First, I want to explain that this is just a theory at this point. But it is based mainly on logical deduction and observations. When writing about this theory, there was some doubt it could fill even one page. But I was wrong about that.

Here on Earth we are all raised into one particular paradigm, which isn't all that unlike ponies raised and trained over a period of time to become champion race horses. Some might perceive life as forever reaching for the gold ring, while others see it as working toward the goal of being filthy rich. Other people see life more as a learning and discovery experience. Millions more see life as earning *just* enough money to make ends meet. But the bottom line for everyone is always about survival and reaching that certain internal threshold of comfort.

Abductions display a callous disregard for human beings by their very nature but logically consider this: Do we ask animals for their permission to experiment on them? Would animals give it to us? We believe we have the right to experiment on any animal ruthlessly because we feel we are at the top of the order of life on Earth. Or so we're told. When was the last time a dog owner taking their dog to the vet on a one-way final trip to be euthanized asked the dog for permission? This is all a matter of perspective.

If we look deeper into the common testimony of people who are abducted we see something quite interesting. It's important to understand that I don't support the involuntary abduction of anyone, for any reason. This is clearly a violation of what we perceive as our basic human rights in numerous ways. But this isn't my focus here.

In the case of other races abducting people without their permission, we see that several of them are engaged in a common goal. That goal in some cases appears to be one of bettering or reproduction for their race. For any race or world to function without any form of currency requires a totally different paradigm than we are accustomed to. That paradigm is one of FOCUS and WORKING TOGETHER to achieve a common objective.

The hippie movement of the sixties thought they had the answer by living in communes. Of course, history showed that lifestyle didn't work and was basically a disaster. There is no constructive group focus possible when human beings only live for their next "fix" or the next LSD trip. If the sixties communal life was successful, it would have flowered and grown. Long before 2000 it would have become the dominant lifestyle. But it lacked real focus on anything constructive.

However, there are some places on Earth where a variation of communal life has succeeded and flowered. The village of Methernitha [1] in Switzerland is one such place. It might bear some resemblance to a commune for the outsider, but the people of Methernitha are happy doing constructive work toward a common goal. The people of Methernitha have shown the world that a properly ordered life can work without depending on currency or money, and the related problems it brings.

The principle of natural selection applies to everything in our world, not just wildlife. It actually applies in one form or another to everything around us, including the clothes we wear and the food we decide to eat or not eat each day. If the hippie commune principle worked well it would have become a popular way to live.

It appears that some alien races are similar to communes, at least in the way that these beings work together. But that's a key concept here ­ that alien races WORK together. These beings don't sit around doing drugs and sex.  Instead they work toward a common goal, whether it be examining human beings and/or collecting DNA for their own purposes. (Some of these efforts are claimed to help the human race by abductees but this has not been proven.)

One key to living without currency or money is to have a common goal that people will embrace and wrap their arms around. Working toward a common goal focuses a group's attention. Could this concept work here on Earth in a similar way? Perhaps it can. Let's take a closer look at this concept which we'll call an "Independent Group Community," or IGC. The basics to IGC survival are food, clothing and shelter. Once these basic needs are met, other things will start to fall into place. One of the keys to a successful group community will be energy generation. Today, electricity separates us from suddenly living in the 17th century. Take away AC power distribution and society will quickly disintegrate into chaos. Living in an independent community will not be very pleasant with 17th century (or perhaps earlier) technology, and will be far easier with electricity than without it.

Entertainment, art and recreation are among other things important to the social and mental well being of human beings. These elements are essential to a happy life. In our degrading world with an ever widening chasm between the rich and poor, it is the poor who have little time left for anything other than earning enough money to simply survive.  The loss of manufacturing to China and the Pacific Rim countries of almost every product have helped worsen the income issue for millions. As a result, a mediocre lifestyle has become commonplace and widely accepted.

Life has slowly but surely degraded for billions who say to themselves with their meager incomes, "My income is good enough for now." Retirement for hundreds of millions of people worldwide is as though the gold ring has now been securely welded to the side of a speeding train running at 80MPH. Good luck grabbing it without losing a finger. But does life really have to be this hard?

If we look at the Quakers, Mennonites, Amish and others which quietly live out their lives in rural America, we can see some excellent examples of successful group living. Notice I didn't call their lifestyle independent even though the Amish people are well known for their independence. But are they? Some fourteen years ago, my wife and I toured a working farm in southern Pennsylvania near the Maryland border. There we learned some interesting facts ­ the rich Amish drove black buggies, while the poorer Amish drove gray buggies. We also saw these same people frequent stores like Wal-Mart over the years around the northeast.

