[mbesto]

> What happened to us, as a society, that creates the expectation that a thing should be monetized?

People need to put food on the table and provide for their families. How do you expect society to do so if members are just giving away their goods and services?

[cowbellemoo]

What if some of what was given away to others was the food and provisions that families need?

[mbesto]

Then you would have a bartering system like we had 100's of years ago. Here's my 6x beaver pelts for your knife. Do I need to explain to you how inefficient that is?

[cat_adorer]

No, that's potluck (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potluck), and, given its diversity across cultures and continued presence, it can't be very inefficient.

[mbesto]

Potluck...are you serious? There's nothing efficient or inefficient about the concept of potluck. It's a cultural celebration, not a "I need this to provide sustenance to my being".

[steviesteveo1]

Obligatory plug for https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debt:_The_First_5000_Years

There's no evidence to support Adam Smith's barter economies. It's obviously inefficient so the question is really why you'd think people would do it

[cowbellemoo]

What if it wasn't transactional and people were just given what they needed?