Freeconomy Blog
Tue
25 May
The Guardian Column
| 19 comments |
Today is just a quick one as I'm under a lot of time pressure this week with the book officially coming out next Tuesday. Also on Tuesday, 1st June @ 2pm, I am doing a live one hour Q&A session on the Guardian online (it will be promoted on their homepage from about 12.45pm onwards, so follow the link from there on the day). It'll be a perfect chance to ask me any question you want, and allow everyone else to read my responses.
It will also be promoting my new Guardian column, called 'Life for Free', which kicks-off on Wednesday 2nd June.
Each week I'll pick one aspect of life (Food for Free, Travel for Free, Washing etc) and show how it can be done without any money.
If you could stick both those dates in your diary to logon to the Guardian online and leave a comment (ideally to raise debate but feel free to support / criticise as you see fit), I'd really appreciate it. Let's get the public questioning the whole subject and see what answers come out of it at the end.
If you could also spread it far and wide on facebook and twitter also (and other networks), that would be fantastic and much appreciated too. The more people who read the new blog (one every two weeks) and comment on it, the further up the Guardian charts it goes, meaning it will go out to a huge audience worldwide, meaning more members for all local groups around the world.
And to all the new members in Poland (over 1,000 yesterday alone!), I want to say a huge DZIEN DOBRY and DZIEKUJE! If you need any initial help with the site, feel free to ask any questions below in the comments section.
Privilege to be sharing the planet with you all.
THE FREECONOMY BLOG is written by Mark Boyle, who has been living for 18 months without money, and is the founder of the Freeconomy Community.
Comment on this Post:
Darren (MrDa) comments ...
Hi Mark,
Yes, I've got a question for you. Could you highlight, in your article, the way advertising and the filters of the propaganda model shape Guardian news and opinion. You can find my summary of the process here (http://www.gentleapocalypse.com/2006/04/this-is-news.html#more). Perhaps in "News for Free"?
Thank you for a superb service Mark, and a wonderful spirit. I look forward to reading your book.
Darren (MrDa)
hollie comments ...
id love to see a column specifically for families, its relatively easy to hitch a lift if your a single guy like you self but with a little one in tow it can become more difficult.
its the one aspect ( having a toddler ) that has made some parts of free living damn right impossible. but others absolutely hilarious.
we have the eating for free ( almost ) down to a tee and cant wait for the first cherries ( 10 trees already spotted :-) ) and luckily enough hes still small enough to stick on my shoulders to reach the higher fruits !
ania comments ...
Thank you Mark, I do appreciate what you are doing. I am very happy that I have found this site.
Johan comments ...
This chap is fantastic!! I believe we can soon be a society free of money, but at first still using a lot of barter of goods and exchange of services. End all slavery to the money masters! Hip hip hip Hurray!
Lyssa M comments ...
OOOH... yay! sounds cool... looking forward to your colomns... a few things friends have brought up like how to wash clothes ect and I've said I know someone who makes his own soap for clothes but not how you do it so can pass all the info on!! And I'll be spreading the news and dropping links to your colomns every where, lol.
@Hollie much as a family aimed column would be great the only problem is Mark doesn't have kids and so most likely wouldn't have the first clue, lol. I totally understand tho... got a 6 yr old, a 4yr old and baby on the way.... for ages my travel for free was by bike with a trailer for the kids that I got off freecycle... worked great till they got too old and I can't even take the 4 yr old now cos it's high risk pregnancy (can't wait till baby is born and old enough so I can take him out in the trailler!!!)
With you on the cherries... we've seen the first start of them.... the little teeny green blobs and Every day my 4yr old asks if they're ready yet... the trees are just outside the school so great for a snack for the kids on the way home!!
meow comments ...
Hey Mark, best regards from Poland :)
SERDECZNIE POZDRAWIAMY!
the article about you appeared on one of major news websites (it was reprint from one of the Guardian articles), i also noticed many Polish bloggers provide links to videos or articles about you - so ideas u're promoting by ur way of life are becoming pretty influential here.
