I personally like doing my part by just kinda talking to people about anarchism. We all struggle in this system but a lot of us really don’t know the root of it all. We all hate our boss, get stressed about having to pay taxes and rent, and just living paycheck to paycheck. People are sick of it. So if you can just talk to your fellow humans, mono e mono, and portray leftist ideas with positivity and not “fuck capitalism, you should hate it too!!1” that could make a difference. I think what’s pushing a lot of progressive but still liberal people away from full blown socialism (anarchy) is the general negative attitude that Leftist show AND not truly being able to imagine it. So if we all wanna change that and have a honest discussion with our friends and family about anti-capitalism in an informed and good-faith manner, we might actually have a chance at spreading a wider message.

Does this hypothetical society you propose use any industrially produced goods to maintain itself?

ArIf so… do you imagine those industrially produced goods to be the result of a barter economy?

No and no. Since I took food as an example I’ll use that because we all need food and it’s the most important product that needs to be addressed. The way we produce today industrially is 1) centralized, 2) profit-driven, and 3) heavily dependent on exploitative labor and fossil fuels. In contrast, the model I’m proposing would decentralize food production, it would be very emphatic on local autonomy, and be organized around mutual aid and shared responsibility rather than trade or barter.

Instead of massive monoculture farms and supply chains thousands of miles long, food would be grown close to where people live - through networks of community gardens, small-scale permaculture farms, and cooperative distribution. The tools and materials needed, (yes, even some that are industrially produced) could be made in worker-run, federated workshops where production is democratically planned and prioritized based on need, not market demand.

So no, it’s not barter. It’s not trade. The example that I tried to give was not fully “you give me X, I give you Y.” (I know, I did a shit job of explaining it) It’s a gift-based, need-based economy rooted in reciprocity (what we already see in disaster response and indigenous food sovereignty projects). It’s about building systems where everyone has access to what they need without having to earn it or bargain for it.

You need to understand that money became much more than a tool facilitate trade. Nowadays it’s become a way of consolidating power and controlling resources, which amplifies inequality. When you say:

There’s no rule that says an anarchist society needs to be moneyless.

That’s not exactly the full truth. Getting rid of money right this instant would be a logistical nightmare. But there are already so many things we don’t need money for it’s hysterical. Being an anarchist today means you question authority constantly to either deem it legitimate or not. In todays age money is a great tool for you to hoard resources and otherwise wealth. So the question for us is not “How fast can we get rid of money” but rather “What kind of system can we implement in order to make money practically useless.”

Edit: In other words, lets say you have 100 Dollars, you decide “I wanna buy some bread.” You stumble upon a commune that eliminated money entirely and traded based on need. You see two people are actively trading bread and fruits… with no profit incentive whatsoever. Just kind of trading because “ehh, I have enough apples for myself, here you go.” Wont that interaction make you completely question those 100 bucks that you planned to use?

I don’t think Elon is that smart to realize what ‘delete all IP laws’ entails. He probably thinks it in the sense of an anarcho-capitalist.

Anarchy for me not for thee.