On Globalized Capital-Democracy
"Time for Time" at 4th
International Utopian Studies Conference
Text by Andreas Friedrich Halle
Translation by Katrin Arnholz
Prolog
What is the utopia all about?
Train of thought!
How does such a community finance itself ?
Which interest-rate is applied on time?
The project!
The procedure
Prolog
When
we
wrote this utopia in 1993, we could by no means have imagined
it would develop into a project that by now has lasted for ten
years.
At
first, our utopia "Tme for Time" was nothing more than
the project of two philosophy students on "utopias"
during their coursework.
To
be honest, we had quickly gotten bored with the traditional proceeding
at German universities: exams, papers or homework.
With
time, we became familiar with Platon, Campanella, Morus and many
others.
Over the centuries, all of them had one idea in common: They developed
ideal societies in which they created an image that stood in sharp
contrast to their real life situation.
One
could argue about whether and to which extent they succeeded or
failed, and some of you may have made it their soul food to judge
and critique utopias in this way.
We,
however, in all our naivety only saw reality - a reality with
which we had to cope in lack of an alternative solution. Hence,
what else could we have done but to become part of this 2000-year
old continuity?
The
question only was: Would a German professor ever accept such a
work that was very unusual in his academic world?
Perhaps,
at the time, he had J.
R. R. Tolkien in his mind, when he dealt with our project.
Tolkien had found an empty page in the coursework of one of his
students. Exactly on this empty page the beginning of his world
famous work took shape. He wrote: "Once upon a time there
was a little Hobbit."
Even
if repetition is the mother of all sciences, our professor may
have thought: This doesn't have to be the case. Thus, he allowed
us to continue our writing. Maybe - and I shouldn't exclude this
possibility - we also had convinced him.
No
matter what his motivation was, at this point we would like to
thank Professor Lothar Schäfer of the University of Hamburg
cordially for his acceptance of our project.
If
one or the other of you occasionally has contact with students:
For us it basically meant that our utopia became concrete at the
time!
Thus,
we developed "Time for Time"
The
book
and the internet project
followed. We are grateful to have been invited to this conference,
and we thank the Director of this Conference Mr Alex Alban Gomez
Coutouly for his invitation and for giving us the opportunity
to introduce our project "Time for Time" to an international
audience.
What
is the utopia all about?
In
the late 90's of the last century, four travellers meet in a compartment
of a train in a suburban traffic system in Germany.
The
good (Mascha), the bad (Sergio), the ugly one (Paul) as well as
the storyteller (Ution).
On
the road
from Munich to Hamburg, there develops a dispute between these
four about the present condition of the world, and urgent questions
about humanity. There are arguments such as "it won´t
work" as well as "utopia is dead". Mascha, an attractive
woman, is faced with all these arguments and even with the absolute
lack of understanding by the others, and finds herself defending
her idea of a world with a more humane face. The travellers go
off into a world of utopia, which Mascha introduces with the following
words:
"Now",
Mascha said, "I will tell you about my world, a world more
and more people think about. People who stand on the same soil
as you do, but their lives don't fullfill them. Now, I have to
warn you. Whoever comes into contact with my world may find it
barbarian, at times even intolerable. This person may want to
get out of there. But whoever thinks in my way and wants to talk
about it will be called an 'utopianist'. Every day there are more
of the dissatisfied and exploited - all victims of our unfair
world. Many humans are tired of their constant strive for money.
Day by day the insight grows that systems are created by humans.
If we recognize that these systems do not function we must abolish
them and replace them by better ones. This is a question of recognition
and will. Thinking comes before acting. Thinking takes place in
our minds, and this is where we want to go now. This is a journey
with no return, therefore either you leave now or stay with us."
Illustration:
Lara Dahlmann
Now,
we want to go on. The group arrives in Istanbul, a city which
was converted from a Moloch to a genuine bead at the Bosporus.
Please read the entire report on the journey at your own time,
if you like.
Train
of thought!
In
order for you to be able to follow our solutions, let me briefly
describe the core aspects of our utopia. I will include some citations
from the text.
We
based our economic system on the present one, which is based on
money. In our utopia we replaced money with time. Our system is
based on the following considerations:
a)
For each product, which we buy we pay money. We acquire money
by means of our skills as well as in employment in which we spent
a not inconsiderable part of our lifetime. The evaluation of our
skills is expressed in the current value system. We know, however,
that a value system can change significantly, thus it is arbitrary.
If our skills are in demand, we are worth a lot and receive much
money. If our skills are less in need, we may be able to make
a living; but if our skills are not needed at all we receive social
welfare or starve to death.
b)
The evaluation of time in which we bring our skills in application
correlates with to the dominant value system. The only objective
factor in this system is however the time we spent exercising
our skills.
Thus,
it is not arbitrary.
One
hour remains one hour. Not matter whether we work as a physician
or a postman. And that is true world-wide.
Hence, in our utopia we replaced money with time.
Which evaluation do humans in the utopia "Time for Time"
apply under this condition to the goods of their daily needs?
