> [!summary] Progressive Summary # Structured Notes ## Definitions capitalism - An economic and political system in which property, business, and industry are controlled by private owners rather than by the state, with the purpose of making profit. (This definition is taken from the Cambridge online dictionary, but it assumes that the only alternative to private ownership is state ownership, which is clearly false.) commodity - anything that is created for sale on the open market or is regularly bought and sold --- inequality - when people have unequal access to resources or opportunities equality - Distributing opportunities and resources evenly, regardless of preexisting circumstances of inequality equity - Distributing resources or opportunities in a manner that identifies and addresses existing inequalities, so that a more equal outcome is realized justice - Restructuring or fixing the system that produced the inequalities, so that everyone has equal access to future resources and opportunities --- exploitation - The use or development of something for profit or progress in business. positive reinforcement - People are more likely to continue doing things for which they are rewarded. profit - Any excess money or wealth that a company, person, or institution procures through the course of business and is left after all expenses are paid. Profit is the financial version of surplus. protopia - a society that moves in a positive direction by functioning with balance and synergy ## Chapter Summaries ### Chapter 1 - A Brief History of Money & Capitalism In the beginning, there was work. Humans have always worked to create value. The oldest discovered stone tools date from 3.3 million years ago. - [Harmand 5/2015 - 3.3-million-year-old stone tools from Lomekwi 3, West Turkana, Kenya](zotero://select/items/1_7ER7QRRB) Labour value can accumulate, allowing us to build on the efforts of previous generations. We can also trade the results of our labour. There is evidence of trade going back 300,000 years. - https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/colored-pigments-and-complex-tools-suggest-human-trade-100000-years-earlier-previously-believed-180968499/ The Neolithic Revolution, which started 12,000 years ago, marked the shift from hunter-gatherer lifestyles to agriculture. This created a food surplus, and our societies were able to grow in complexity, with more specialization of labour. In ancient Mesopotamia, farmers could deposit their surplus grain in granaries, receiving clay tokens which could be traded back for grain in the future. Most Western alphabets can be traced back to symbols on these tokens. With a universal accounting system, people could put a number value on profit. Being able to quantify profit also created a *focus* on profit and its accumulation. Profit is a positive reinforcement feedback loop, which means that we keep wanting to make profits because it feels rewarding. As a result, making profits is now the central goal of our economic activity. The transition from feudalism to capitalism was likely catalysed by technologies such as the compass, the wind-powered sawmill and improvements in shipbuilding, which helped to extend trade routes, allowing merchants to amass wealth by "buying low and selling high." Lords and nobles in England wanted to keep up with the wealth of the merchants. Most of the land in England was being used to grow food by peasants. Food doesn't trade well over long distances. But wool does. So the nobles kicked the peasants off the land to create pastures for sheep, erecting fences to keep people out and sheep in. This process was called Enclosure, and took place between 1600-1900. Deprived of their livelihood, the peasants had to wander around selling their labour, giving rise to the "labour market". They found work in the new factories that were being built. Because the workers had no other options for work, the owners of the factories were able to suppress their wages, thus generating a profit. They were able to "capitalize" on both workers' labour and the productive capacity of the new machines. From its start, capitalism has been a system of exploitation. Under capitalism, land, labour and means of production (factories, machines, etc) have become commodified. When these three things are commodities, everything else becomes a commodity. ### Chapter 5 - Framework for a New Society We already share books through libraries, and exercise spaces through gyms. What if we started sharing other things? If we can remove the paywalls around things, we could slowly move towards a moneyless society. Foundational principles of a post-scarcity society: - Highest good of all - Cooperative / sharing economy - Open-Source Information - Universal Basic Goods and Services - Social Justice - Ecological Balance - Post Growth / Degrowth - Circular Economy / Closed-Loop Economy - Agroecology and Regenerative Agriculture - Abundance Through Science and Technology - Liberty and Freedom - Antifragility #### Social Justice Social justice is the conceptual opposite of profit. Inequality - when people have unequal access to resources or opportunities Equality - Distributing opportunities and resources evenly, regardless of preexisting circumstances of inequality Equity - Distributing resources or opportunities in a manner that identifies and addresses existing inequalities, so that a more equal outcome is realized Justice - Restructuring or fixing the system that produced the inequalities, so that everyone has equal access to future resources and opportunities ![[Moneyless Society-20240516121239241.webp]] ### Chapter 6 - Future Systems in Action protopia - a society that moves in a positive direction by functioning with balance and synergy transactional reciprocity - everything we need and use must be procured through trade or transactions systemic reciprocity - utilising systems and structures to provide an abundance of necessities, while eliminating as much human labour as possible Removing profit creates synergy in a protopian system. In the housing system, it shifts the focus from "being able to afford a home" to "creating sustainable communities". # Quotes