9.24.2007

Peace and free love... Priceless

Okay that was a really bad joke, but i heard of a anarchistic scheme this weekend that i think we should discuss ["We"? I'm such a tool]
This plan originated with a Greer, which wouldn't surprise you if you know these three brothers; Columbia residents and great guys who in conversation will bring up peak oil, Django Reinheart, or NPR (National Petroleum Radio). So I'm not sure which brother had the idea, maybe one of them can tell more about it, but the general plan is to get a group of about 40 people and start a commune, living off the "grid" in tents or huts, what. washing your clothes against rocks, raising naked babies, making things out of hemp, having drum circles, smoking a lot of glaucoma medicine, what have you.

Here's where VISA comes in. To afford this utopian life style one person maxes out their card to get the supplies needed for the community that year. This person, now with several thousands of dollars of debt breaks all ties to the outside world. Without a phone and address (since there's no 1 Commune Court or Ghanja Ave) the reasoning is that this person becomes untraceable and avoids debt collectors.

Then each year when you are running low on granola another person buys up to their limit, the commune gets new Phish albums and everyone rejoices, being unphased by the detriment this has to their credit score. "Man, credit scores were created buy the three imperial banks that own everything to keep the social classes in line as they continue right on raping mother nature!" and to some extent this is true, credit scores are arbitrary numbers use to determine who gets a loans and who much more someone has to pay in interest ("How am I gonna get a new car? Thanks JD!") The worse your score the more likely it is for you to stay in poverty

So, i'm sure there are some technical problems to be work out of the plan (like how anarchist are going to get a credit line over $5), but sense so many people go into debt already, why not hurt the system while we do it? Lets all be dirty stinking hippies together!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

i like it - i'm in. i'll bring the long patchwork skirts, some tomato seeds, and a homemade hoola hoop.

Liz said...

brilliant. when can i move in? (soon, hopefully, to escape my credit card and student loan payments.)

Anonymous said...

Well written article.