Society of Esteem

9 October 2009

Alternative money system: Time Banking and Time Exchange

Posted by Cecilia under: Economy .

A society of esteem gives the same esteem toward each profession. Esteem isn’t something which can be given in different measures. In order to function the society needs all kind of professions and therefore acknowledges all of them equally.

In our society we have two financial movements which come quite close to this idea of the society of esteem.

One of them is the Time Banking. The idea is that for each hour you spend doing something in your community you earn one Time Dollar which goes into the Time Bank. Your Time Dollars you can be spent on having someone do something for you.

According to the people who live Time Banking it’s a life changing experience. People feel connected to each other and honestly acknowledged.

The other movement is similar but excludes the concept of money totally. Its name is “Zeittausch” (Time exchange) and exists in some communities in Europe (website only in German).

The idea is similar to that of Time Banking except that the value of work is exchanged without counting the hours. People just do their normal work, whether a baker or a physician, and exchange the fruits of their work mutually without paying for it.

Both systems try to organize a life without money and find that their concept creates a better quality of life .

The basic thought behind both of these ideas and most of all behind the idea of a society of esteem is that all professions are valued with the same esteem. A society of esteem even goes one step further. In the society of esteem, all people participate, not just a select few. Nobody feels cheated by others because everybody fulfills his talents through his work and gets the same esteem as all the others. A society like that can easily support people who can’t work or can’t work fully.

When this state of mind is achieved there is really no longer a need for money.