It appears that little by little, even the Amish people are slowly succumbing to the call of the modern world. And they quietly have their connections to our technology as well. In western Pennsylvania back in the mid nineties we toured a cave deep in the mountains. On the counter in the gift shop was a big jar for donations. It was there to raise $7,000.00 to pay for a short helicopter flight which took an injured boy to a hospital in the city. The young boy fell out of a hay loft in a barn down to the floor about 20 feet, and was flown about 100 miles to the nearest hospital. I asked the man behind the counter, "How did they ever get help out here in the sticks?" The man smiled and answered, "The boy's father walked about 1 mile across his field to a neighbor's farm. Down around the back of the barn was a telephone he used to call for help."

Even the Amish aren't as completely cut off from the world as everyone thinks. Perhaps on another planet or on Earth in the future no phone would be needed to summon help. Just a highly focused telepathic thought will do the same job.

Here on Earth, there will always be some essential items that are far easier to buy than to produce the hard way. (Toilet paper is just one of these we are accustomed to having, although perhaps something else could be used.) One concept of an IGC would be to minimize these items to the smallest number possible. The Amish do this by producing products like Honey, grain, corn etc that people will buy. This gives them enough currency to buy what they need. Producing items to trade for needed mass produced items can also be accomplished in an IGC environment as well, and would be dependent on the size and scope of the community.

But there the similarity to the Amish would need to end for the IGC to work. It would require the group's members to completely drop their endless personal quest to endlessly acquire "things." Members would have to completely drop the "I gotta have it" mentality at the door before joining. There is far more joy in discovery, learning, experiencing and doing simple things for others than there is in acquiring material possessions. To hell with Fifth Avenue advertisers and all their minions! After all, when you die will you bring anything you own with you?

The "I-gotta-have-it" people are the reason why there are so many garage and yard sales. All those "I gotta have it" items are sitting out on tables and blankets on weekends, hoping someone else will see them and say, "I gotta have it" and pull out their wallet.

And what about being wealthy? I know a number of people who are very wealthy ­ and almost all of them are miserable. One of them, a billionaire in England, ended up in a psychiatric hospital for a time. These people often spend inordinate amounts of time worrying about losing their money and are often obsessed with making more of it. Some people (usually at the expense of others) can stop that speeding train and pry loose the gold ring. Then they don't really know what to do with it. Having is not the same as wanting.

It's quite obvious that advertising and banks have helped smart and simple people alike bury themselves neck-deep in credit card debt. Sadly, most people can't even show you anything tangible for the tens of thousands of dollars they owe, which most likely they will never live long enough to pay off because of the every increasing interest. Some used the credit for vacations and to support a lifestyle they simply could not afford on their income. These people are all members of the "I-gotta-have-it" crowd, whether they will admit to it or not.

Before credit cards existed, EVERYONE lived within their means. If they didn't do so, there was actually a debtor's prison for debts that could not be repaid.

Wouldn't it be far better if there were no credit cards or debt at all? Instead of using plastic or dollars which often go to support child sweatshops overseas, in the IGC you would directly benefit from the fruits of your labor. To accomplish this we need to form an IGC structure using the best ideas of the Amish, Methernitha village and others. It will be a community where the level of bad stress will be very low. Stress-related illness will be practically non-existent. There is of course, good stress and bad stress in all of our lives.

With hydroponics, the IGC could grow all FRESH food all year round. There would be no need for refrigeration. Food would be consumed shortly after it's picked, and some food could be canned for emergencies. Various ways to construct buildings have already been developed which require little or no maintenance, and widely vary from the primitive to the advanced. If we look back to the early days of the American prairie, we see that people built houses of sod which were often partially underground. That was the only material readily on hand to use. Today, people have constructed homes out of rudimentary materials like car tires, tin cans, soda bottles and other materials in abundance.

A hybrid IGC could be the way to a better future with less stress and increased satisfaction with life. But the IGC management would require careful design to prevent it from becoming a cult situation. Implemented properly, it is one way to be free of the insane dependence on oil that permeates society everywhere. This could finally free millions of people from blood-sucking mortgage companies and landlords that cannot be trusted. They hammer people ruthlessly during hard times. Imagine what it would be like for millions of people to finally be free of the "I-gotta-have-it" mentality! This mentality has forced the entire civilized world into a pattern of never-ending greed.

Can we live without using currency or money in any form? Living in an IGC, we can probably reduce our dependence on currency to less than 10%. But even that remaining 10% would ultimately be currency obtained through a fair trade of community produced items, like honey, crafts, etc

Dollars received from selling IGC products would be immediately spent on needed manufactured items. In this way, Federal Reserve dollars (which are already notes) would be used like a privately held bank note. This is not the same way mainstream America uses the dollar now, where intangibles like labor are used to "earn" dollars. Using it on a simple note basis is far better than being 100% dependent upon the dollar as everyone is now.

Sometimes progress and technology moves our world two steps backward with only one step forward. But there are always solutions to most problems, if we will only apply ourselves to finding them. Then take one bold step forward after another, one by one.

Ted Twietmeyer

tedtw@frontiern.net

www.data4science.net

[1] Methernitha is also home to the infamous Testatika device, which generates enough energy from the continuum to power the village