Freespace - Barter trade can work

I AM not happy about how expensive things are. Maybe it is just me, maybe I should try to earn more. On the other hand, based on reports and posts, I don't think it's just me. The year 2015 has caused a ripple in homes, what with GST, the removal of petrol subsidies, the rise of car prices, plus the phenomenal toll hike.
From Puchong to Bangsar, using the NPE, I would be hitting three tolls, both to and fro. I have decided to live in denial by not finding out exactly how much it would cost me, but I reckon it is more than RM5 and less than RM10. So I would be spending about RM15 to RM20 each day I head to Bangsar.
Do I have a choice? Well, some news has stated that motorists are still using the toll highways, notwithstanding the protests. Well, of course! Teleportation is not yet a reality!
When the GST came about, I was a little in despair. I think I wasn't the only one. A few sundry and small traders were reported to have closed shop due to the new consumption tax. Who's to know how many closed down but were not reported? In response, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng was reported to have quoted a Chinese saying, "Sometimes, taxes are more ferocious than tigers."
I began thinking about money. We need money to survive, right? To buy food, to obtain an education for ourselves and our children, to put a roof over our heads. Money and the lack thereof has driven people to kill others, to kill themselves and their family, it has driven people to drink, to depression, the list is endless.
But money was and still remains a concept. It is a concept at this moment that we accept, and by our acceptance, it has become concrete. Before the concept of money came about, how did humans live? How did we find food or go about our daily matters?
"Barter" is one of the first things we learnt about in A levels economics. Of course, the text book would list all the reasons why a bartering system could not work anymore. I wouldn't disagree with those reasons, and yet there have been some communities that are using the barter system as a complement.
Greece, in its current economic situation, has found many turning to bartering. The New York Times reports, "The bartering activity remains modest and will not provide a lasting solution to Greece's problems … But such efforts represent an opportunity for Greeks to navigate the uncertainty …"
From the report, it sounds like bartering meat for car tyres seems to be helping the small businesses in Greece. In fact, the barter system, which works through an online hub, appears to have created a community of goodwill and contentment among its members, a far cry from the "money, money, and more money" attitude of our modern society.
I wonder if an exchange or barter community could happily take place in Malaysia. There are barter markets and in rural communities barter takes place. In a barter community, I think there needs to be trust among its members, kind of a credibility ranking of its members. In addition, I am not sure how the authorities would respond if bartering became popular. They, after all, need their taxes.
Still, as a supplement in savings, I wouldn't mind joining a bartering community. Barter is how a friend gets her holidays: she gives yoga lessons in exchange for a holiday abroad. It can work. It's just how much we want it to work.
Daniel freelances in writing and fitness training. Comments: letters@thesundaily.com