Could you Barter and survive?

In the question you link to I show a certain dislike for big greedy corporations, but, im just as bad. yes I would survive well, and while i hate the system we have at the moment, i would no doubt be one of the assholes who ends up making things like they are now.

I would be the kind that would start a little empire, and invent money and weapons and all that jazz to keep my power. maybe thats why im so cynical about the world, if im a good guy and as a good guy i’d do all that, how bad are the really bad ones.

what services could i offer: web design, computer repairs, manual labor, translating, protection, metal work, basic plumbing and all kinds of things.

would my life be better or worse, well, i dont know, i dont really measure things that way. im leaning towards better.

Since I would be willing to do anything to survive, I would find something. I’m thinking it would not be writing and editing though.

I can hunt, fish, garden and gather, I have medical training.
I know how to tan hides and make adequate clothing and shelter.
I have the correct mind set to protect what I have from others that may want to take it away.
I think I could own my little corner of the world.

I would probably starve or be murdered inside a month. I have no skills that are of any use to anybody, much less myself.

@downtide your answer makes me think just how many people would be annihilated because they didn’t (or thought they didn’t) have any skills. Of course we would have to hook up with people like @WestRiverrat to learn survival skills.Just a thought.

I can make alcohol from fruit. I shall not want.

@downtide I think a lot of people feel that way, me included, and that is why people come together in adversity.

@jaytkay I know I’ll find something to barter for your services.

Possibly, a sows ear for a silk purse sounds like a fair trade.

Well, I have enough crap in my house of various sorts to barter with for maybe 9 months or so. Not so good with the survival skills though. I’m pretty good at repairing and refurbishing old hand tools. Not much of skill, I know. But if you’ve got a barn full of rusty old things, not power tools, no motors or electric, I can make them work and look almost like new again. I don’t see much need for that unless the power goes off for good. Jeez, I must be good at something else…. I might be prepared to feed myself. I can garden and fish and there seem to be an awful lot of rabbits around here. I think most individuals could manage a barter system and survive for a while. It would get pretty complicated for some people. Say I was diabetic. I might be able to barter with the pharmacy for my insulin but what is the pharmacy going to use for barter to buy the insulin from the manufacturer? And what is the manufacturer barter with to pay it’s workers and keep it’s plants maintained. Will work for Vicodin? Is the pharmaceutical company going to pay for a shipment of beakers and test tubes with a truck full of chickens? Money’s a lot easier and more efficient. Modern industrialized societies really couldn’t survive on a barter system even with electricity, gas and water that comes from… where? Is provided by elves and fairies or will those things still require raw materials and processing and generating plants and well maintained delivery and distribution systems in this scenario?

Barter to “survive”?....Hell yes!
Barter as a hobby?....Couldn’t be bothered.

There is nothing that I can claim that I specialize in today. Yet if the world went to a barter system, I think we could all find something that we enjoy doing that would be worthy of a trade. For example, I really like to clean, although there are people who are better and more educated about it then I am. If someone were to allow me to clean their house in exchange for a well-balanced meal, I’d definitely sign up and adhere to what made them happy.

While it might be a simpler life if you only needed to take care of yourself, it could be a challenge for those that need to take care of others that relied on your support. For example, let’s say that I have a parent with Alzheimer’s and a baby. It might require giving up a quality of life in order to support the needs of all of those you love.

Yes, as long as everyone else was willing to cooperate. For some to opt out would ruin the whole structure.

@noelleptc your honesty is to be commended XD!

I think I probably could.

@YARNLADY Would it ruin the whole structure for some to opt out, or would it just put the individuals’ lives in jeopardy? What if they were able to become self-sustaining?

It would be interesting to find out. Assuming that this didn’t completely torpedo the retail industry, I could probably arrange to be paid in merchandise.
Beyond that, I have some rudimentary crafting skills, thanks to the Boy Scouts, and I’ve got a good build for physical work. I’m also trained in the art of Public Relations, though I suspect that the market will be saturated with PR people who can do nothing else.

@Pied_Pfeffer A barter society implies that all things would be bartered, including public services. It would be difficult for a person to opt out of the sewage system, for instance, or any other communal utility system. Even in today’s society, those who opt out of the work for sustenance system have to take advantage of the public services (utilities, welfare, police, and national defense) by simply relying on the largess of others.

We have a growing issue in our area, where an increasing number of people are taking advantage of the Public services, and fewer people are paying for the same services. The parks are closing their public restrooms because no one is willing to pay the upkeep, and businesses are closing down their free playgrounds because that is the easiest thing to cut out when lowering costs. The list goes on and on….clean drinking water, street maintenance, and so forth.

@YARNLADY It think the “structure” would fall apart pretty quickly on it’s own. Say I have a little tree service. My skill is cutting down trees, removing stumps, hauling it away, maybe I’ve got a chipper and I can provide mulch. My truck needs repairs. My mechanic needs a couple of trees cut down, that works out pretty well. But what if he doesn’t need any trees cut down? That could still work out. His brother needs some trees cut down on his property and he’s a roofer and my mechanic needs some repairs to his roof. I cut down the brother’s trees, he fixes my mechanic’s roof, my mechanic fixes my truck. So far so good but what if nobody that has any thing my mechanic needs or wants need trees cut down? What happens then? And, what happens when my mechanic needs triple bypass surgery? He has a very useful skill but I’d be hard to come up with any workable scenario where he could barter his way to a triple bypass. How would that be accomplished?

@lillycoyote In small town societies, where there is not the entire country to worry about, this type of barter worked for many years. People accommodated each others abilities and needs and were mostly able to find a workable solution. However, I must hasten to add that those who could not or would not fit into the acceptable practices were excluded.

It works well in several self-contained societies even today.

@noelleptc I wouldn’t try it if I were you. The thing’s rigged/booby trapped. You touch it and it turns itself on and sucks you in and that’s pretty much that as far as you’re concerned. It’s a bloody fright to clean up when someone messes with it but I have a right to protect my livelihood, don’t I? :-)

@noelleptc Because I’m the one that rigged it. It’s a very complex system of springs and pulleys, but no one can see that it’s rigged because it’s all done from the back of the chipper, which is up against the barn wall once I put it away, then the rig goes through the barn wall, behind the blackberry bushes, under the woodpile, then into the main house. I can connect and disconnect, “arm and disarm” the whole rig from a very safe distance. Don’t mess with me. Uh oh! I think I may have said too much. Now I’m going to have to redo the whole damn thing now that you know how it works. Though… I really might be able to use a clever rebel/thief/outlaw on my team, if you would consider it. We might be able to work out some kind of arrangement that is mutually beneficial in this dog eat dog world. Think about.

@noelleptc I will certainly admit that I am often given to flights of fancy but even as I was writing my comment I was thinking I may be thinking about this waaaaaay more than a rational person should be thinking about it. Seems that it might be more than a little bit past my bedtime.

@noelleptc The pig isn’t rigged but I should warn you that sweet as she may look, she is given to frequent, prolonged bouts of gassiness. It’s up to you.