Des Monines’ Really Really Free Market
SATURDAY, JUNE 6th @ DRAKE PARK! | 11am-3pm
According to the capitalist lexicon, the “Free Market” is the economic system in which prices are determined by unrestricted competition between privately owned businesses. Any sensible person can recognize immediately that neither human beings nor resources are free in such a system; hence, a “Really Really Free Market” is a market that operates according to gift economics, in which nothing is for sale and the only rule is share and share alike.
When was the last time someone invited you to take anything you wanted, as much as you wanted, and didn’t want a thing in return? You have to admit, this type of thing just doesn’t happen very often. It will happen on Saturday, May 2nd at Drake Park(24th & Cottage Grove in the Drake Neighborhood), and will continue to happen the first Saturday of every month.
From the organizers:
Everyone is welcome at this free event, where all are encouraged to give, receive, and create on their own terms. This free and open market will be a celebration of the cooperation and gift-giving that make life possible beyond the constraints of capitalist markets. The event is self-organized by everyone who participates. No authority rules over the RRFM. As at previous events, we trust that people sharing rather than competing will be able to find their own ways to cooperate with each other and function smoothly.
Everyone is invited to arrive from 11am ’till late afternoon with goods, services, skills, performances, stories, crafts, food, games, music, clothing, furniture, plants, and resources to give and share with others in the community. There is no buying, selling or exchanging involved—in this market, everything is strictly free. Better than a yard sale, the Really Really Free Market has no price tags!
As at other Really Really Free Markets across the U.S. and around the world, we create and participate in an alternative world, a world in which resources are held in common, the community meets the needs of the community, and “free” means just that: really, really free. The Really Really Free Market is an afternoon when social status can be earned by giving things rather than owning things, and when giving and receiving happens directly rather than being administered through an institution or organization.
Nothing is required for participation, but if you would like to give something at the event, please think creatively about the skills you have and could teach, the useful or beautiful things you have and don’t need, or the resources you might be able to bring and share with people to create something during the event. This event is not a ‘dumping ground’ for people to get rid of things they don’t want; rather it is a space where people come together to provide for each other, inspire each other, and share together in the abundance of goods, skills, and creativity of our community. People are encouraged to take responsibility for any goods they bring that are not taken by the end of the event.
For more information contact: rrfreemarket@gmail.com
