【1】A Planet Without Money
↓↓↓日本語版はこちら Japanese ver ↓↓↓
https://note.com/nagareboshi3/n/nfbbab21b7246
A Planet Without Money
I am a Japanese television producer and one warm afternoon I found myself drifting off to sleep on a park bench.
As I came to, I noticed that the scenery of the park had disappeared. Could I have lost my memory? Perhaps I had wandered off? No, that's impossible since I appear to be completely lucid (= my mind is clear). This new location resembles (=looks like) the park, but it's as if I can feel Mother Nature's presence.
Anyways, I thought about asking some oncoming passers-by where I was but I can't understand anything anyone is saying. The language they speak to me in is neither Japanese nor English, but some other completely unfamiliar language.
A nearby old man who couldn't bear to see my condition kindly guided me to a police box. There, a police officer gave me an object resembling that of a Dragon Ball scouter and told me to put it on.
As soon as I put on the device, I could suddenly understand the nice old man and police officer and it appears that my language is translated so they can understand me as well.
It's like a Pocket Talk translator! (=automatic translator machine) The scouter even displays characters I can't read into Japanese!
Somehow, it appears this old man will act as my guarantor (guardian) for the time being and has resolved to take care of me. "Is it okay for you to decide something like that so easily?", I thought to myself.
First, the old man escorted me to a family restaurant. "I don't have any money on me, is that okay?" I worriedly asked the old man to which he replied "Order anything you want!"
However, upon looking at the family restaurant’s menu, there are no prices to be found. What’s going on? Could it be that they charge by market price?
I apprehensively ordered and quickly received some delicious coffee and pizza. The kind old man was happily satisfied with just a cup of coffee.
When it was time to leave the family restaurant, my new patron told the store attendant “I am deeply grateful for the food,” and, without paying, quickly shuffled (=went) outside.
His departure left me scrambling. (=surprised me). I don't have any money for this planet after all!
I left the shop as if I was trying to make a break for it. Then, I looked inside the restaurant to see the attendant cleaning up after us with a smile on her face. "Is this really okay?" I wondered.
Perhaps this restaurant works on some eat-now pay-later system? I interpreted it as a lump sum payment at a later date and chased after the old man.
After helping myself to the pizza and coffee, the old man kindly escorted me back to the house where I will be staying. On the way back, the scenery was breathtakingly beautiful and felt like all was in harmony with nature. It was as if we were walking the streets of Italy.
The inside of the house wasn’t particularly exceptional (=fancy), but it was all a single resident could ever need. The old man showed me the whereabouts of the lights, television, and bed and told me “From now on let’s get along together in this house” with his puzzling kindness.
“Excuse me? On this hippy-like me without any money whatsoever, why are you so kind to me?” I asked. I was reminded of the phrase that “there is no such thing as a free lunch” and concluded that there must indeed be some catch I haven’t discovered yet. With that in mind, I drifted off to sleep on my new, fluffy bed.
The next morning at 9am I received a call from the old man on my scouter: “I’ll be away for a bit. I’m driving to the supermarket to pick up some necessities and food. Just wait in the house for me,” he said.
I decided to go to the supermarket with him. Like Japan, everyone fills a shopping cart with what they want. But they don't pay near the exit !!
Instead, everyone puts the shopping goods directly into their personal reusable bags! Is this a case of mass looting?! (=theft or robbery)
It appears that this isn’t the case, as everyone is exceedingly thankful and seem to exude (=show, display) to gratitude in their every action.
If you look closely, the price tags on goods in addition to even the cash registers were nowhere to be found. What kind of arrangement is going on here? I decided to try to ask the old man some questions as we were seated in the supermarket’s café area:
Me: On this planet, is there no concept of paying money?
Old man: What exactly is this ‘money’ you speak of?
Me: Well, we use it whenever we want to purchase goods or services, so it’s a very convenient thing for us. Take the 1,000-yen bill or 100-yen coin in my wallet for example.
