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Actually opting out of the

Submitted by Philip Brewer on August 3, 2007 - 06:09.

Actually opting out of the money economy is an extreme choice that's probably not right for most people. The tactics used, though--making do, doing without, pooling resources with family, friends, and neighbors, producing things that you (and others) need--also work for people who stay in the money economy.

Economists will point out that producing your own stuff is not as efficient as letting some more-efficient (or lesser-paid) person produce it while you work at a job to earn the money to buy it. Even if you're quite poorly paid, you still have a higher standard of living that way. But the more the money economy has its hooks into you, the more it circumscribes your choices.

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