Lies are complicated.
Truth is simple.
A World Without Money
A Country Without Money
I found myself standing in an unfamiliar city.
It was filled with buildings and many cars were passing by.
The city looked like the place I lived, but it actually was not my city.
The sky was clear blue, the air was clean,
and I could see greens and flowers here and there.
Buildings and cars were slightly different from ones I knew.
People of various races could strangely understand each
other and they were enjoying conversation.
For a while I was stunned.
Then, a Malawian looking gentleman came and talked to me.
"Welcome, I’ve been waiting for you."
He was a nice gentleman seemed in his middle 40s,
casually wearing a dark suit.
He was absolutely stranger for me.
While I was wondering, he said,
"Please come with me."
I had no idea what’s going on, but he didn’t seem to be bad.
I got walking to follow him.
After all it was different from my city.
Buildings, cars and all the things were beautiful and perfectly harmonized with nature.
Everything was not flashy nor gorgeous, but very simple.
Besides they were functionally beautiful and perfectly effective with much favorable designs and colors.
I walked gloating over the cityscape, when he gotinto a place like cafeteria.
It was not large but a neat shop.
We took seats and a waitress immediately came to us with a menu and said,
"Hello! What would you like?"
The waitress was an Asian lady with a cute face,
but could speak Chichewa.
The gentleman passed me the menu and invited me to order.
I didn’t look at the menu and said,
"Ah, co- coffee, please."
The gentleman ordered, returning the menu to the waitress.
"Two cups of coffee, please."
His polite way to order comfortably sounded to me.
"Certainly,"
she replied with a good smile and got back to the kitchen.
After a short silence, I asked the gentleman,
"Excuse me ･･･"
He was smiling.
"Where are we now?"
He was still silent, and after all he said,
"Well, where are we?"
"What ?"
I was amazed. I wondered if he might be teasing me while his face
looked kind. Why did he take me here?
I asked another question.
“Who are you? Do you know of me?”
He said with a good smile,
"You would see it later. Please follow me now and I won't harm you."
I was not satisfied with the answer
but thought it's not good idea that I'd be alone in the strange city.
So I decided to follow what he said.
A couple of minutes later coffee was served and we drank it without
conversation. He was still smiling.
I had absolutely no idea what’s going on.
The coffee was very good.
In the meantime he said,
“Shall we go now?”
I had no idea where to go but I nodded and got up from the seat.
I was surprised that he was going out from the shop without paying.
Would it be charged on me?
I followed him and went out of the shop, because I didn’t know what to do.
I thought the waitress stopped us but she was
looking at us with smile. Besides she said,
“Thank you. Please come again.”
The gentleman was walking away.
I guessed that he had to be a repeater of the shop and have coffee coupons kept.
Yes, it should be.
But I thought that his treat was not good, because he was a stranger for me.
While I didn’t think he charged on me, I asked for safety sake,
“Excuse me. How much was it?”
He looked at me with an astonished face.
“How much? What is it?”
“Well, the coffee, we had now.”
“What?”
“Please split it. I will pay for myself.”
With a wondering face he said,
“Split what?”
He got on my nerves. He had to be teasing me.
I should have checked the menus by myself.
I definitely said,
“Money for coffee! I’ll pay for it. Please tell me the price.”
“Money? Price? What is it?”
I was amazed. How far does this guy act stupid?
What a funny man he is!
But I won’t mind it. If it were his treat, I would lose nothing.”
After a short walk the gentleman stepped into a large building like a
major firm. I silently followed him. We passed a few people in the
building, and they all politely greeted him and he politely responded
to each person as well.
I thought as follows.
Yes, he must be a big guy of the company, as he has a presence.
He looks like an executive who is in favor with staff members.
He might be the president.
He should have told me it earlier. I’d be better not to concern about
coffee charge.
I thought I came to know a right person.
The gentleman stopped at a door.
He advised me sitting in a long chair to wait for a while, and he went inside.
The door looked poor for the president room.
I waited for his coming back, sitting in the long
chair, which was more comfortable than I expected.
The door opened minutes later. An old cleaning man came out instead of
the gentleman.
I firmly watched the old man and could hardly believe what I saw.
“Sorry for your waiting.”
