Which is crazier: "gift economics" or "participatory economics"?

Economics Political Theory
1

As many of us are aware, the social anarchists are loaded with kooky ideas about economics. Two of them are especially hysterical:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gift_economy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Participatory_economics

Both “theories” are insane beyond all belief, but they take them quite seriously.

http://www.revleft.com/vb/gift-economy-t53070/index.html?t=53070

Here they are, with their own miniature “gift economy.” Isn’t it cute?

http://tribes.tribe.net/rrfm/photos/659795ae-9608-4b19-af68-47b6615f84b9

First step: some small get-together on a corner. Next step: the global economy!

Funny stuff. :smiley:

2

i think partecon is much more sane. giving is not objective. you cannot make a pencil by being nice to each other and giving gifts.

3

I suppose this is what happens when you take the labor theory of value seriously.

4

nope. if you take the LTV seriously you can still be a market anarchist. (all mutualists for example). the reason marxists and “social anarchists” hate markets is because they hate competition, profits and incentives. moreover they oppose commodity production.

5

They’re just jealous. Poor blokes think the world owes it to them after being ridiculed for staying in their mom’s basement an extra 3 or 4 years than planned.

I wonder if they would pay the evil capitalist pigs for a star trek style replicator? They probably wouldn’t out of spite; they’d probably try to send Sputnick Jr. in orbit around the capitalist’s moon base to take snapshots to confirm if the replicator is used more by the Ensigns or the Commanders :smiley:

6

Gift economies work, especially for things like software and exchange within intimate groups, like families. They certainly can’t replace a free market with indirect exchange for most purposes, however.

7

What’s there to laugh about? Gift economies are real.

(Ok, they might not be feasible on large scale economies but that’s beside the point)

8

Some how I doubt they’ve read Profit and Loss by Ludwig von Mises…