Ur example might be extreme for some folks, not everyone is ready to abandon modern lifestyle, but for many people is the clear message that money oriented life filled with luxury, electronic toys and hedonism is just illusion of happiness. It's just a matter of time when our civilization will have no other option but to accept sustainabilty, low-tech and slow-life :)
Thanks for setting positive pattern, I strongly appreciate it - It helps to keep spirit high!
Ana comments ...
Hi Mark, IMO since you're selling your book in other countries too, wouldn't be fair to invest the money rise abroad to open freeconomy communities in those respective countries, it will encourage more sellings?
I will be following your Guardian articles with interest.
hollie comments ...
@ Lyssa M - yeah i understand that, im a regular reader of the guardian and im hoping, even if it was only a few ideas that someone would comment with even more!
i know some of the ideas for free living can be adapted for families but there are others where i have no idea to start!
GP comments ...
just found your site via the book review in Cygnus books and was intrigued after recently watching a CofE vicar try something similar recently on BBC2... you seem to be alot more organised - good luck to you
Steve comments ...
I too think what you doing is great - you're raising the profile of a growing market... the organic, free-range and alternative movement is quickly becoming absorbed by the mainstream and some people are aiming to profit from it!
You on the other hand seem to be doing it for the greater good - congratulations for keeping the spirit of freedom alive!
I also saw the programme featuring the vicar, it was informative, have you seen it Mark? Perhaps it could used in one of your columns, or perhaps you could contact him and find out what he learned.
Keep up the good work and remember to Keep the spirit of true freedom alive.
Edson M comments ...
Hello from Edson + Brazil + Sao Paulo state + Sao Paulo city. Great experience! I was wondering how to spend the winter without heating...
LyssaM comments ...
@Edson M Hi... not sue how cold it gets where you are but in Albania we have little stoves for heating and you can just collect wood and use that... or if you have a fireplace again, collecting wood to burn... Also lots of layers, lol.
Mark Boyle comments ...
The live Q&A is now at 2pm on Tuesday 1st June, and the fist blog, Food ... for Free, on Weds 3rd - join in the debate!
Robert Howes (Swansea, Wales, UK) comments ...
Read this article on tobacco. Extract below. It is because of money that tobacco is grown. We don't need tobacco at all. We need trees and food. What is the fastest way to bring about a world that feeds everyone rather than killing them?
http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3324/tobacco_stains/
Without even factoring in the paper wrapping, packaging and print advertisements—which require as much paper by weight as the tobacco being grown—nearly 600 million trees are felled each year to provide the fuel necessary for drying out the tobacco. That means one in eight trees cut down each year worldwide is being destroyed for tobacco production. In South Korea and Uruguay, tobacco-related deforestation accounts for more than 40 percent of the countries’ total annual deforestation. While in Malawi, in a region where only three percent of the farmers grow tobacco, nearly 80 percent of the trees cut down each year are used for the curing process.
Such a rapid depletion of trees in an already semi-arid climate will lead to desertification. Parts of Uganda are currently losing much of their arable land as the topsoil erodes.
Yet farmers in developing countries continue to grow tobacco because of the tremendous financial incentives from multinational corporations like Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds. With enticements such as farming supplies or a guaranteed foreign exchange for their crops, farmers are reluctant to use their land for anything else.
Cheers,
Bob
***
Sandie comments ...
I've just ordered my copy through Amazon, via the 'Big Green Idea'. This enables the BGI to receive a commission: http://www.thebiggreenidea.org/news/newsletter_article/the-big-green-bus-at-the-malvern-spring-show (go to the bottom of the web page for details)
Danny Q Ballyshannon comments ...
Hi Mark, Just got your book from your Mum, I have read 50% of it so far and I must say I spot a sense of humour that only a moneyless person can possess, some of the wit contained in the book reminds me of my youth when we in our street shared & enjoyed a great community spirit. I am reminded of a quote from BUDDHA, "Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of that candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared". May your work be nurtured worldwide. Keep up the good work and good luck with the book. Take care for now.
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