[maybe here's a better place for that]
...about the behaviour of humans. They live their lifes, go to work to earn money so they can make their living. They work to live. Now you give them a new place, where they can do whatever they want. And what happens? Of course, humans do what they're used to do. They start earning money to make a living and find a sense in their life.
Now, for many of you, this may be all fine. Because you're successful, you've got your own ideas implementet in a great way or you're just having fun doing the things you do to make your living. And you earn money. For some of you, making money is all the thing for what they come to SL, what predicts their actions.
And that's where i begin to wonder. Are you all so happy about that shiny capitalistic world of yours? Have you nothing learned about the sideeffects of an economic totaly based on money? Don't you see where it inevitable leads to? And how it will ruin the chance to make something really great out of SL? I don't want to talk about RL-politics as it is not the place for it. But I just want to realize you, what future we are facing, in RL as in SL, when we still focus to keep our selfmade dependancy upon money.
As I can imagine, SL has the potential to be anything we make it to. So I ask you:
Do you want just another matrix inside the matrix?
Or are we just responsible and mature (and here "mature" does not relay to sex ) enough, to take the chance and form a community, that's not about the money, and not controlled by the people with the most money. A community which is aimed to progress the quality of life for everyone, not only those temporarily earning the big money till the system collapses.
As you surely think by now, this all sounds quite utopic. And there is no already existing masterplan to achieve this. But if there is a place this could be done, it's SL. We could make an example, a proof of concept for a better world. Or instead, we let everything happen how it's always happening, stay true to capitalism and watch just another opportunity go by.
But I was just wondering...
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Cris Control
Registered User
Join date: 22 Sep 2005
Posts: 8
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09-29-2005 03:47
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Cris Control
Registered User
Join date: 22 Sep 2005
Posts: 8
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09-29-2005 03:48
Today, 10:18 AM #2
Daz Honey ~QotD~ Court Artist Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Dearborn Michigan Posts: 118 We have community and capitalism, it's a good combination I think. You can't build all day and you can't dance all day.... Daz Honey View Public Profile Send a private message to Daz Honey Visit Daz Honey's homepage! Find More Posts by Daz Honey Add Daz Honey to Your Buddy List Today, 10:26 AM #3 Cris Control Registered User Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 3 It's not about building all day or dancing all day. |
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Jesrad Seraph
Nonsense
Join date: 11 Dec 2004
Posts: 1,463
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09-29-2005 04:43
There is a good number of people in SL who don't take it as seriously as you think everyone does
 Besides SL is hardly capitalistic. It's an anarcho-libertarian society, and its economy is based on liberalism. SL isn't about the money, whatever these forums seem to show, it's about having fun. _____________________
Either Man can enjoy universal freedom, or Man cannot. If it is possible then everyone can act freely if they don't stop anyone else from doing same. If it is not possible, then conflict will arise anyway so punch those that try to stop you. In conclusion the only strategy that wins in all cases is that of doing what you want against all adversity, as long as you respect that right in others.
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Forseti Svarog
ESC
Join date: 2 Nov 2004
Posts: 1,730
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09-29-2005 06:22
what you are forgetting is that real world or virtual world, human nature remains the same. There's a person sitting at a keyboard behind every avatar, with the same basic drivers and emotions that have driven humans for thousands of years.
we may have a chance for psychological evolution through such new mediums as Second Life, but it is going to take time. It will emerge in small places, and possibly spread, rather than appearing upon a virtual society like a global awakening. Second Life is made up of many communities and many individuals, trying different things. If you want to try something different, make it happen within the world and perhaps some people will rally to your cause. Just don't expect everyone. Look at what Ulrika accomplished with Neualtenburg. |
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Jon Marlin
Builder, Coder, RL & SL
Join date: 10 Mar 2005
Posts: 297
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09-29-2005 06:39
Second Life is made up of many communities and many individuals, trying different things. If you want to try something different, make it happen within the world and perhaps some people will rally to your cause. I concur with this. I am fascinated with vehicles and mechanical stuff in real life, so I use SL as a platform to create new kinds of vehicles that are impossible to build in real life. The commerce stuff is nice -- selling these vehicles allows me to own 5000 meters of land and pays the tier on that land. If I had to pay tier and my account fees out of my pocket, I would have a much harder time justifying it, given that I have other RL hobbies (like building robots) that already consume most of my discretionary dollars. - Jon _____________________
Come visit Marlin Engineering at Horseshoe (222, 26) to see my line of flying vehicles.