The guy was actually the gentleman. He appeared wearing fatigues and
gloves and drawing a machine like the electric vacuum cleaner.
While I was amazed, he said,
“What happened to you? Something wrong ?”
I lost my words in a moment, but I managed to speak,
“Is the cleaning your job ?”
He said with a confident face,
“Yeah, I’ve been cleaning the building for a long time.”
I went limp. I’d been trusting that I could be a friend with a rich
president or executive. Honestly I was very much disappointed.
Regardless such my feeling, he turned on the cleaner and started
working. I thought that the machine was very much efficient, because I
could hear no sound.
He said,
“I would like to introduce the city to you, if at all possible.
But I have to do a job here for a while.
So I’m sorry but could you please walk around the city by yourself?
There is nothing to worry about.
All the people in the city are very kind and please don’t hesitate to ask
someone whatever you wish to know.
When you will get tired of a walk,please come back here.
I’ll do my job here, until you will return.”
I was slightly anxious but I have nothing to do there,
then I went out of the building alone.
The city was beautiful and bustling as before.
What a strange place I came! Where am I now?
I looked over people walking by in the city.
People of many races were walking.
The Arabic, the European, the Asian and the African race.
They were all friendly and enjoying conversation and laughing.
I got pleased very much by just looking at it.
I don’t know where I am, but it’s a nice place.
It does not look like Malawi at least.
It might be the united states, as various races are living.
But I don’t think there is such a peaceful and beautiful
city in the united states.
I spoke out to a beautiful Arabic lady
who seemed to be a career girl, just walking by.
“Excuse me. May I ask where we?”
The lady stared at me with a smile. I regretted what I did.
I spoke to her in Chichewa.
I was in panic and considering what to say in Arabic,
when she suddenly said, “Well. Where are we?”
She rapidly walked away with a smile. I was stunned. What a guy she is!
She speaks Chichewa and teases me.
What hell guys they are, both the gentleman and the lady look kind though.
I was uncomfortable very much but happened to hit a good idea.
I’ll check maps. I can find something on maps.
I just encountered a book store and got into it.
However my expectation was completely wrong.
I did find maps and I could read them without problem,
because they were written in Chichewa.
I could find out that the city was extremely large
as I should call it a country. But I could not find where the city is
on the earth and I was confused.
How strange it is. It is such a large country, but I’ve never know it
until now. I didn’t learn it in geography class at the school.
Where is this place for God’s sake?
Is it perhaps on another planet? Stupid!
I’ve never heard that there is another planet
where the human live as the earth.
I wobbled out the book store. I had no idea what happened.
What shall I do from now?
I happened to find a restaurant. It was small and looked casual and
comfortable. I suddenly realized I was hungry.
I decided to eat at first, then I could get a good idea.
I opened the door of the restaurant and got into it.
A waitress let me sit at a table, and I looked at a menu she handed me.
I could find many pictures showing delicious-looking dishes
which natural materials were properly cooked.
I was happy to look at the menu,
but I was frozen when I recognized there was no indication of the price.
Oh my God!
It might be a high class restaurant.
The table and chairs look good quality, while they are not appealing nor luxury.
The problem is that I don’t have much money,
but I don’t like to get out now. Do I have enough money to pay?
However I won’t worry it,
because I don’t think I can pay by Malawian kwacha in this country.
In the worst case, I’ll ask a manager of the
restaurant to hold my charge and borrow money from the gentleman.
I worryingly gave my order of less expensive menus to the waitress.
She went back to the kitchen smiling and brought my ordered dishes a little later.
As soon as she put them on the table, I avidly ate it forgetting
about the price, as I was hungry, besides it was extremely delicious.
I was probably eating very greedily. When I had finished,
I noticed that two girls were giggling at the next table.
They looked students and African and European.
I was ashamed it and left the table in hurry.
The concerned moment has come. How much am I charged?
As forwarding the door of the restaurant, I was looking for the cash desk.
But I could not find it, and I had to go back and to call a waitress.
“Excuse me.”
“Yes, How can I help you?”
The waitress, with a charming face of Russian decent,
affably responded in Chichewa.
“Where is the cash desk?”
She looked not to understand it.
I thought she couldn’t hear me because
it was quite noisy in the shop with many customers.
I repeated slowly.
“Where is the cash desk?”
