Could an economy based on hours instead of gold actually work for everyone?
In short: Curator Ben Alsop examines Robert Owen's radical experiment to replace precious metal currency with time-based wages. This video explores the origins of a utopian economic model and why this specific innovation ultimately failed to survive human nature.
Robert Owen, a foundational figure in utopian socialism and the cooperative movement, proposed an economic system where prices and wages were calculated in hours. Beyond this currency experiment, Owen was a significant social reformer whose legacy includes the development of trade unions, the establishment of free co-educational schools, and the advocacy for child labour laws.
While many of Owen's principles remain embedded in modern society, his time-based currency failed. The system proved vulnerable to human exploitation, demonstrating that even well-intentioned economic structures can be undermined by the tendency of individuals to cheat the system.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Time-Based Currency by Robert Owen | DECODED #4
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