Parallel Economies

1/ A community of Interest

Religious, ethnic, cultural or subcutural, some element that defines "us" versus "them". Something that either unites a group of people or differentiates a subgroup from the main stream. In some clear way there must be an identifiable community of Others.

2/ A diversity of Skills and Services

Specialists and talented individuals are necessary to make this work. Cooperative labour is not enough to sustain a parallel economy. There must (for a large enough community) be Other plumbers and tailors and lawn services and butchers. Even on a small scale, hobby businesses catering for the specific needs of Others.

3/ A commitment to the idea of community

It is not enough to be an Other, one must actively participate in both Otherish activities and main stream activities as an Other. Even if one passes at main stream events, not wearing distinctive symbols or dress, awareness of one's Otherness will influence your participation.

4/ Self and mutual identification

You must not only think of yourself as an Other, you must be able to see faces in a crowd and pick out the Others from the common throng. Either through distinctive symbols or through familiarity.

5/ A locus or central place(s)

Be it a Temple, or Coffee Shop or Bar or Market, there must be places Others gather and can exchange information, recommendations, gossip and news.

6/ Cash and kind: payment; barter; community effort; favours and obligations.

Even without participation in the Black Economy, Others offer discounts, trade in kind, barter and non-commercial exchange of goods, services and labour to other members of their community. This reduces the tax burden on the community, and preferentially targets Others money and energy into the Other economy and away from the businesses of the main stream.

7/ Rejection of the other.

With a dollar in your hand, as an Other you will make the effort to cross the raod to spend it in the shop of an Other in preference to a supermarket or fats food chain. You will preference an Other tradesman or professional over those outside the community.