Peter Kropotkin - you want a “moneyless society” ? How does that work?

My opinion is this: currency is not necessary in a truly cooperative, mutual-aid-based society. Money creates social problems. It creates inequality. It encourages selfishness, competition, and hoarding, and it acts as a barrier to people accessing survival necessities like food, housing, education and healthcare. Currency was created by the capitalist system to make people dependent on wage labor instead of cooperating freely.

Instead of money, I want a society based on mutual aid and voluntary cooperation, with people sharing what they produce, with all their needs met through distribution networks. I do not want life there to be buying and selling and I want work there organized according to ability and interest, not for profit. My ideal economy is called Gift Economy or Anarchist Communism.

In The Conquest of Bread, I suggest that communities can produce food, clothing, and tools collectively, taking what they need from communal stores (like food depots). Work can be organized to guarantee that everyone has access to necessities. There would be no “paycheck” — instead, the goals are to contribute to the community and meet everyone’s needs. Imagine a large farm and workshop network where anyone can take milk, bread, or tools, and in return, they contribute labor or skills as they can.

The challenges of this system are: it requires high social trust, production and distribution need to be coordinated efficiently, and competition needs to be abandoned - replaced by cooperation as the cultural norm.

I believe humans are naturally cooperative, and my system is feasible.

Peter Kroptotkin - you believe people are basically good, generous, and willing to work for the benefit of others in society - is that right?

Yes and No, I view Humans As Naturally Cooperative, with mutual aid as a natural instinct. I believe people want to help each other voluntarily, especially in small communities or among neighbors.

But I don’t think people are perfect or always altruistic. I know that selfishness exists, but I see it primarily as a by product of social injustices, like poverty, inequality, and oppressive governments. If society forces people to compete for survival, selfish behavior will emerges. Conversely, in a cooperative society, generosity will naturally flourish.

I believe people will contribute to society voluntarily if their basic needs are met., if they feel their work has meaning, and if they are part of a cooperative, supportive community. People are happy to work if it isn’t motivated by profit, fear, or coercion — but by a desire to live in a healthy, mutual society. I don’t claim humans are morally perfect but I think they are naturally inclined to help each other,In the right conditions — free of coercion and scarcity — most people will work for the benefit of their community.