In this video, Charles breaks down the false dichotomy of gifts versus money. Timebanks look more like traditional gift economies where reciprocal relationships and recognition were encouraged not shunned as part of a healthy, ecologically sound, gift culture...something I've been trying to explain for a long time.
http://vimeo.com/18513825
I didn't have an hour to listen to the whole presentation, but I'm a little confused. Doesn't the time bank, and the "time dollar", serve the exact same function as "money", but only in a more inefficient form? Under the time bank I do something for you, and only get the reciprocity if and when there is some service you can perform for me. If my assistance to you takes an hour, and yours to me takes 1.5 hours, then we don't have an equal exchange. Being of a generous nature, neither you nor I may mind getting "short end of the stick", but that will hardly be a universal attribute (we can't assume away human nature). Doesn't money (e.g., dollars and cents) allow us to (a) more precisely allocate and value our time, and (b) allow us to trade benefits with a broader range of people? Isn't the "time dollar" just a new form of money with a much more restricted set of possible uses?
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