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Margaret Mfume
I.C.
Join date: 30 Dec 2004
Posts: 2,492
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09-29-2005 07:02
...about the behaviour of humans. They live their lifes, go to work to earn money so they can make their living. They work to live. Now you give them a new place, where they can do whatever they want. And what happens? Of course, humans do what they're used to do. They start earning money to make a living and find a sense in their life. Your analysis of purpose seems a bit limited. I'm sure there are individuals for which this is true however my impression is that a good portion of people see their earnings as a means to fund their participation rather than a sense of purpose. I get the impression that they don't even view themselves as money makers if they are breaking even in this regard. The other factor you might want to consider is the nature of a talented person's RL job. While they may be utilizing their talents in its execution, the job itself is specified to meet someone else's purpose. Work in SL is determined by their own ideas and personal creativity is allowed to flourish which provides sense of self satisfaction. Payment for ones work by others is an acknowledgement of its value. I've always thought of it not as shopping but as supporting the arts, for I view SL as being the artistic expression of a collection of technical yet creative minds. _____________________
hush
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Boyfriend Bailly
Registered User
Join date: 13 Sep 2005
Posts: 60
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09-29-2005 09:00
There is a good number of people in SL who don't take it as seriously as you think everyone does Besides SL is hardly capitalistic. It's an anarcho-libertarian society, and its economy is based on liberalism. SL isn't about the money, whatever these forums seem to show, it's about having fun. I have seen many go overboard, and take unreasonably seriously. It's a game. Sometimes you can use it to make money. Other than that, it is unrealistic to expect anybody to consider whatever "hard work" you do in SL, to be anything more than just playing a game. No matter what you do in SL whether creating content or running a business, it is all simply part of playing the game. Therefore, it is not reasonable to see it as otherwise. what you are forgetting is that real world or virtual world, human nature remains the same. There's a person sitting at a keyboard behind every avatar, with the same basic drivers and emotions that have driven humans for thousands of years. I get this alot. I mean over and over again. The human nature fallacy. I could write a book on this. "Human nature" is always used as cop out for any realistic endeavor. We cannot do this and we cannot do that. Why? Because of human nature. This is the typical phrase: People will always, "insert false unrealistic statement about human nature here". Nobody is forgetting anything. There is no reason to believe the person starting this thread has overlooked anything. SL is a game that is used by many different users for many different purposes. The current RL system we live in is a system of leeching. The rich leech off of the poor in every way imaginable. We abide by a primitve survival of the fittest mentality. The less fit serve the more fit. We do not abide by a progrssive mentality. The more fit serve the less fit. In order for a primitve system to function, desperation must be ensured. Without desperation, nobody would do the work. Therefore the objective is to ensure desperation exists. In a progressive system, the objective is to eliminate desperation. Progressive thinkers ask how can we do this, and constantly come up with different techniques. Unfortunately, the conventional theory is not progressive. Primitve thinkrs do not ask how we can do this. Primitive thinkers ask why this will never happen. In a progressive template, it is always important to reduce jobs. In a primitve template, its is standard to create jobs. Technology is very important because it reduces jobs. As en example, it might have once taken one 100 people to poduce X amount of crop. With technology, it might only take 10 people to produce X amouint of crop. Therefore, we get all the crop with less the effort. The remaining 90 use their efforts towards progressive and technological design. The current system is not fitted for technology. Certain designers in the industrial ages have proposed the "technocracy" to replace capitalistic and socialistic economics. These ecoonomics do function properly in synch with the industrial age, and ven moreso as technology progresses past the information age. Because of our adherence to primtive systems, we create demand where demand is not needed. |
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Boyfriend Bailly