She showed a wondering face and said in small voice,
“I’m afraid we don’t have such kind of thing here.”
I was amazed.
What a hell thing these people in this country are thinking!
How fun is it to tease a stranger?
I silently stared at the waitress.
She looked down in sorry attitude.
I felt sorry for her and asked in the most gentle tone.
“I just want to know the price of the food I ate.
Otherwise I cannot pay for it. If you don’t tell me it,
I will leave without paying. Is it OK?”
She looked up and wonderingly said,
“Well, you may leave when you finished your meal.
If you would like to have more, we will serve you upon your order.”
She looked serious. I couldn’t find any sign that she was kidding.
Is it really free? Does the shop run a voluntary activity?
In the meantime I don’t think that customers are in trouble of living.
I couldn’t understand at all but I left the shop smiling
at the waitress with the right hand slightly up.
She looked after me smiling and didn’t come after me.
I started walking on the city filled with a feeling like bewitched by a fox.
It was actually free!
Then the coffee which I had with the gentleman, might be free as well.
Why? How is it possible?
At that moment, I got a crazy idea in my mind.
”Everything in this country is perhaps free.”
I amazed myself thinking such a stupid idea.
I was sure,without reasons,
I could not logically understand the society
mechanisms to make everything free.
It was stupid to think that thesociety
could be maintained without charge for everything.
I found a large supermarket and I decided to get into it,
because I should find out that the idea is wrong
when I’ll get something here.
It is impossible to run the supermarkets without charge.
They have to sell things to maintain the business.
I looked for a check desk as soon as I got in the shop and I found it.
Because it’s a large shop, there were many checkout stands near the exit
and there were long lines at all the stands.
Two clerks were working on each stand and busily handling things to customers.
I was relieved and picked up a basket, put things
around me into it, and then stood after the end of a line.
I no longer concerned that I had no money.
I was at ease without reasons.
It was ordinal like this.
If it was not, it’s strange.
The line moved forward and my turn was coming.
I looked at the clerks on the stand and a customer.
One of the clerks took out goods from the basket and checked
them one by one. The other clerk put checked goods into shopping bags
and passed the bags to the customer.
The customer took them and went out the shop.
I was stunned. I threw away the basket, was off the line
and run out of the shop.
I didn’t remember how, but I found myself in front of the building
where I left the gentleman. When I got into it, he was still working on cleaning.
“Hi, how do you feel about the city? Do you think everyone is friendly?”
I had no idea how to respond it and said nothing.
“Wow, you look tired. Please wait for a while and I will finish the job soon.
Then I will take you a place where you can have a rest.”
Where will he take me next?
I no longer concern what happens.
I felt sleepy from fatigue and resignation, and I fell down to the sofa next
to me and soon got unconscious.
When I recognized, the gentleman in a suit stood there.
”Thank you for waiting. Well, I’ll take you a nice place.”
I didn’t mind where we were going to, and just followed him without
conversation. We got out of the building and went underground through
the stairs at a corner of the sidewalk.
It was an entrance of the subway(tube).
There were the station staff but as expected there was no ticket gate.
I had no energy kept to consider.
Soon a train came into the platform.
The train silently stopped and the doors open.
We got it on and I heard BGM of good volume in there.
The sound of the music was very comfortable and eased my fatigue.
I was not sure how many stations we passed.
The gentleman got off the train at a station and I naturally followed him.
When we went up on the ground, I was surprised.
While I didn’t think we had a long ride,
I saw completely different view of quiet residential area in the magnificent
nature from the downtown where we had been.
Houses which were not mansions
but of which exteriors were unique stood in a proper distance.
As it was about sunset, the houses and roads were beautifully
illuminated by soft light of street lamps.
The gentleman stopped at a house.
I thought, “This is his house.
He meant to invite me to his house by words ‘taking me a nice place’.”
He opened the door and the light was automatically on at the entrance.
He said,“Please come in.”
I got into the entrance. I thought it was a very good house as the
ceiling was quite high and drawings on the wall were my taste.
He opened a door of a room and invited me to come in.
I was amazed to look inside because the room was much larger than my expectation.
It was a living room, and there were a table and a comfortable-looking spacious
sofa for a couple of people in the center of the room.