Old man: Aren’t those just a piece of paper and some metal with some numbers written on them? Do these truly have value?
Me: In the world where I came from, it is impossible to live without money. However, if you have money you can buy anything you need and live worry-free.
Old man: Well then, if one does not possess this “money,” is it also the case that they will become anxious and suffer?
Me: That is indeed the case. “Money” is exactly that valuable. That being said, why does your planet not have any?
Old man: On my planet, everyone is able to live happily even without money.
Old Man: So you’re saying that on your planet whenever you want to receive something you need to exchange this “money?” Am I getting that right?
Me: Exactly. It’s give and take. Since you have to work hard to earn it, the customer that pays their hard-earned money is considered to be God.
Old Man: Here, I show gratitude to those who pour their souls into making our goods and focus on the idea that they let me use their things out of goodwill. However, it appears that the people on your planet focus more on receiving the goods themselves.
Me: That’s exactly why you pay with “money.” Conversely, whenever I am working to acquire money, I am in a weaker position because I am on the receiving end rather than the one paying.
Old Man: I was just wondering, isn’t it extremely time-consuming to calculate this “money?” I feel like it takes a lot of extra work…
Me: But if “money” didn’t exist, capitalism would cease to be and no one would be willing to work anymore. If you have lots of money you can live a life of luxury, so everyone wishes and works towards that end.
Old man: So you’re saying that if this piece of paper and little metal circle ceased to be, you would stop working? That’s pretty funny. I want you to tell me more about that later, but first what is this ‘luxury’ you speak of?
Me: To live in luxury is to buy lots of super high-class cars or brand-name clothing. It means that you can prepare for the future by sending your kids to cram school while they start elementary school. It means that you can enjoy eating delicious food and drinking premium sake until you’re full every single day.
Old man: Do high-class cars and brand-name clothing make you happy? Also, if I were to mention to other parents that my kid was in cram school, I would feel like I’m bragging(=showing boasting). Finally, wouldn’t eating and drinking like that everyday lead to some sort of disease?
Me: Well besides those other things, wealthy people can live in huge mansions! On the other hand, people without any money have no home to call their own.
Old Man: So the wealthy think that as long as they can live in these large houses you speak of, it doesn’t matter what happens to anyone else? That’s truly surprising…
Me: No matter how much I talk to you about “money,” we can never seem to understand each other properly. I’m so tired…
Next, we left the supermarket without paying any “money” yet still being able to acquire the goods we came for. How can such a supermarket be run?
There are so many things I don’t understand.
The following day, I received an invitation from the old man to watch him work since he had to head out anyway. I accompanied him into an elegant-looking building and, inside, various businessmen came up to the old man and respectfully bowed to him.
Could it be that this old man was actually the company president or some kind of important advisor? This development (=situation) is like a scene out of a novel.
“I’m going to go get changed, so please wait a bit,” the old man tells me.
As I was sitting, the old man put on a janitor uniform and began to clean toilets. Even so, the businessmen of the building approached him to reverently (=politely) greet him and to thank him graciously (=deeply). I have no clue what’s going on.
Afterwards, I took a stroll through this planet’s business district. During which, I noticed that all of the pedestrians would talk about how fun their work day was with lively looks on their faces.
After three hours, I met the old man at the entrance of his work building. I think I’m going to ask a lot of questions regarding his planet today.
Me: What exactly do you do for work?
Old Man: I’m actually a bit of a celebrity painter. I also clean toilets and maintain mountain trails a couple times a week.
Me: I guess you really can’t afford to eat off of just painting, so you have to spend some extra time cleaning toilets as a part-time job?
Old Man: I’m sorry? If you go to the supermarket you can obtain groceries without anything in return, so I can actually live without working at all. However, this society cannot be maintained if everyone doesn’t work. Therefore everyone naturally does the jobs that are needed to preserve society of their own free will.
Me: But aren’t jobs like cleaning toilets and collecting garbage societally looked down upon?