Registered User
Join date: 13 Sep 2005
Posts: 60
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09-29-2005 09:03
Payment for ones work by others is an acknowledgement of its value. Paying for one's work is not an acknowledgement of it's value. A work can be valuable whether anybody pays for it or not. Espcially if it is used alot, and is important to many players and the community. Payment as in buying/selling is simply part of the game. It's for fun. |
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Aliasi Stonebender
Return of Catbread
Join date: 30 Jan 2005
Posts: 1,858
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09-29-2005 09:38
While I fully agree that money is not the sum and limit of value:
Money - in general, I mean - is a symbol. Of life-force, of effort, of labor. It means you dug a ditch, sung a song, told a story, built a house. (Even in SL, it has meaning - even a stipend means you had to log in, as a basic account, or paid US$ to Linden Labs for the month, for a premium.) Thus, it is my own belief that getting paid a fair wage to do something is, in fact, one of the highest compliments; it means someone thought so much of your work - be it straight labor, creation, or simple skull-sweat - that they were willing to give you just the tiniest fraction of their life to you. (Not being paid fairly is a dire insult, for a similar reason.) Conversely, because money is just a symbol - a useful one, but a symbol, but the thing itself - it is entirely possible to accumulate more profit on paper than there is to be made. One cannot earn more than one can use, one can only aquire it. As a parallel principle, there are other ways and means for that essential thing to factor into any action. But that thing is always present; there is no such thing as a free lunch. If someone agrees to help you out of friendship or sheer altruism, you are still trading on the strength of that friendship or goodwill. Many creators in Second Life - myself included - enjoy this metric; creating because you like making things, and someone else likes making things, and you bounce ideas at each other to see what sticks. I'm aware it's an odd philosophical belief, but it seems more true to me as I go along in life. It places me in the position of agreeing with the capitalists and the socialist simultaneously at some times. I think it also adequately explains why I find the position of "it's just for fun, you should do it for free/you don't need to be able to buy and sell L$ for US$!" so mind-boggling. That position is, to me, claiming you find the things I do desirable enough to want them, but not so much that you wish to make a fair trade for it... and I find this incredibly insulting. _____________________
Red Mary says, softly, “How a man grows aggressive when his enemy displays propriety. He thinks: I will use this good behavior to enforce my advantage over her. Is it any wonder people hold good behavior in such disregard?”
Anything Surplus Home to the "Nuke the Crap Out of..." series of games and other stuff |
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Forseti Svarog
ESC
Join date: 2 Nov 2004
Posts: 1,730
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09-29-2005 09:49
two notes and I won't get into boyfriend's post because i've learned that he and I come at the world from radically different perspectives
He was right to point out that I should have edited out the phrase "you are forgetting" from my post before posting. I don't think the author was forgetting, but the author did ask a question as to whether we were mature enough, and I think there are many things that get in the way lastly, the term "human nature" is not a cop out in the way I used it. I am not saying anything can't be done, but I am saying that there are distinct challenges and that initial experiments will be small. understanding human psychology is critical to grasping the complexities of any endeavor, and the challenges to its success. |
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Margaret Mfume
I.C.
Join date: 30 Dec 2004
Posts: 2,492
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09-29-2005 10:59
Paying for one's work is not an acknowledgement of it's value. Your understanding of the word acknowledge seems to differ from mine. Your intrepretation seems to be using determination in place of acknowledgement. A work can be valuable whether anybody pays for it or not. Espcially if it is used alot, and is important to many players and the community. Where did I say that payment determined the value or importance of work? Payment as in buying/selling is simply part of the game. It's for fun. "Is"? This strikes me as an opinion of what you want or think it should be for everyone. I see the coexistence of multiple user paths. _____________________
hush
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HeatherDawn Cohen
Who Me?!?!