In a fancy cabinet there were bottles looked like high quality liquor
and glasses of unique shapes. But the most amazing item was mega screen
like TV built in the wall, which was appeared when he pressed a switch.
Although I didn’t wear specified glasses, I could continuously see
exiting projected images as if they really existed there. It was
absolutely not comparable to the stereoscopic image I knew.
The gentleman looked at my amazing atitude with smile.
“What do you think? It’s intriguing, isn’t it?”
“It’s wonderful.”
He casually said,
“This is your house from now on.”
“What?”
I made a strange voice.
What does he mean? Does he intend to live with me?
What would he do on me? He was so kind that he had designs. Oh, no!
I hate it! I would choose to die rather than such a situation.
While I was in panic, he said,
“Please don’t take it differently. I have another my own house.
This is prepared just for you. Don’t worry, please.”
I lost my voice.
‘What? Just for me? How did he know that I come?
Who could allow me to use this wonderful house?’
I had too many questions and I could not understand the situation at
all. I thought it’s useless to consider further more.
He said,
“Would you live here, please? I think it’s not bad.”
I just nodded with my mouse open.
He smiled as if relieved and showed me other rooms.
The house was really incredible.
If I had not stop considering, my mind should be broken.
We came back the living room, when we looked all the rooms.
With my consent he took a bottle looked like liquor
and two glasses out of the cabinet and made a kind of drink.
We sat down on the large sofa and toasted.
The drink was a little different from my familiar spirit.
It was never sweet but easy to drink, and had a incredible nice aroma and
relaxed my body.
I would not be sick from drinking it much.
I was blankly drinking the beverage in the glass for a while.
The gentleman was still watching me with smile.
In the meantime an innocent question slowly but certainly came up in my mind.
My protective instinct preventing me from asking numberless issues after
I came this house, but I could not ignore of the restaurant and the supermarket,
where I didn’t need to pay money.
I timidly asked,
“Excuse me. Don’t you have the money in this country?”
He wonderingly responded,
“Money? Probably you said the term previously, right?”
A little later he said,
“I don’t know the term of money and have never heard about it.
What a hell thing is it?”
I had been expecting such a response, but I was still shocked with his
straight and honest response like this.
I picked my wallet out of the trouser pocket, poured a couple of bills
and many coins on to the table and spread them.
He picked them up and intriguingly looked at them for a while,
and then said,
"What can these dirty pieces of paper and the bits of metal be used for?"
I had no answer.
How can I explain it people living in a society without money?
Anyway it’s not easy. I made up my mind to talk about
money with terms as I could remember.
"We get money if we do some work in our country.
There is a price for everything.
We use the money to buy things at shops or to eat something
at restaurants.
Well, 'to buy' means that you get something in exchange
for the money. You have to pay money to get something.
No one can live without money.”
The gentleman was wonderingly listening to me, and I continued.
“People live on the money they've earned from their work.
If you work hard, you'll get a lot of money,
and then you can have an affluent lifestyle.
Although it is true that there is some unfairness and there
are a few crafty people who earn a lot of money without working, most
people live on the money they earn by themselves.
So you can see that money is an essential part of our life."
Then he interrupted.
"You mean, in other words, that people cannot control their desires
without money in your country, right?"
I got in trouble of responding. He might be right.
However I countered his comment.
"Maybe you are right, but if you can get anything without paying money,
you don't have to work at all and you can just live it up everyday."
"If everyone keeps living it up all the time, there will be nothing you
can get because there will be no one who makes and provides products."
"If people don't have to work for their living, I guess there must be
some people who keep having fun without doing any work."
He laughed and said,
"There is no one who thinks like that.
I suppose you associate money with working too much."
"I live in a culture in which people are supposed to work in order to
earn money."
"Working is a service for society, and everyone should work for the
world, for other people, and for oneself to make the world function
even if you don't get money for the work.
Society will provide you what you need for your life without charging you any money.
Our world is functioning in this way."
While I felt what he said might be reasonable,
I kept opposing position and said,
"You know, if you have money and you don't use it soon, you can put it
in a savings account. A savings account is a place in a bank where you
can keep the money you've saved. You can withdraw and use the money
whenever you want. If you save a lot of money, you can lead an
extravagant lifestyle, which is great!"
