Even though
this page has a big, impressive title, it is about a simple idea which
I hope I can convey in a few words. Here are the main points:
- Economic principles lie behind many more human activities than most
of us realize. We are almost constantly exchanging something for something
else.
- Many economic transactions don't involve money. In traditional societies,
and sometimes even this one, people trade using favors, influence, even
pure ideas, instead of money.
- Sometimes money is not the best way to convey value. And sometimes
money is so completely inappropriate that it destroys the transaction
. CareWare is one of those transactions.
CareWare doesn't
involve money, but it is a transaction nevertheless. Something is delivered,
something is received. Adam Smith's invisible economic hand moves through
the CareWare economy just like everywhere else. I can't ask for something
more than I am giving, but I can ask for an appropriate exchange. In
CareWare, the "buyer" gets something of value in exchange for something
the "seller" wants. And what does the seller want? The general answer
is "Anything except money," but I prefer the really remarkable transactions,
which you recognize instinctively when you see them. Here is an example
-- here is a hypothetical transaction between myself and you. I have
a program called "Arachnophilia" which is a rather nice Web page editor
and workshop, but I don't want your money in exchange, I want something
else. So I say "This is what I am offering, and here is what I want
in return." Simple, right? (...)
For example,
here is a payment I will accept for a copy of Arachnophilia --
To own Arachnophilia, I ask that you stop whining about how hard your
life is, at least for a while. When Americans whine, nearly everybody
else in the world laughs. We have so much, and yet we manage to: overlook
great examples of beauty around us, miss our most important opportunities,
Manage to make ourselves miserable by expecting something even better
to come along. Every time we whine about how tough we have it, apart
from the fact that we look ridiculous, we make it harder for people
around us to appreciate how much we have. We encourage people to overlook
the things we do have, the gifts of man and nature. We provide a context
to dismiss everything as not good enough, to be miserable in the midst
of plenty. Don't get the wrong impression -- many things are unjust,
things that should be struggled against until they are made right. My
complaint is with people who can't find even one thing to take joy in,
to appreciate. These people not only make themselves miserable, but
they infect others with the attitude that the world should right itself,
by itself, before they will take simple pleasure in anything. So here
is my deal: stop whining for an hour, a day, a week, your choice, and
you will have earned your copy of Arachnophilia. Say encouraging words
to young people, make them feel welcome on the planet Earth (many do
not). Show by example that we don't need all we have in order to be
happy and productive.
Important Note:
if you don't like this idea, just ignore it -- you can have Arachnophilia
anyway (BEInc. note : but you can't have our productions). That's one
way to distinguish the world of ideas from the rest of human history:
you can disregard an idea and no one knocks on your door at midnight.