The traditional economy

The traditional economy.

It's hard to imagine our lives without coins, banknotes and credit cards. yet for most of human history people lived without money. For thousands of years human societies had very simple economies. There were no shops markets or traders. There were no employers paid workers or salaries. Today we call this kind of economy the traditional economy, and in some parts of Asia, South America and Africa this system still exists.

People who live in a traditional economy don't have money because they don't need it. They live lives of subsistence. That means they hunt gather or grow only enough food to live. There is almost no surplus in the traditional economy and there is almost no property. Families may own simple accommodation but land is shared by all the tribe. Economic decisions are taken according to the customs of the tribe. For example, every family may need to give some of the crops they grow to the tribal leader, but keep the rest for themselves. They don't do this because it makes economic sense. They do it because the tribe has always done it. It’s simply a custom.

Custom, also, decides what jobs people do in the traditional economy. People generally do the jobs that their parents and grandparents did before them. Anyway, there, aren't many jobs to choose from in the traditional economy. Men are hunters, farmers or both. The woman's place i at home looking after children, cooking and home-making. This division of labour between men and women is another characteristic of the traditional economy. Whatever the work is, and whoever does it, you can be sure it's hard work. This is because traditional economies have almost no technology. Physical strength and knowledge of the environment are the tools for survival.

Like any other economic system, the traditional economy has it's benefits and drawbacks. Probably the biggest benefit that is that these are peaceful societies. People consume almost everything they produce and own practically nothing. They are equally poor. For all these reasons, war is almost unknown in these societies.

 However, people who live in traditional societies are among the poorest people in the world. Because custom decides that people do, nothing in these societies ever changes. Because there is no technology, people depend on nature to survive. They have no protection from environmental disasters like droughts and floods. They are always in dander of hunger and disease.

But the traditional economy is in danger itself. There are only a few examples left on the planet. In 100 years from now, it may have disappeared forever.