The gentleman curiously asked,
"What does extravagant lifestyle mean?"
"Well, let me see, it's a lifestyle that you can buy anything you want
and eat a lot of delicious food."
"In this world, we can have anything we need without paying money."
"I don't call it extravagant if you can only have what you need. An
extravagant lifestyle is one that you can have very expensive things
and much more than you need."
The gentleman burst out laughing.
"Why would you want to have more things than you need?
There will be no end if you try to fulfill such a depthless desire."
It might be right, but I couldn’t be defeated.
"But you know, if you keep saving the money you earn, you need not to
worry about your life when you get too old to work."
"We are pleased to give anything to people who physically cannot work.
Do such people also need money to get things they need in your world?"
I could not talk about a stingy story regarding pension in our world.
I began thinking our world seems very sorry one.
However I kept opposite stance, while knowing that it must be futile.
"Are there any thieves? A thief is someone who steals things. Well,
since there is no money existing, do thieves steal for instance your
property?"
"No one steals other people's belongings because everyone can get
anything new at shops.
There is no reason for stealing from others.
If there happens to be people who want to have things that I've made,
I'm pleased to give those to them as far as possible."
I got into panic.
"You know, much of the work we do is associated with money, such as
making estimates of products or going through payment procedures.
I wonder what happens to banks and insurance companies
when there is no money.
People working for those companies must have lost their jobs
when money disappeared from the world."
"Wait a moment. There were many words I've never heard of, but I think
I understand what you mean. Are you afraid that when money disappears
from the world, people who engage in work associated with money or who
deal with money will lose their jobs?”
I nodded without word. I was slightly ashamed by feeling that I seemed
to be a little boy.
The gentleman said,
“I guess in your world, people spend so much time and efforts just
circulating the money. In other words, people are doing unnecessary
work for unnecessary things."
"But I can't see how world will function properly without money."
"I know, but no one eats the pieces of paper or the metal things or
actually uses them to make something.
After all, the money is just a common scale for everyone to recognize the value of things.
Therefore,even if all the money disappears at the same time, the world will keep
functioning if people don't stop working.
Please imagine
what happens when the people who deal with money were
released from all their work and started using their time and efforts
for helping the world.
I know dealing with money is an important job in the monetary system
you have, but imagine what happens when people used their time for
serving society. The world becomes much easier to live.
You know, the world has enough affluence to keep everyone's life going,
even when all the people dealing with money quited their jobs at the
same time.
If you consider that the world kept functioning even when
people spent so much time and efforts doing such useless things, you
can imagine that everyone's life will be much easier when they start
using that time and efforts for something more useful in their society.”
I see, I was getting to accept it.
When money disappears from our world, all of the money-related troubles
such as tax evasion, suicides for too much debt, bank robberies,
and the contradiction of "work for money" will all disappear too.
The disappearance of money will help save people who are suffering from
hunger and poverty around the world.
I said to the gentleman to the contrary,
"However, I still cannot believe the world will keep functioning if
money disappears. I think everyone will stop working and the world will
be ruined."
The gentleman laughed.
"(Laugh) It's funny you think the world will be ruined because of some
pieces of paper and bits of metal. I’m not sure, but it must be
difficult in your society immediately to give up the money. Your people
have to ennoble the spirit. Someday you might be able to establish a
society like ours. It depends on a way you go.”
I had no word.
I felt there was a large gap between us.
The gentleman continued,
“Probably you cannot expect real evolution in your world, while most
people work for the money. We work to contribute the society. It’s not
for return. If you work for return, some problems shall occur. Someone
hopes more return than what have been done, and another tries to get a
profit from an unnecessary job. Such movements shall result into
absolute competitive society. And it is not toward mutual uplifting,
but degrading each other.”
I was rather terrified than surprised, because he accurately described
our world situations.
He said at last,
“I would tell you a simple way to judge whether your current job is
really valuable. That is whether you think to continue the job, even if
the money disappeared and you could not get return from the job.”
The gentleman gave me his contact written on a piece of paper, thanked
me, and went away. He must have gone home.
I felt good and easy as my brain gave up thinking.
I lay down on such a comfortable bed that my body was getting melt.
I came over to a strange world.
I have absolutely no idea why I’m here, but it’s not bad to stay.
