[Go Make Things] What if money didn't exist?

Saturday, March 22, 2025

One of my favorite book series is the Monk & Robot series by Becky Chambers.

It's set in a future where (like now) there's enough food to feed everyone and enough housing to house everyone. But unlike now, everyone actually has what they need, and things are built to last.

The book explores a lot of really interesting themes, like…

Finding meaning in the world.
Feeling burnt out or dissatisfied.
The role of community.
Healing and restorative justice.
What it means to be human.

But one of the more interesting topics in the book to me concerns money. Or more specifically, the lack of it!

The society described in the series does not use money. They don't use trade or barter, either.

Instead, they rely on a sharing or giving economy.

If you have something you don't need, and someone needs something you have, you just give it to them. That person then gives you pebs, a digital unit of currency, but not really. There are no prices—you just give what you want—and it's completely optional.

After the first book, I found myself wondering why the heck they even bother with them at all, since everyone is just giving everyone what they need regardless.

In book 2, it actually gets discussed!

In this excerpt, Dex (a human monk who serves people tea) is explaining to Mosscap (a sentient robot who is learning all about how human society works) how pebs work.

"Okay. Anytime you receive anything that involves some sort of craft or work or labor or whatever from someone else, you give them pebs in exchange. So, let's say you start out with zero pebs. Let's also say you go to a farmer and get an apple, and let's say that's worth one peb to you. You take the apple, and you give the farmer one peb."

"I currently have one hypothetical apple and negative-one hypothetical pebs."

"Right. The farmer's work has benefited you, so now you need to provide something to benefit someone else."

"To the farmer, you mean."

"No." Dex tried to explain. "It can be to the farmer, if you provide something the farmer wants. But exchanging pebs isn't about bartering. It's about benefit. You are a part of the community, and the farmer doing something for you means that they are, effectively, doing something for the group. So, you've got your negative-one-peb balance now. You've got to fill that up. Let's say you're… I don't know. A musician. You go play some music in a town square, and five people come to listen.

They now give you some pebs. If they each give you two pebs, now you've got nine pebs, which you can exchange for other things. Make sense?"

"I believe so," Mosscap said. "You're saying that instead of a system of currency that tracks individual trade, you have one that facilitates exchange through the community. Because… all exchange benefits the community as a whole?"

This kind of hurt my brain a bit, because it just feels like another form of money, with slightly different rules.

It's about recognizing contributions

What really made it stick was this little exchange, a bit further on in the conversation.

Because Mosscap had the same kinds of questions I did, and wasn't afraid to ask them!

"And I'm not penalized for the debt I incurred at the start?"

"Absolutely not," Dex said firmly. "We don't… we don't do that. Or we don't do that anymore, I guess. Nobody should be barred from necessities or comforts just because they don't have the right number next to their name."

"But if there's no penalty for debt, what's to stop you from taking without giving back?"

"It's a bad feeling," Dex said. "Everybody has a negative balance from time to time, for lots of reasons. That's fine. That's part of the ebb and flow. But if someone had a huge negative… well, that says they need help. Maybe they're sick. Or stuck. Maybe they've got something going on at home. Or maybe it's just one of those times when they need other people to carry them for a while. That's okay. Everybody ends up there sometimes. If I saw a friend's balance and it was way in the red, I'd make a point of checking in."

"You can see other people's balances?"

"Yeah, of course. It's all public."

"Does that not get competitive?"

Dex squinted. "Why would it?"

This is the kind of world I want

I would love to live in a world where everyone just has what they need. Where we share our surplus and take care of one another.

This passage is what made me ditch my fix-price subscription and shift to a "make everything free, with an option to give me money if you want" membership model. It got me into mutual aid and my local Buy Nothing group.

It's changed the way I think about everything about how our current systems work.

You should read this series!

The Monk & Robot series is short. Two books, both novellas. Easy reads.

But author Becky Chambers manages to squeeze so many different explorations of the human condition into such a tiny, comfortable read. It's incredible!

This series brought me so much comfort while I was battling burnout and trying to find meaning. And it also rewired my brain.

That's what great books do.

Like this? A Go Make Things membership is the best way to support my work and help me create more free content.

Cheers,
Chris

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