Post by somethingimpromptu on May 10, 2016 20:35:04 GMT
What is a Really, Really Free Market?
- Taken from The Really Really Free Market: Instituting the Gift Economy: "According to the capitalist lexicon, the 'Free Market' is the economic system in which prices are determined by unrestricted competition between privately owned businesses. Any sensible person can recognize immediately that neither human beings nor resources are free in such a system; hence, a 'Really Really Free Market' is a market that operates according to gift economics, in which nothing is for sale and the only rule is share and share alike."
- Essentially, a Really, Really Free Market is quite simply a "market" where everything is free. I use quotation marks around "market" because in the technical sense, a market exchange is based on a quid pro quo-- "I will give you x if you give me y," this for that. So in this strict literal sense, an RRFM is arguably not actually a market, but this is a matter of semantics.
How does a Really, Really Free Market work?
- In practice, in an RRFM, the participants gather in some public space. Each participant brings things that they no longer want or need, or some service that they can offer to others. One can bring a truckload of goods, or a skill to teach, or nothing at all-- there is no prerequisite to participate. The goods are collected in the area of the market; they could be sorted in some practical way, such as putting types of goods together (e.g. all CDs in one area, all kitchenware in another), or just lumped together the way they are on tables at flea markets). Other areas can be set up for various services to be offered (such as arts or DIY classes, among many other possibilities dependent upon the abilities of those providing the services). Everyone then simply peruses and takes whatever they want from what amounts to a collective gift offering. Anything leftover can be donated, scraped, taken home by the person who brought it, or disposed of as necessary.
What's the point?
- An RRFM is based on a few principles. Probably the most important one is solidarity. In capitalism, our economic lives are built fundamentally on competition among all individual workers-- a divisive and arguably pathological social relation. Individuals are alienated, isolated, and placed in opposition to one another. They are not only told to place themselves before others-- they are, indeed, systematically constrained to do so. If they refuse to compete self-servingly, they will end up unable to make ends meet. Injecting events into our daily lives which bring community members together, not in competition, but in solidarity (offering things to the community even though you could take just as much for yourself without providing anything) has extremely positive social implications. It's a small way of taking back public spaces, using them collectively. It bringings people who are usually isolated and, quite frankly, afraid of one another together for an activity which is not based on organizational principles of "us against them," or "me versus you," or on the few commanding the many, but simply an opportunity for us to interact as equals; to enjoy each others' company; and to benefit from each other's skills, knowledge, and generosity.
How do I organize an RRFM?
1. Find a gathering space. Since I don't want to be a catalyst in getting any of you into legal trouble, you should get whatever permission is required (as silly as it is to need permission for an event in a public space). The two spaces in my area that I'm aware of having been used were a public park and the local Unitarian Universalist Church. The Unitarian Universalists were extremely friendly and sympathetic to these kinds of collectivist efforts, so if you're looking for somewhere that is accessible and won't require a formal permit, try calling a UU church in your area, but it shouldn't be hard to schedule an event in a park. (Funny side-note-- I had to interview a clergyman for an unrelated project in high school, so I decided to call the minister at that Unitarian Church; turns out, he identified not only as a green socialist, but an atheist; we had more in common than I expected).
2. Get the word out (the most important step). Spread flyers, have friends tell friends, and have their friends tell their friends. Create groups on social media. In any event (on flyers, on social media, wherever) it is key that you make clear the nature of the event. Tell people that it will be a market in which everything is free, that there is no cost of admission, and to bring however much unneeded/unwanted stuff they'd like to contribute, as well as any service or expertise they'd like to share. Plan far enough in advance that there's time to spread awareness, since this kind of event relies on having some bare minimum of participants-- the more the better.
3. That's the bulk of it! Make a sign, or some kind of indicator, to make the area obvious to those who come for the RRFM, and to attract passers-by. Bring as much stuff as you can to contribute, in case there aren't a ton of people. It can be fun to bring some kind of food (depending on what the location enables, you could make it a cook-out or something) and/or drinks.
4. Just a word of advice (only because I've seen this mistake made by other anarchists before, unfortunately). In the context of organizing events like these, don't do anything dumb to attract negative publicity. I'm sure you all aren't the ones I would need to tell this to, but it's worth noting: if you act like typical hooligans, the general population will either (optimistically) not take you seriously or will (quite possibly) think what you're doing is a nuisance, and will have their negative stereotypes of anarchism validated and verified. So have fun, but keep it safe and constructive (at least during public group events)! Anarchism has an undeserved bad reputation, and only being organized, sharing information, and acting in a productive, respect-worthy way will teach people that those generalizations don't represent us. So this is especially important if you are representing this group or libertarian socialism formally.
5. RRFMs are a great place to share left-libertarian literature. If you make a bunch of informational pamphlets, leaflets, or flyers, and just leave them out among the market tables, you can explain to a significant number of people (a) what the point of an RRFM is and what values it embodies, (b) what our ideology is all about, and (c) our perspectives on any other specific subject matter that you might want to print literature about. This certainly, obviously isn't a requisite to holding an RRFM, but it's a great opportunity to get people interested. I believe pamphlets on libertarian communism, imperialism, and capitalism, which I picked up at community spaces and RRFMs (some of which I still have) were some of my first exposures to left-libertarian ideology.
Additional info and notes:
The largest RRFM I'm aware of is fairly local to me-- in Carrboro, NC. It happens once a month (on the first Saturday) for three hours in their town commons, as is quite well-populated! Check out pictures, information, etc., on the Carrboro RRFM website here.
I hope this post is useful for some of you-- especially any who hadn't heard of RRFMs, and anyone who wants to organize one in their area. If you do, I'd love to hear about it.
Note: I wasn't sure whether to post this here or in the Strategy section, since it was informational as well as strategic, so if anyone feels strongly about it, let me know and I can re-post it there. Or a mod can move it-- whatever works.