So I’ll relax myself until going back.
What shall I do from tomorrow?
Well, everything is free and there is no concern to live,
I will do sightseeing. But the gentleman might blame such my attitude,
I supposed. While thinking with a doze, I fell into sleep.
After all I could find nothing but sightseeing and I started traveling
from the next day on.
It was absolutely fun.
Since everything was free;
any traffic systems, any far place to go, any foods, and any
facilities, then there was no concern.
Everyone was very kind to tell me anything and
I could communicate with everyone without language concern.
The nature was extraordinarily beautiful and filled with
vitality anywhere. And I had never been to more equipped facilities
than museums, concert halls and amusement parks in this world. I
enjoyed traveling very much.
I was forgetting where I was.
I was not sure how many days I spent in such life.
I was not tired on it, but started feeling uncomfortable thoughts.
“I owe this enjoyable life to everyone’s labor.
If everyone didn’t work like me, no one could live along like this.
I make no contribution in this world.
Even I happened to come over here, I regret this enjoyable life. The gentleman
told me that job is to serve the society. As I’m served, I have to do
something useful for the society.”
I thought I could understand a little about what the gentleman told me.
I called the number on the paper he had given me.
The telephone was different from one in our world.
We met at a tearoom after many days since the last meeting.
The gentleman was smiling as before.
I said, “Well, I would like to do some job.
Could you please offer me something I can do?”
The gentleman said smiling,
“Well, you get such an intention as I expected.
I’ve been thinking that you say so sooner or later.
If you don’t think so, you should never come this world.”
“Excuse me. What do you mean?”
The gentleman asked me without answering my question,
“What kind of job would you like?”
I was in trouble. I hadn’t thought about what to do.
I considered for a while and said as the first response,
“Let me see, I was working in our world for an ad agency,
where I was producing TV commercial.
The firm undertakes contracts of advertising articles to sell things.
But there isn’t such a job in this world,
because there is no money, right?”
On the contrary the gentleman said,
“Yes, there is. There are many ad agencies. Why do you think there is
no advertisement because of no money? The advertisement is to spread
information, isn’t it? No one could know of new products and events
without the advertisement.”
I was grad to hear that. I thought that the job I have been doing was
very valuable.
But I had one question and asked it to the gentleman,
“I have never seen something like advertisement since I came here,though.
There is no sign board in the city and there is no commercial on TV, I suppose.”
“The advertisement is not open to the public in this world,
because it should be contacted by persons who want to know the information.
On the other hand there is an exclusive TV channel to commercial.
Besides, it is finely divided in each product category,
and you can watch a commercial of your concerning product whenever you wish.”
According to the gentleman, the commercial in this world is not to
force everyone seeing it between programs like our world, but to be
accessed by people wishing to know it on demand. Aha, it was so.
I didn’t recognize such TV channel, because everything was very
intriguing in this world. I’m going to watch it as soon as I return
home.
The gentleman introduced me an ad agency, and I got an appointment with
a person in charge of personnel on the nest day.
Meanwhile I went back home and turned on the exclusive channel to commercial
with the huge 3D-TV.
I thought commercial had to be formal and boring,
because the purpose is not to sell.
But to my surprise, every commercial was far more
interesting and persuasive than ones in my world.
I thought that I would not be bored to watch them all the night.
On the next day I went to the ad agency.
Just after I was leaded to a reception room,
African woman got into the room.
She looked 27 to 28 aged, smart and veteran.
She smiled on me with beautiful and intelligent face, and said,
“Thank you for coming.
I’m a person in charge on personnel.”
After a short discussion it was decided that I would attend an
orientation for a client on the next day.
She might think to see my capabilities on the job,
because I had experiences in my world. On the
other hand there was a training center for newcomers with no experience
of the advertisement.
I was surprised that she could determine it by herself and understood
that the society was based on the mutual trust.
Some others should produce the advertisement with me and I would go for
the orientation with persons from other departments, but I was exited
with the job after the long vacation.
I was pleased that no money was concerned.
On the next day we visited a building of the client and were led to a
conference room of the ad department.
Two groups of a few people were already there and they seemed ad agencies.
I was nervous for knowing that the job was the competition.
My associates, however, friendly exchanged greetings with them
and started talking about our company and so on.