Join date: 9 Aug 2004
Posts: 397
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I wonder....
09-29-2005 11:30
....,I wonder.
I wonder why each little bird has a someone. To sing to, sweet dreams to. Laaaadeee Bado Lada Do Dooooooo Dooooooo OK! OK! I watch too many Disney Movies Bonus points to those who know which movie this song comes from. More bonus points if you can tell me that next darn line.  OT! I KNOW! But that phrase always makes me break out into song! |
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Cris Control
Registered User
Join date: 22 Sep 2005
Posts: 8
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09-29-2005 12:23
...a bird able to fly able to die able to break your cursed earth[..]
System of a Down - Know |
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HeatherDawn Cohen
Who Me?!?!
Join date: 9 Aug 2004
Posts: 397
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09-29-2005 13:21
HA, Yep...because System of a Down sings a lot of Disney songs.
Nice try though. |
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Boyfriend Bailly
Registered User
Join date: 13 Sep 2005
Posts: 60
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10-03-2005 10:36
understanding human psychology is critical to grasping the complexities of any endeavor, and the challenges to its success. Yes. Understanding does not mean using a flase sense of human nature to exemplify anything. While I fully agree that money is not the sum and limit of value: Money - in general, I mean - is a symbol. Of life-force, of effort, of labor. It means you dug a ditch, sung a song, told a story, built a house. (Even in SL, it has meaning - even a stipend means you had to log in, as a basic account, or paid US$ to Linden Labs for the month, for a premium.) Thus, it is my own belief that getting paid a fair wage to do something is, in fact, one of the highest compliments; it means someone thought so much of your work - be it straight labor, creation, or simple skull-sweat - that they were willing to give you just the tiniest fraction of their life to you. (Not being paid fairly is a dire insult, for a similar reason.) Conversely, because money is just a symbol - a useful one, but a symbol, but the thing itself - it is entirely possible to accumulate more profit on paper than there is to be made. One cannot earn more than one can use, one can only aquire it. As a parallel principle, there are other ways and means for that essential thing to factor into any action. But that thing is always present; there is no such thing as a free lunch. If someone agrees to help you out of friendship or sheer altruism, you are still trading on the strength of that friendship or goodwill. Many creators in Second Life - myself included - enjoy this metric; creating because you like making things, and someone else likes making things, and you bounce ideas at each other to see what sticks. I'm aware it's an odd philosophical belief, but it seems more true to me as I go along in life. It places me in the position of agreeing with the capitalists and the socialist simultaneously at some times. I think it also adequately explains why I find the position of "it's just for fun, you should do it for free/you don't need to be able to buy and sell L$ for US$!" so mind-boggling. That position is, to me, claiming you find the things I do desirable enough to want them, but not so much that you wish to make a fair trade for it... and I find this incredibly insulting. There is no rational explanation or justification to be insulted about anything. A person finds something desirable, and wants it for free. It is solely up to you to give it to the person or not. There is no need to get insulted. It is not fair to people to expect something in return. Either you let it go for free or you do not. It is a choice you make. You do not deserve anything. In other words, you are not entitled to anything. Therefore, you have no reason to expect anything. Therefore, it is unnecessary for a logical minded individual to be insulted. Money is not a symbol of making an effort, and there is no necessity in paying any compliments that you speak of. We use money to symbolize resources. Natural resources and human labor. The whole “he’s a hard worker” stigma is nothing but cultural subjectivism. There is no such thing as “earning” money per say. You acquire money, and you spend money. Proper incentive for valuable labor is money. Desperation is never an incentive in a progressive economic system. Desperation is an incentive in a primitive economic system such as the systems we abide by today. “There is no such thing as a free lunch” is a fallacy. It holds no realistic or practical significance. We do not ‘allow’ people to live like animals. We ‘ensure’ people live like animals. |