Old Man: I suppose that they are not the cleanest of jobs, but if somebody doesn’t do that work this society could not function. Therefore, there’s nothing more noble than a job that people don’t want to do.
Me: Come to think of it, at the supermarket are there any people that take a ton of groceries for themselves?
Old Man: You can go get essential goods from the supermarket at any time you want, so why would a single person have the need to take a ton for themself? If they do that, they will deprive others of the goods that they need, so it is best to take what you need when you need it.
Me: How does the supermarket survive without “money?”
Old Man: The people who work in the supermarkets, the drivers of distribution trucks, and even the producers of the products: everyone works hard for the sake of someone other than themselves.
Even if there is no such thing as “money,” as long as there is a desire to be useful to society, this planet will have no problems at all.
Afterwards, I returned to the house and the old man taught me how to use the television. Upon turning the television on, a 3-dimensional view that resembled VR appeared and the image thereupon appeared to be more delicate than one from real life. However, no matter how long we watched, no commercials or even advertisements appeared whatsoever.
Old Man: When you’re watching your precious television, it would be really distracting to have commercials pop up. That’s why there aren’t any. If there are any goods that are truly important, we have channels specifically dedicated to them so all you have to do is just watch those.
Me: I think I’m gradually beginning to understand. Because everyone doesn’t work for the sake of money, they instead only focus on creating interesting TV shows while not having to think about selling any products.
Me: When a new product like an iPhone or television comes out, does everyone try to order it all at once?
Old Man: That sort of thing doesn’t happen here. In the first place, such rapid evolution doesn’t happen here and, besides, a little age doesn’t matter so everyone will still use their phone or television as long as it still works. Considering the environment, we all know quite well that this society cannot exist if we are selfish.
**************
That’s right, presently the banks and brokerage firms on Earth only serve to handle the calculations of “money,” but is such a system truly necessary? I began to feel that there are too many jobs that have to do with “money” on Earth, and that those jobs are a bit wasteful.
“If one day, even if 'money' were to suddenly disappear from our Earth, given that we work with the same mindset as the people of this planet’s people, would it be possible to seamlessly transition to a world without 'money'?” I began to wonder.
It was about time that I started working alongside the people of this planet. On Earth I was a producer for television, so I would like to do a job related to TV if possible.
After being asked a lot of questions during a TV production company interview, I was told that I should feel comfortable in just doing what I could manage.
As expected, there was no talk of salary whatsoever. In a sense, it’s like working for free at an evil corporation, but on this planet if you don’t like it it’s completely fine to quit and live at home as a NEET (=who is a very lazy person that lives at home with their parents and doesn't work).
In the words of the old man: “Everyone wants to work hard for the sake of others and to live a life of constant gratitude. We take great pride in running this society through our own hard work,” he told me.
Since there is no need for extra “money” jobs at banks or securities companies and no reason for door-to-door salespeople that sell us useless junk, the amount of work for society as a whole decreases.
There doesn’t appear to be a concept of civil servants here. Because each and every individual performs tasks necessary for society, the people that work at city hall or the fire station are not considered civil servants.
Since everyone shares the entire amount of work required to run society and does not indulge in excessive luxuries, it allows for the possibility of a society where every individual can receive free housing and can get as much food as they need at the supermarket.
On this planet, the number of people driving high-class, stupidly large automobiles like Mercedes-Benz is quite small. The people here are humble and are constantly thinking about practicality. However, the things they design are unparalleled in their beauty. This must be an advancement resulting from a mindset geared towards reusing items for long periods of time.
I digress…(=I got off topic). Anyway let’s continue talking about my new job:
Because of my prior position as a TV producer on Earth, I was given a role in producing advertisements for commercials. Two weeks later, a competition was held with our competitor ‘Company B.’
The product we had to make a commercial revolving around (=about) was a new cooking machine that resembled a microwave. Up until the very day of the competition, I tirelessly researched, planned, and gave my all to come up with a great proposal for the commercial.