I was puzzled because we talked little with the competitors in my world.
After a while two persons, seemed clients, came into the conference room.
One was an Asian woman in bright suits and looked around 40 years old.
The other was a European man in casual wear and looked around 30.
They sat in front of us on the opposite side of the table.
The woman set to the meeting.
“Thank you for sparing precious time to come today. We have eventually
developed a new product after long term studies in our developing
department. In this occasion, we would like you to help us to execute
advertizing with your knowledge. We appreciate in advance for your help.”
The new product was a new model of 3D-TV.
I was astonished with the actual product,
because I expected minor changes like modification on the visual design.
The one in my house was amazing enough,
but the new one was further and incredible.
You should think that it was not vision
but real. I inadvertently reached out my hand and touched the screen.
My hand didn’t go through the screen, but it was as if there was a
transparent wall between the outside and the inside.
Two guys of the client explained details of the new product, while we were startled.
I was sure that many people rushed for it by the advertisement.
On the way back in the car,
I talked to my colleague sitting next to me.
“They are very polite as clients, aren’t they?”
He wonderingly replied,
“Are they? I think they are usual.”
I was puzzled with his unexpected response.
“The clients are somehow bossy in my world, because
they give us jobs.”
He surprisingly said,
“Wow, your world is so strange that people to request things are bossy.”
I had no words for a moment,
but got to the point after a short consideration.
Just without money, the common sense is so different.
I began laughing from a funny feeling, and he was smiling next to me.
In the conversation with him,
I learned that new products are rare in this world.
Regarding both the design and the capabilities, all the
things are nearly completed and it’s difficult to find points to be
improved. Therefore it’s sufficient to produce the standard goods.
In this world people understand that replacement with minor modifications
makes just a small difference, and new products are required to have
superior improvements.
And the advertisement could persuade few people
immediately to take a new product. People usually use things with much
care until it’s broken. And when the time comes, it will be replaced
with the newest one.
The purpose to work is not compensation but service in this world.
Therefore people don’t intend to cause unnecessary jobs.
They understand that the profusion causes extra jobs for someone to do
and wastes precious resources.
How different it is from my world!
In my world new products come out next to next,
and many people rush to buy them if they can afford to buy them.
The reasons are partly because of less advanced products,
but mostly because people focus their mind on short view and are too
slavish for new things and fashion.
At the same time companies could survive only with the mass consumption.
The society is established on such conflicts.
Why could it happen?
What is wrong?
Our car arrived at our company when I was considering such issues.
In several days, we had team meetings again and again.
The meetings were very hot and everyone was serious.
As no one concerned the profit, we, staff of the creative department,
merely concentrated to create a joyful and easy CM.
However I asked a question, I happened to have,
to the guy with whom I had talked in the car the other day.
“Very few people would get the product soon when they watched CM.
The manufacturer should not be in trouble with that. Why is the
advertisement necessary?”
He replied,
“Someone would get it right away. For instance, someone newly require
it, and someone have to replace it. After all everyone would get it
sooner or later.
Therefore it is useful to provide information about the new product.
On the other hand a manufacturer whose products people
would not choose is useless and not necessary.
As no company forces people to choose their products,
many companies have disappeared until now because their products are not necessary.
No one will be stranded by companies’
shutdown and remained companies are fairly competing each other to develop better technology.”
“But it’s not required to make efforts to create interesting CM, is it?”
“It is the same as your world. The entertainment is required for the
advertisement. An interesting CM is better than boring one, isn’t it?”
At last the day for presentation came.
I mainly developed our idea, which I was satisfied with.
The other member agreed with it and I was confident in it.
We were led into a larger room than the last one upon
our arrival at the client.
I saw an unexpected situation there.
The other two competitors were in the room. In my world the client
calls agents one by one in series of presentation. Otherwise agents
have to wait for a longer time. I asked my colleagues from wondering it
and came to know that all the agents jointly make their presentation.
As a result my tension went higher.
The presentation started. Three companies in turn explained their
creative ideas with a large vision of CM.
Our company was the last and I made a presentation.
The ideas of two other companies were very good and I was nervous.
When our presentations was completed, one of the clients said,
“Thank you for good presentation. All the CMs were wonderful. Then you
three companies please discuss to select one from three.”
