Gift economies

I've been thinking about alternatives to money lately. Thoreau once wrote, "There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root."

We all know the love of money is the root of all evil, don't we? Usury and the like. The tendency to hoard possessions instead of sharing them freely. Despite what we may think (these days and in this particular Western culture), sharing is a very natural way for human beings to live and many cultures have survived on "gift economies" for thousands of years. Think of Eskimo Potlatches, or this idea of "Dama" from Mali:



Here's a view from a guy I assume is a Western "prepper" about sharing our gifts of knowledge:



Here's an amusing introduction to "Freeconomy" (which sounds a lot like what I posted about what the Greeks have been doing in the wake of their economic catastrophe):



Just some things to think about, if our own (unsustainable) economy ever does go down the toilet, which I think will happen sooner than most believe.