On the day of the contest, I personally proposed the commercial on behalf of ‘Company A’ ,and ‘Company B’ also had an opportunity to present theirs. I had initially thought that after our presentations, the company that ordered the commercial would decide which would ultimately be adopted on behalf of the product…
‘Company C’ Client: Well then, I suppose you two should talk amongst yourselves and decide which proposal we should choose for broadcasting.
Me: Normally after overseeing a competition like this, shouldn’t the company who ordered the commercial decide on which proposal to adopt?
‘Company C’ Client: Not really, I’m just an amateur when it comes to commercials, so I think it would be best to leave it to the professionals to make the right choice.
Although I didn’t really understand what was going on, I discussed with the person in charge at rival ‘Company B’ on how we could improve our commercials and, ultimately, ‘Company A’s’ plan was accepted!
I thought that rival ‘Company B’s’ boss would be downhearted due to our decision, but, conversely, he had a look of absolute relief on his face! Rather than be disappointed that his commercial wasn’t adopted, he seemed to be completely satisfied with the prospect that a quality commercial was being chosen.
Because we were not working for the sake of ‘money,’ we instead prioritized creating a greater overall product. I was filled with an immeasurable sense of fulfillment (=pride) and am still extremely grateful to have been able to do this job.
Today I reconvened (=met again) with the old man and again decided to ask him some more questions.
Me: In this world, are there people that don’t work?
Old man: It’s a lonely existence, but there is a relatively stable number of them. Despite that, we patiently and warmly await the day that they can contribute to our society.
Me: On this planet, what happens when someone commits a crime?
Old Man: As you already know, everything sold here on our planet is free so theft and robbery are simply nonexistent. However, accidents and injuries do rarely occur.
Me: In the case that someone injures someone else, do they still go to some kind of jail?
Old Man: Why would they need to go to jail? Punishing someone with things like solitary confinement (=prison cell) will do no good towards their rehabilitation. Instead, we let them go to a hospital. Then, we rehabilitate their mind and heart until they are ready to return to society.
Me: I see! An evil person will tend to act based on a twisted sense of self-righteousness, so focusing on improving their state of mind makes a lot of sense. I understand now why you send them to hospitals instead.
Me: Also, I saw this on this planet’s television programs but you guys actually have an army right? Why is that? Is it because of war?
Old man: Ha ha ha! “War?” That's something that belongs on a grade-school level planet!
Me: Then why do you need armed forces at all? You guys even have guns!
Old man: You are speaking of our “Salvation Army.” During disasters such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and heavy rains they find themselves very busy. They are also deployed when dangerous animals sneak into our towns. The guns are solely for times like this. They are never to be used against another human.
“Having a gun” and “using a gun” are two very different things. I suppose the proverb “Better safe than sorry” rings true even here.
************
Old man: Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you...
Old Man: You can actually go home! I received a message saying that a space-ship captain of the Space Union is going to stop by this planet tomorrow and pick you up. Good for you!
Me: I would prefer that you didn’t forget important things like that! I would have liked for you to tell me right away! But anyway what’s with that? A space-ship captain from the Space Union? What is this Space Battleship Yamato?
I took a nap on Earth and was immediately transported to this planet, why do I have to undergo such a troublesome return-trip home? What the heck is up with that?!
Well anyway, I’m grateful that I could learn so much from this “Planet without money.” I give my thanks.
“A Planet without Money” Season End
Next time, “Returning to the distant Earth”... This is real space travel!
https://note.com/nagareboshi3/n/nb5ad2f47cbfd
言語交換 language exchange でお話ししている、アメリカ・ペンシルバニア州のアマート・イーサン（23歳)と、『お金を知らない星』を日本語で読み合っていたら、「ネイティブの英文に翻訳します」と言ってくれ、「それなら」と私もお願いしました。感謝！ 25分かけて外国人と読み合っています。
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