Does Labor need capital to exist?

[hunter]

91. Money is a marker, it is not a "fruit of labor."

It's possible to design an economy without a single currency.

Compared to language, a dollar or any other currency is a cave-man's "Ugh."

"Ugh" can mean "Mine!" it can mean "Here, I give to you!" it can mean "I don't care if you die!" it can mean at it's most noble, "We share."

I'd like to design an economy with a rich language of currencies, many, many ways of saying "We share!"

In this economy there would be a firm rich earth which provides a place for every human to grow -- food, shelter, medical care, education, freedom of travel and association... Beyond that everyone could live in an economic system of their own choosing, maybe of their own creation.

Sometimes I imagine a Star Trek Next Generation universe. I don't think there's any single currency in this universe except among people like the Ferengi (this would include some human communities too.) Instead the greater STNG economy would be built upon a very complex system of trade involving many variables which were never reduced to or measured against a single currency.

For example, you join Star Fleet and never think about money except for shore leave in places that use money, and then there's an officer who hands you what you might need before you beam down, and you give back what's left when you return. But most Star Fleet people would never think about where this "money" comes from, nor would they ever imagine hoarding coins or bills for themselves except as souvenirs; a peso or a dollar note for the scrap book, to give to a nephew or niece perhaps. Otherwise they are confident Star Fleet will provide for them in a fair and equitable fashion. The money of some primitive backwater simply doesn't matter to them.

Or maybe, back on earth, someone is a laborer on the Piccard family farm. It's not called the Piccard Estate because the land belongs to the Piccards, it's called that because the Piccard family has been working this land for centuries, growing grapes and making fine wines. Everyone who lives on the Piccard estate seems happy, visitors are happy, the wines have a following throughout the galaxy, therefore by the multi-variable metrics of the modern economic system this entity, this community, is making a positive contribution to human society. No restructuring required, we encourage this practice of the art.

And the economic system works well with those individuals who, on the surface, have not yet demonstrated a positive contribution to society. The Vincent Van Gogh's of this world live in comfortable rooms, they do not starve, and they paint.