much with you Charly! A basic income would give people the possibility to use their talents to do a work that makes really sense, even if it is a work that is not paid with money. I think all of our lives would be more rich.
February 20, 2009 at 9:17 pm
Thanks Thomas. When you think how futile some jobs are (adding flyers to magazines for things that no-one wants etc) it really makes sense to have that individual’s attributes channelled in a far more positive direction. Time to look at the bigger picture I think.