Let´s
listen to Mascha:
"We use exclusively reusable packaging materials. We have
complicated recycling systems for consumer goods, (...) All things
are made to last as long as possible. The thought behind is that
our citizens should not waste their precious lifetime on the production
of one-way products which is the case in your society for example".
In
the larger systems alike, long life and efficiency are the core
aspects.
Ution:
Solar
cells sparkling like polished diamonds between the light play
of nature and the cheerful colours of the buildings projecting
countless facets and giving me an impression of how much energy
was produced in this metropolis to keep it alive. In the distance,
white steam rose into the skies. I asked Mascha: What is this?
"These are small hydrogen-based power stations", she
said. "We decentralized the power supply and separated the
big industrial companies into smaller units. We only produce energy
where we need it. Likewise, we produce most goods where they are
needed. What you see is pure water vapour which we normally use
for the heating of our homes. But right now, in summer, we don't
need it. On specific days on which all factors are correct, we
let out the steam. This way, we are able to establish a microclimate
above the city. In the evening, the clouds will produce rain which
helps the irrigation of our plants and cleans our solar collectors
from dust. Some of the steam we use for Turkish baths - very good
for body and soul.
 How
does such a community finance itself?
Masacha:
"As
already said, every citizen, hence every Efektiviganto, has the
right for the provision of the basic goods. These are housing,
food, clothes, medical supply, transportation and education. These
goods must be provided in order to secure the existence of the
world population. At birth, every person is entitled by our constitution
to access these goods and services. At first free of charge. Later
on, starting with the age of 16, every citizen is obligated to
spend part of his lifetime working to make these goods available.
By "time of existence" we understand the time in which
an Efektiviganto will work for the community. The sum of this
"time of existence" is administered by the Realiganto
for economy. As you know, we don't have money. Our taxes are computed
in seconds and minutes. The "time of existence" which
need to be served never ends, however, it diminuishes. One of
the tasks the Realiganto for economy has to carry out is to annually
determine how long a person has to serve the community in order
to provide for the basic needs of all. At present, these are three
months, or 300 Horoj."
Which
interest-rate is applied on time?
Mascha:
"I
for example am a catholic priest. I am responsible for a small
church here in Istanbul. The members of the congregation pay me
directly. They guaranteed that I will receive a fixed wage of
one time unit, of a Horo, as we say, per work hour. I have some
Horos in my account. I can do with them whatever I want: I can
save them or buy myself something and use it, or I can donate
them. The latter are characteristics, which the Horo does not
have. The Horo is not transferable. However, my lifetime is, and
I can give it to someone for example in the form of work."
Time
does not have a universal exchange value, and is not directly
transferable. Only through past time, equal to the number of goods
produced, or directly by human interaction can time be exchanged.
It is impossible to inherit lifetime; one can only give it to
the community at one's death. If time has this prominent value,
so our consideration, then everybody will regard his lifetime
and the lifetime of others differently. People would, for example,
put more emphasis on the development of personality rather than
on the possession of consumer goods with all their negative characteristics.
With
this background in mind, the reader is faced with all questions
relevant for a utopian society: with himself, the relationship
to nature, with language, science, force, justice and death, to
name only a few. The social and political structure of the society
is outlines differently from what we experience today.
If
you allow this principle to have an effect on yourself, you will
realize a seemingly marginal change of a sign in its consequences,
and into the social contacts of each individual. Exactly in the
same way as it is currently done by money. The global consequences
of a system based on money may seem barbarian to the inhabitants
of our utopia just as the times of the Inquisition seem barbarian
to us.
The
project!
We
only took a line of thought and developed it, without having to
invent a new form. We think that utopias are a conditio
humana, just like spirituality and the knowledge of mortality.
That
was ten years ago, and as you all know, "Time marches on".
According to the central idea of "Time for Time" we
had to face two facts. The Internet and our own mortality. We
hope to address both of these issues with the next step.
At
the beginning, there were questions, like:
o Will the idea of an internet lead to the development of a new
"style" of utopia?
o Which influence can the principle of open-source have?
o Where will discussion groups, newsgroups and links lead, which
have been and are still developed about this topic?
o And will utopia, a thousand-year old tradition, manage this
media jump?
It
is rather hard to imagine in our time to be fixed in a local environment.
I use the "nowhere" from my worldly point of "somewhere".
Not to speak of the fact that the network community has long destroyed
the traditional idea of community. Our answer is "Time for
Time" as point of reference for an organic work. While maintaining
our philosophy, our utopia can be continued or rewritten by every
one who is interested.
The
procedure
One
can subscribe
to order the utopia online. By the time when 600 people have ordered
it, the book will be published and send out. What (we hope) you
get is a brainpool of 600 and two different persons focused on
one text and one internet side with lots of information to and
around utopias.
We
invite you to build interest
groups on special aspects according to the text and to rewrite
the whole utopia. This rewritten Utopia (based on the central
ideas of the first version) will as well be published after people
(600 to maybe 1000) made their orders. We are hoping to see the
third edition coming along - in our lifetime.
Thank
you for joining me with a part of your lifetime.
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