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Dianne Mechanique
Back from the Dead
Join date: 28 Mar 2005
Posts: 2,648
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10-03-2005 10:53
Yes. Understanding does not mean ....  I am in favour though. Will there be uniforms? _____________________
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black art furniture & classic clothing =================== Black in Neufreistadt Black @ ONE Black @ www.SLBoutique.com . |
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Dark Korvin
Player in the RL game
Join date: 13 Jun 2005
Posts: 769
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10-03-2005 18:23
[maybe here's a better place for that] ...about the behaviour of humans. They live their lifes, go to work to earn money so they can make their living. They work to live. Now you give them a new place, where they can do whatever they want. And what happens? Of course, humans do what they're used to do. They start earning money to make a living and find a sense in their life. Now, for many of you, this may be all fine. Because you're successful, you've got your own ideas implementet in a great way or you're just having fun doing the things you do to make your living. And you earn money. For some of you, making money is all the thing for what they come to SL, what predicts their actions. And that's where i begin to wonder. Are you all so happy about that shiny capitalistic world of yours? Have you nothing learned about the sideeffects of an economic totaly based on money? Don't you see where it inevitable leads to? And how it will ruin the chance to make something really great out of SL? I don't want to talk about RL-politics as it is not the place for it. But I just want to realize you, what future we are facing, in RL as in SL, when we still focus to keep our selfmade dependancy upon money. As I can imagine, SL has the potential to be anything we make it to. So I ask you: Do you want just another matrix inside the matrix? Or are we just responsible and mature (and here "mature" does not relay to sex ) enough, to take the chance and form a community, that's not about the money, and not controlled by the people with the most money. A community which is aimed to progress the quality of life for everyone, not only those temporarily earning the big money till the system collapses. As you surely think by now, this all sounds quite utopic. And there is no already existing masterplan to achieve this. But if there is a place this could be done, it's SL. We could make an example, a proof of concept for a better world. Or instead, we let everything happen how it's always happening, stay true to capitalism and watch just another opportunity go by. But I was just wondering... There are plenty of things people care about. Food, shelter, clothes, toys, cars, internet, computers, etc.. What do all these things have in common. Someone will give them to you in exchange for that US dollar in your pocket. What do you know, someone else will give you US dollars in exchange for linden dollars. That means I can sit here and sell you a virtual house, and you will give me the ability to get a cheeseburger at McDonalds. You get the pleasure of having a house that is yours in a computer, I get the cheeseburger in my stomach. Are we both not happy with the little trade we made? Didn't we both get what we wanted? Has anything bad happened here? Where do you see room for improvement? Is it the favortism of money makers that you think should be eliminated? Let me refresh you on how money makers are not being favored. Currency being sold as it is printed, unlimited supply of land, lack of sinks to keep $L from falling, first land given away to make sure everyone has a peice of land. There are reasons for some of these. I'm not saying that it is wrong they all exist, but I certainly don't see any proof that Linden Labs is out to just help a small amount of people make money. |
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Jeffrey Gomez
Cubed™
Join date: 11 Jun 2004
Posts: 3,522
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10-03-2005 19:55
This is why I live by one word: moderation.
