Give & Share Economy
The citizen will contribute voluntarily to the needs of the community and help create the art and the technology needed to maximise the freedom, the well-being and the happiness of the people.
When people are free to do what they enjoy doing they do the very things that are necessary for their own well-being and happiness as well as the well-being and happiness of the whole community.
Moneyless economy
Creating jobs, for the sake of distributing wealth, especially unskilled jobs, is equivalent to paid slavery. Unless people can choose freely and enjoy their work, they have no choice. To maximize the freedom of the LightCity’s citizens we need a different economic system.
The LightCities’ social organization and economy are entirely different. Its economy uses no money as mean of exchange but a form of time-based currency. Rather, people will volunteer their time in exchange for all the necessities of life and the benefits of the most high-tech society. The LightCities will provide an exceptionally comfortable and high-tech living environment to all its citizens.
Private ownership
Consider this; the King of England HENRY VIII had owned about 18 000 different items and these possessions represented the whole value of the kingdom. In comparison, today, the average American owns between 6 000 and 10 000 items.
Private ownership in the LightCities could be reduced to possibly less than 100 personal goods.
One cannot use simultaneously 10 000 items. It is highly inefficient and there is a huge social cost to produce, maintain, store and recycle all these goods because the energy and resources could be affected elsewhere by producing more useful stuff. As an example of waste, in some communities every American homeowner has a lawnmower, wouldn’t it be more efficient to have only one for the whole community since not every one needs it at the same time.
The design of the city will minimize the need for private ownership to basically, clothing and personal accessories. Transportation will be done by driver-less vehicles available on demand. Highly diversified entertainment facilities, recreational and luxury items will be provided and fully available at any time.
Ownership will be replaced by free access & custodianship
Many types of ownership have become obsolete and cumbersome. Why own a car that we need to maintain and park when the latest model of driver-less cars will come to us whenever we need it. Why own a tennis racket when it is available for free at the clubhouse. We don’t need to own anything when we can have free and easy access to everything. For most of its history, humanity didn’t have the concept of ownership. Because the people didn’t own anything they actually owned everything, by having free access to everything. In regard to land people develop a greater sense of being custodians when it belongs to all. Custodianship inspires generational thinking, naturally looking after the interests of the communities to come.
Intellectual Property
The citizen’s artistic and technological creations are all made available for free within the LightCity and could eventually be traded outside the city to acquire the desirable good and services offered by communities that have not embraced paradism.