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Being a parent

• It’s all well and fine you living without money, you’re a fit young man, try doing it when you’ve got kids!* I hear this one a lot, and I fully appreciate the truth in the latter part of it. The ‘fit young man’ bit I never really understood, because a) I’m not so young and b) almost anyone, except those who have severe mental/physical disabilities or debilitating illnesses, can be fit if they want to be by moving and eating well and c) my levels of fitness were mostly down to my moneyless lifestyle, as it is a life that involves you using your body instead of fossil fuels.

The part I fully agree with is that living moneylessly definitely is simpler when you don’t have children who are dependent on you. In my first year living moneylessly I often thought about the extent to which it would be more difficult with a young family. But there are a number of points to note here. First, whilst it is trickier, it is by no means impossible, and throughout this book I will be recommending many tips that will be useful to parents who want to move up the POP pyramid towards their own form of moneyless living. I do this with a little apprehension – having never been a parent myself I don’t feel in much position to advise an actual mother or father, so forgive me if any of my moneyless parent tips come across as arrogant or lacking understanding.

Second, bringing up a child without money is only difficult because of the myths, and the societies and institutions they have formed, that we’ve created and perpetuated over the course of modern history. You wouldn’t be alive today if it wasn’t possible to raise humans without money, as all those in the early part of your lineage brought up their children in a world where the myth of money hadn’t yet even been told.

But most importantly, if you agree with my arguments in chapter one, then you will see the urgency for us all to start creating new stories, ones that are sustainable and make sense for our time, if your child is going to have any future worth having. This will require pioneers such as yourself, people who have the courage to push the boundaries closer to where they need to be. As Hillel once remarked, “if not you, then who? If not now, then when?” The next generation needs this one to develop a more expansive sense of self and to find the courage to stand up and change the culture we live in.

Make one of those people you.

The Moneyless Manifesto: Back to table of contents.