With Second Life, you have the right to live as freely or as expensively as you choose. I doubt that will change, because if it did, it would drive many people away. After all, SL exists purely because it's a concept defined by us. If this were condensed purely into a game or purely into a business platform, I'd quit. Pure and simple. But again, I doubt that will happen. _____________________
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Pleasure Semple
Registered User
Join date: 13 Sep 2005
Posts: 84
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10-03-2005 20:11
Sounds to me like you've been reading "The Dispossessed" lately, but don't have quite the grasp on all the terminology. I am in favour though. Will there be uniforms? Never heard of that book until you mentioned it. I checked it out on Amazon. Looks interesting though. All of my theories behind social design and economics are not regurgetated. They are all from my studies about social systems and econcomics in the pursuit of better and more progressive designs. People tend to take SL more seriously than just playing a game. Whatever you want to call it, it doesn't matter what you are here for, SL is a platform for creating, interacting, and playing. Otherwise, there would be no business for anything. Sure you can make RL money off of it, but it is in no way a business platform. If you play expecting people to take you seriously, you wopuld be in for disappointment. It is a Second Life because you can create and shape your character. You can play dolly house by creating your house, and furnishing it. You can do alot of role playing in SL. All the businesses are just part of the fun. Sure you make RL money off of it, but a business in Second Life is just that. A business in Second Life. |
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Memir Quinn
Registered User
Join date: 7 May 2005
Posts: 306
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10-03-2005 22:26
Never heard of that book until you mentioned it. I checked it out on Amazon. Looks interesting though. All of my theories behind social design and economics are not regurgetated. They are all from my studies about social systems and econcomics in the pursuit of better and more progressive designs. People tend to take SL more seriously than just playing a game. Whatever you want to call it, it doesn't matter what you are here for, SL is a platform for creating, interacting, and playing. Otherwise, there would be no business for anything. Sure you can make RL money off of it, but it is in no way a business platform. If you play expecting people to take you seriously, you wopuld be in for disappointment. It is a Second Life because you can create and shape your character. You can play dolly house by creating your house, and furnishing it. You can do alot of role playing in SL. All the businesses are just part of the fun. Sure you make RL money off of it, but a business in Second Life is just that. A business in Second Life. Tell that to folk like Anshe, and whilst you're at it run a simple little conversion on her leader board L$s? Yep all play, nope no real business here at all. But then you know that. |
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Cris Control
Registered User
Join date: 22 Sep 2005
Posts: 8
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10-04-2005 12:42
There are plenty of things people care about. Food, shelter, clothes, toys, cars, internet, computers, etc.. What do all these things have in common. Someone will give them to you in exchange for that US dollar in your pocket. What do you know, someone else will give you US dollars in exchange for linden dollars. That means I can sit here and sell you a virtual house, and you will give me the ability to get a cheeseburger at McDonalds. You get the pleasure of having a house that is yours in a computer, I get the cheeseburger in my stomach. Are we both not happy with the little trade we made? Didn't we both get what we wanted? Has anything bad happened here? Where do you see room for improvement? [...] Hm, okay. Let me think of some room for improvement. And I will try to get more seriously as I go on. First of all, I would feel guilty if you'd purchase fast food because I bought anything from you Now let's talk about that US dollar in your pocket. What do you think will you get for that paper in, let's say, 10 years, when that whole economy of yours will have crashed due to that enormous debt of the US? Did you took in concern, that US are raising billions of credits every year just to cover the interest they have to pay for their already existing debts? You know, that has happend to another country a few decades ago. The national debt was extremely high, inflation took people to need so much money just for a bread they had to carry it in pushcarts...And you know to what it led? WWII. But sure, the US have nothing in common with that wardriving nationalsocialistic germany back than, do they? No, of course not. US is doing that war-to-keep-inland-economy-running game since the 50s...