The Gift Economy: Really Really Free Market SF

A beautiful day in the park, a fresh homemade meal, some free clothes and books- what could be better? The Really Really Free Market, as opposed to the Not-So-Free Free Market, breaks down the myth of scarcity and encourages us to take advantage of the abundance all around us. Kirsten Brydum, RRFM organizer, gave us the low down on how great it feels to get rid of your stuff, share knowledge and maybe find that odd item you've been searching for. This is not a barter situation, where you're still weighing your stuff against what you think it could be worth in dollars. This is about giving and receiving through a gift economy which encourages sharing without the expectation of payment. The Really Really Free Market is like hanging out on Freecycle or Craigslist Free Listings, except you're breathing fresh air and seeing people f2f (face to face) instead of p2p (peer to peer)! Imagine that!

Check out the Wikipedia entry on The Really Really Free Market to find one in your area, or start your own! All you need are some friends, some stuff or some knowledge to share!

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• free
• market
• rrfm
• gift
• economy
• barter
• trade
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• francisco
• dolores
• park
• ryanishungry

[blackredflagnet]

I am an Anarchist, specifically Anarcho-Syndicalist.....I do think that some things should be owned in common, like land and the means of production and access to resources.....But I am highly skeptical that a gift economy could function in an urban environment, especially an American urban environment. I believe it could function as a system inside a commune, in a tribe, in a European village, but I think that some things really are scarce and that without a market socialist phase it wont work.

[juliaisafilmbuff123]

@brightsuperstition I agree with you, but how are barter markets based on greed necessarily?

[ForAVoluntarySociety]

@death9719 lol it already is

[death9719]

this could be a basis of an anarchist economy

[brightsuperstition]

@kev3d

Why should there be a contradiction between giving things away and producing them? Production of scissors and pineapples and others still exists under a gift economy. If you think it's all about giving, then you have a narrow and skewed idea of the entire concept. Gift economy is more about the ethics aspect. Its ethics are the complete opposite of a market- or barter-based economy, which is based on the idea of greed. Read David Graeber's "On Mauss" or his upcoming "Debt."

[Liberty4awl]

Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day i can hear her breathing. Arundhati Roy. This is the birth of the system we must implement among ourselves with no ties to the corporate world. Anarchy is Gods system. True anarchists are angels. God bless you and may it give you the strength, temerity and grace to expand.

[button1943]

fantastic

[button1943]

i ran a give and take stall on our local market in connahs quay wales uk for 7 years fantastic feeling to give without expecting anything in return

[Gigastorm123]

comunity service comprising of all mundane boring tasks needing done, whatever the scociety NEEDS as their way of life dictates is organized and shared equaly by all individuals. jobs such as artist, arcutectural design, and other things that add to the constructive joy of the community are seperate and optional for all individuals. food is grown in hydroponics and this is also part of community service. basicly all nessesitys are given, then the frivilous things are left to the barter system

[Veloce3]

Brilliant....absolutely friggin brilliant!.......This is how it should be