I couldn’t trust what I just heard. The guy said we should select !
With discussion among three competitors !
In my world agents shall leave and the client is supposed to select the one.
But regardless of my wonder three competitors immediately started discussion.
I expected a difficult discussion because each company recommends its
own CM.
But contrary to my expectation three competitors unanimously
agreed to select our CM after a short discussion.
All the clients were nodding with very pleased smile.
I asked the same colleague as the other day in the car to go back.
“Is the decision usually so easy as today?”
“No. We usually discuss more, but it was enough today. I think there
was a clear difference on excellence.”
I was surprised with his response, because I myself, as the producer,
found no major difference.
“Don’t you think every agency wishes to select its own idea?”
“It’s true, if you have a good idea. But if there was a better one, you
should take it for the client.”
I fully understood it.
In this world works are for the society and others.
People don’t seek for profit of themselves at all and it is not
necessary.
I asked another question.
“The client doesn’t select the idea, right?”
He stared at my face and wonderingly said,
“It is a hard work for an amateur to decide.
It should be the agent’s responsibility.”
I was surprised that he said it as if it was too natural.
“But what do you do, if the selected CM doesn’t work well?
It might be better that the client would select ･････”
He got laughing.
“It’s irresponsible, isn’t it? It’s OK,
because there must be a smaller risk in our decision
than client’s decision. All the clients rely on us.”
I thought my responsibility is large, and I have to create a good idea
so hard that the client doesn’t fold up. At the same time,
I irresponsibly thought that no one should be in trouble to live even if
it folded up.
I was getting to understand mechanism in this society.
Everything stands on reliance.
And all the people consider how to contribute the society
and others rather than themselves and execute what they can do
as their jobs.
They don’t waste things and try to live with as less
things as necessary. Living in this world looks plentiful because the
technology is much more advanced than ours, but it is absolutely
different from our luxury.
There is almost no waste and most of resources are recycled.
No one hopes better life and higher position than others.
Was this society created with a condition of no money?
Or don’t such people require money?
Months quickly passed and I successfully continued the job.
I got well used to life in this society and got to know many people.
Everyone had a single face and I could make very comfortable relations with them.
It was nothing but nice and cozy.
Obsessions with money and position disappeared from my mind as time passed.
My heart was light as if I abandoned a heavy load.
I met the gentleman after many days. He said with usual smile,
“You look good. How is going on your job?”
“I’ve never lived the more fulfilling life than these days.
I’m doing my best. I can’t help being pleased to contribute the society.”
He smiled and deeply nodded.
“I’ve never known there is a wonderful world like this.
I wish to tell it to people in my world at any cost. What is this place?”
For a moment he showed puzzled face, but he smiled,
looked into my face, and said,
“You have already known it, haven’t you?”
We were silent for a while.
I stared at his face without word.
The term “ heaven ” happened to hit my mind.
At that moment I thought all the questions were solved.
I noticed that I was standing in my familiar city.
It was apparently my city.
The sky was dark gray and honking horns were noisy.
I coughed from the exhaust gas.
A housewife, with bags of a supermarket, was about to run into me,
annoyingly glared at me and passed by.
I got into a coffee shop.
A waitress tiresomely came over and stood by my table.
Upon my order of coffee she went back without word and a while later
brought my order on a tray.
She roughly put the cup and saucer on the table.
Small amount of coffee spilled on the saucer.
The taste was bad,
but I didn’t get annoyed about it as ever.
-------------
Afterword
Many people in this society assume that they cannot live without money.
However, by nature, animals should be able to live with air, water, and a little food.
Money is just a piece of paper, a piece of metal, or a number on a screen.
It is not necessary for human beings to survive.
However, humans have created a society in which money is necessary for life.
And by competing for that money, we have created a lot of suffering, made immeasurable sacrifices, and destroying the irreplaceable global environment.
Now, everyone must think about this issue as their own. and take action.
There will be no future for the earth if we refuse to even think about it as unattainable or a pipe dream. It is true that it will be difficult to eliminate the existence of money right now.
However, the world will surely change if as many people as possible realize the true nature of money and live in a way that is free from money.
I hope that you will have hope and enjoy imagining a country where money is no longer needed.
September 2006 Ryujin Nagashima