(I don't enumerate it here, would take to much space) But I'm drifting away, sorry anyway. What I try to show you is the basic rule of todays economy: growth. And making money out of money (interest).So you have two economic cycles in here: money-goods and money-money. But what do we do when our market allows us no further growth? Yeah, of course, bomb it down and rebuild it. No, wait, that's wrong...bomb THE OTHERS down and rebuild THEIR economy...that might solve our problems for sure. You can see that behaviour in history everywhere. And to even aggravate that situation, our stupid scientists just won't stop developing more geeky things that do the work our workers used to do. Nice thing, huh? No need to work anymore! Oh no, I forgot, then you've no money for food, shelter, clothes, toys, cars, internet, computers. Just because that damn progress... Sorry for being a little bit cynic. So what has SL to do with the sad history of economy? This is where the room for improvement comes in. Inside SL is the room for improvement! We have the chance to find a better way. We have the possibilities for an experiment that could change the whole world. But sure, keep being happy about cheeseburgers... |
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Dark Korvin
Player in the RL game
Join date: 13 Jun 2005
Posts: 769
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10-04-2005 14:32
There are plenty of things people care about. Food, shelter, clothes, toys, cars, internet, computers, etc.. What do all these things have in common. Someone will give them to you in exchange for that US dollar in your pocket. What do you know, someone else will give you US dollars in exchange for linden dollars. That means I can sit here and sell you a virtual house, and you will give me the ability to get a cheeseburger at McDonalds. You get the pleasure of having a house that is yours in a computer, I get the cheeseburger in my stomach. Are we both not happy with the little trade we made? Didn't we both get what we wanted? Has anything bad happened here? Where do you see room for improvement? [...] Hm, okay. Let me think of some room for improvement. And I will try to get more seriously as I go on. First of all, I would feel guilty if you'd purchase fast food because I bought anything from you Now let's talk about that US dollar in your pocket. What do you think will you get for that paper in, let's say, 10 years, when that whole economy of yours will have crashed due to that enormous debt of the US? Did you took in concern, that US are raising billions of credits every year just to cover the interest they have to pay for their already existing debts? You know, that has happend to another country a few decades ago. The national debt was extremely high, inflation took people to need so much money just for a bread they had to carry it in pushcarts...And you know to what it led? WWII. But sure, the US have nothing in common with that wardriving nationalsocialistic germany back than, do they? No, of course not. US is doing that war-to-keep-inland-economy-running game since the 50s...(I don't enumerate it here, would take to much space) But I'm drifting away, sorry anyway. What I try to show you is the basic rule of todays economy: growth. And making money out of money (interest).So you have two economic cycles in here: money-goods and money-money. But what do we do when our market allows us no further growth? Yeah, of course, bomb it down and rebuild it. No, wait, that's wrong...bomb THE OTHERS down and rebuild THEIR economy...that might solve our problems for sure. You can see that behaviour in history everywhere. And to even aggravate that situation, our stupid scientists just won't stop developing more geeky things that do the work our workers used to do. Nice thing, huh? No need to work anymore! Oh no, I forgot, then you've no money for food, shelter, clothes, toys, cars, internet, computers. Just because that damn progress... Sorry for being a little bit cynic. So what has SL to do with the sad history of economy? This is where the room for improvement comes in. Inside SL is the room for improvement! We have the chance to find a better way. We have the possibilities for an experiment that could change the whole world. But sure, keep being happy about cheeseburgers... Hmm, lots of points here. First off, I don't think World War II happened because their money existed. I think their problems started in a conflict named World War I. Their problems with money was a symptom and not the cause. You don't say that hearts kill people, because sometimes heart attacks happen. I have recently gotten out of the U.S. Army Infantry. I never agreed with the war. I do think this war will cause us more problems than solutions. I don't think money is the sinister thing in the background, but I think greed is. The existance of money is not what causes our government officials to exploit the war for their profit. Their unjust desire to profit off of others misfortune is what causes the ugliness. You don't fix the problem by getting rid of money. You fix the problem by somehow taking our government official's ability to own shares in companies that profit off of wars. As for cheeseburgers; don't worry. I don't only buy cheese burgers with money I earn. My point was more along the lines that if I want a cheeseburger and you want a virtual house. Without money it is harder for us to trade. Are you going to ship me a chesseburger, so that I will give you your virtual house. If I wanted an apple, whould you ship me an apple. Money is not the root of evil. Greed is the root of evil. Money is just a means for people to give each other what they want. Do you have an idea of how to eliminate greed in SL? |