Practical example of a domestic trade situation
A person needs goods. Weather these are products for consumption or recreation – the process of acquisition would be easier than today. The process would be a matter of finding the products, weather on-line or in a physical store. Once the necessities are found, one can check out at an un-maned check-out; output registration needs to be made to keep track of stocked items – but perhaps other more automated solutions can be applied. All maned cashier services though would become obsolete.
The store would still need input of goods to provide to people in need of the goods. The store would place an order or requisition for the goods from a supplier or from central storage. The goods would be provided as they are today – without the need for any compensation. This would also allow a store to provide more goods, pending expiration dates. The store could keep stocks high without worrying about financial imbalance. Much of the routine actions such as ordering stock and restocking shelves could be semi or fully automated.
Employees would be encouraged to find easier, alternative, and even automated solutions for all forms of manual labour. Without financial obstructions, work related solutions can more easily be explored. Without risk of suffering financially from finding and presenting more efficient routines, workers can be expected help speed up technological advancements.
Transport of goods from suppliers to central storage facilities and stores are today handled manually by various forms of transport. These include air and sea going vessels as well as road vehicles of different forms. Modern transport is solely governed by logistics and costs. This can easily be changed – saving on the environment. Many unnecessary transports can be avoided by relocating manufacturing or by using local sources instead of the cheapest sources. Today there is market competition between transport types and between goods based on pricing alone. Trains can transport more cargo, but not all the way to the destination. Lorries cannot transport as much as trains per person, as each lorry needs a driver. But with low wages, people can be exploited at a polluting cost to the environment. I am sure that more sustainable solutions are possible if monetary trade was obsolete. I can personally think of many solutions, including the combination of trains and detachable self-driving bogies/lorries. Other long-term examples include eco-friendly cities with built-in logistic features. I am sure I am not alone. – Please read more here.
For goods to be provided, there must be a source/supplier. For some goods, the list of suppliers can be long and complicated. However, even providers of the sources have needs of their own. They in turn become the consumer in the store and finally complete the circle of manufacturing and consumption. Today, farmers are often unhappy about the amount of money they receive for every litre of milk or kilo of meat, fish, or grain. With no monetary obligations either way, they are no longer hampered regarding animal care or to exploiting automated ideas for land use of their own. Again, I can think of alternatives today, such as multistorey greenhouses with automated harvesting systems. By building farming complexes in 3D, land can be more efficiently used, and possibly eliminate the need for vehicles. I am sure fish farming can greatly expand and become more efficient and better for the different species – to help our oceans recover.
Perhaps, with expanding automation technology, we will see more people in the service industry. Teachers will no longer be under the strain of a local governing budget deciding how many more kids must fit into an already too small and overfull classroom. People will be able to provide a service at a professional level that again gives meaning. Teachers are such a good example – because teachers take care of the coming generation, in classrooms that should not contain as many kids. Yet they continue against ever increasing budget cuts. But when they finally quit, it is most often not about the money, instead it is because they no longer feel they are able to make that difference which drove them into the occupation in the first place. This by no means is meant to demean other occupations, such as health care workers etc.
It is important to realize that all will not want to or be able to contribute in a solidaristic society. But the same is also true in our current society. There will always be individuals unable to adapt to the norms that society requires. Whilst contemplating this statement, consider the following. Every human being, will always do and contribute to the best of their own ability, based on their own individual abilities & circumstances affecting them at that point in time. If one allows oneself to accept this latter statement, then one can assume that for some individuals – inaction will be the best to which they can aspire. Others are free soles that instead offer a way to enrich our own lives with their free spirits. Some contributions present themselves in ways we cannot always measure or see practical value in.
