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Could you Survive Without Money? Meet the Guy Who Does.

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Re: Could you Survive Without Money? Meet the Guy Who Does.

#21

Post by erlanger »

jerf wrote: post #14
pj wrote: post #6

It very well could be the knowledge he has gained while living without money that will go toward educating masses of people out of work in our increasingly struggling economy moving forward. More people are losing jobs, homes, credit. Debt is increasing. How many people will know how to correctly identify edible cacti? I was thinking of my grandmother who survived the great depression. She has so much knowledge up th…

"I can go out into the woods and find an animal and kill it and skin it and cook it and eat it." What animals? If society collapses to that point, deer will be hunted to extinction in a matter of months, if not weeks, with smaller critters probably not getting hunted to extinction after that, but certainly to the point you won't find them readily anymore. There's still too many people with the skill to do that for yo…

You forgot about the firearm aspect of survivalism.

Re: Could you Survive Without Money? Meet the Guy Who Does.

#22

Post by mynameishere »

michaelneale wrote: post #16
wmeredith wrote: post #4

I'm pretty sure I could survive on the waste and charity of others as this guy does, but I wouldn't want to.

Thousands do in major cities every day. Often there are mental health issues at play, but anyone can do it.

Pretty good documentary

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dh4s78Db5OQ

Re: Could you Survive Without Money? Meet the Guy Who Does.

#23

Post by erlanger »

krisneuharth wrote: post #17

This story reminded me of a grown-up version of the children's book "My Side Of The Mountain" for some reason. I love this kind of story because it reminds me that we could all do well to learn to live with less, and that there are some that do.

On the other hand, I found On the Far Side of the Mountain to be depressing.

Re: Could you Survive Without Money? Meet the Guy Who Does.

#24

Post by BigZaphod »

pj wrote: post #12
Xichekolas wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "Countness numbers of the x-generation, y-generation, and even the baby boomers are going to die, simply because they do not know how to survive without money and a job and a grocery store." What? The only reason people would need to be able to hunt their own food in our society is if that society totally and utterly collapsed. And not just a collapse of the government... I'm talking mass-fatality pandemic, nuclear…

Not where I live. 5% of my state suffers from "food insecurity" which means they dont know where their next meal is coming from. I went on a field trip as a child through a state park and the game ranger warned us all, he said, "Don't poach deer kids. If you are hungry and your parents want to poach deer out of season, tell them to call me and we'll help." He wasn't saying this as a joke. Many families here do procur…

"It smelled foul."

Nice.

Re: Could you Survive Without Money? Meet the Guy Who Does.

#26

Post by nir »

seldo wrote: post #15

So, um, he's a homeless guy who lives in a cave. Congratulations, homeless guy, you have somehow managed to convince everybody that instead of a homeless guy, you're a cultural revolutionary. NB: you live in a fucking cave. Forgive me if this doesn't sound like the future of mankind.

"NB: you live in a fucking cave. Forgive me if this doesn't sound like the future of mankind"

Forgive me if I say this sounds like a Reddit comment :) Why so negative? He doesn't harm or tries to convert. There is a difference between him and most homeless in that he actually chose this lifestyle, is able to quit it if he wants, and seems to be generally pretty happy with it.

Re: Could you Survive Without Money? Meet the Guy Who Does.

#27

Post by ars »

mahmud wrote: post #18
ars wrote: post #5

No kids?

You don't need kids to survive like that, most adults I know can do it all on their own~

Very funny :)

However, could he still do it if he had kids? The article seems to suggest this is a good way to live, but if you can't live this way, and have kids too, then meh.

He's not just an ordinary homeless guy - he wants a life without property (not money, any property), i.e. he's homeless guy with a principle.

So I evaluate the principle: is it a good one? So far, it seems no, it's not.

If he could have kids, then, interesting, maybe it's not for me, or for more people, but at least it's interesting. But if you can't live that way, and have kids too, then it's forgettable.

PS. I did not say if he could/couldn't. My initial post was actually a question, worded a little short asking if it was possible. Especially in light of the ending of the article, where it talks about natural selection. If you are really committed to this, then have kids too.

Re: Could you Survive Without Money? Meet the Guy Who Does.

#28

Post by philwelch »

Xichekolas wrote: post #8
pj wrote: post #6

It very well could be the knowledge he has gained while living without money that will go toward educating masses of people out of work in our increasingly struggling economy moving forward. More people are losing jobs, homes, credit. Debt is increasing. How many people will know how to correctly identify edible cacti? I was thinking of my grandmother who survived the great depression. She has so much knowledge up th…

> "Countness numbers of the x-generation, y-generation, and even the baby boomers are going to die, simply because they do not know how to survive without money and a job and a grocery store." What? The only reason people would need to be able to hunt their own food in our society is if that society totally and utterly collapsed. And not just a collapse of the government... I'm talking mass-fatality pandemic, nuclear…

You'd be surprised. My dad grew up in the Great Depression and during the war, though he implied that this kind of thing was the way of life before that in small towns: even if people had jobs, they still made their own clothing, had gardens, and hunted. People were remarkably self-sufficient. They had cars (one of the few manufactured goods they bought) but they maintained the cars themselves as well as their equipment. They even owned a little livestock.

So yeah, a lot of people are going to be lost if we ever get into an economic state where consumer culture breaks down.

Re: Could you Survive Without Money? Meet the Guy Who Does.

#29

Post by seldo »

nir wrote: post #26
seldo wrote: post #15

So, um, he's a homeless guy who lives in a cave. Congratulations, homeless guy, you have somehow managed to convince everybody that instead of a homeless guy, you're a cultural revolutionary. NB: you live in a fucking cave. Forgive me if this doesn't sound like the future of mankind.

"NB: you live in a fucking cave. Forgive me if this doesn't sound like the future of mankind" Forgive me if I say this sounds like a Reddit comment :) Why so negative? He doesn't harm or tries to convert. There is a difference between him and most homeless in that he actually chose this lifestyle, is able to quit it if he wants, and seems to be generally pretty happy with it.

It did occur to me as I typed it that it would get downmodded for the belligerent phrasing, but I was post-gym and blood sugar was low, which makes me grumpy.

I think the reason it irritates me is, as others have mentioned, that he doesn't really live without money. He just lives without his own money, and relies on the kindness of strangers to provide him with things he needs. He's not self-sufficient and he's not bartering for everything he needs. He's just an eloquent beggar.

Re: Could you Survive Without Money? Meet the Guy Who Does.

#30

Post by dasil003 »

Xichekolas wrote: post #9

Money is merely a means to decouple the promise of payback from the promiser. Without money, you have to trust Joe to help you can tomatoes next fall since you helped him plow his field. With money, Joe can pay you to plow his field, and you can pay Sally to help you can tomatoes (because Joe moved to another town).

Sure, but the emergent effects of money on society--especially with computerized banking--are quite a bit more significant than the fundamental innovation. Computers are merely for shuffling 1s and 0s around.
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