Why the Gift Economy is Hard (and trying to find some solutions)

I have always had a strange relationship with money. I have never wanted money, lived most of my life with financial security but also understood what it means to not have enough money, and now I believe that money should really be abolished. It is just a made up social construct after all.

When I first learned about the gift economy, I fell in love. It felt like a relationship-focused approach to security that could either replace or work along side other economic systems. In fact, it already does exist alongside capitalism, so it seemed like a natural place to put my time in energy in the search of building out something new and less oppressive than capitalist economy.

I’ve been experimenting with the gift economy in different ways for a number of years now but have always come up against the same problems. It’s unfamiliar and uncomfortable for people to accept gifts without reciprocating or choose what to pay in a pay-what-you-want model. We’ve all been heavily indoctrinated into paying people “an hourly wage” for their time and labour. Even Marx believed that an hour of time held specific value and he’s considered the father of the communist movement.

The truth is that hourly wages don’t always work, especially when the work you’re doing is outside of an industrial system. Community based, small scale, hand made, etc: this work is not prized because of it’s efficiency. There’s usually cheaper, faster ways to accomplish tasks. The value is found in other ways: the artistry of handmade items, the craftmanship of using local resources, the ability to serve under-valued or at-risk community members, the regenerative practices of growing high nutrient foods. The potter, the artist, the ecological farmer: few of these workers make an hourly wage.

Alas, when I ask people to pick the value of a handmade rug, they choke. They panic. They assume that the inherent value is more than what they can afford. But in reality, there is no inherent value. I have no overhead and I’m self taught. For me, it’s based completely on how the item will be used, cared for, consumed, or loved. You can walk into Ikea and buy a rag rug for $10. You can walk into a boutique store and pay $150. The rug itself isn’t much different. The value difference has been place on it by the seller, based on what they think the buyer will pay. But the rug itself is essentially the same.

When I worked for an employer, my hourly wage value was determined by someone else. As an independent freelancer, my hourly wage was determined by the market and what other professionals could squeeze out of their clients. When I was doing freelance work, I chose a different path and decided to keep my wages intentionally low in order to attract the type of work that I found personally rewarding.

Now, I’m kind of floating out there in the ether with anything that might be considered “work”. I mean, I have a job with my family business. I don’t keep track of my hourly wage, I just do the work that needs to be done and hope we make enough money to pay the bank. The rest of my time is spent doing unpaid labour, some of it homeschooling or caretaking, some of it being a creative, some of it mutual aid in my community, some of it learning and writing about things that I’m interested in and believe are important. Sometimes it’s sharing memes on the internet. My favourite hastag comes from Jen at @thebonusroom : #wholesomehardworkinganticapitalist

Can this work be valued by an hourly wage?

Do I even want it to be?

I think the answer to both of these questions is no, but I’m also a human being that exists in such circumstances that ascribed value provides a reference for me that I’m doing something WORTH DOING. This value might be monetary, it might be social media cred, it might be subscribers to a newsletter. But this value is helpful to let me know which work is important to others.

This long winded rant has two purposes.

One: to say that operating outside capitalism is hard and when you see others doing this work, please don’t be intimidated. Take some time and accept that these things that seem different are hard but not impossible and maybe even acknowledge to them that you appreciate their efforts. It goes a long way.

Two: I recognize that accepting money for work that has no inherent value is okay in this crumbling economic nightmare in which we exist and, as such, I’m going to open up a paid version of this newsletter for those who are interested in supporting me financially.

The pitch: in addition to the weekly-ish email rant, paid subscribers will automatically receive quarterly snail mail care packages (zines, tea, weaving, sewing, art, etc.) as well as a weekly update about our unschooling activities. Part of the reason for putting the additional email behind a paywall is that not everyone here are unschoolers and genuiniely don’t care about these updates. The other part is because being accountable to paid subscribers will keep me honest and also show me that this work is in fact meaningful to folks.

Paid subscriptions will cost $5/month, $30/year (the minimum I can set) or $50/year (for those with financial security). If these costs are a barrier and you would like to receive the unschooling updates, let me know and I’m happy to gift you a subscription. Care packages will also be available individually from my website as they are now.

For those that might be new around here and interested in learning more about our unschooling practice, you can read my essay about Intersectional Unschooling: the anti-oppressive approach that we take to home education and relationships in our immediate family. It’s also available as a zine. In the weekly updates, I’ll talk about our approach to learning, wins and challenges that we face, thoughts about traditional and alternative education models, approaches to consent, managing anxiety and neurodivergence, using games as a core part of our unschooling practice, autonomy and independence, and really whatever else comes up.

If you’re interested in upgrading your subscription, here’s some instructions on how to do so. The next care package will coming out mid-January. If you’re new and would like to subscribe, you can click the button below.

Thanks for coming along on this ride, and reading if you’ve made it this far in the email. I really appreciate your consideration to help place a financial value on this work that I’ve been doing. <3