The High Five

Money is ingrained in us.  As young people, we are told that part of responsibility is to be able to plan ahead with our money.  If we want something expensive, save up.  If we do not have the proper funds for what we want, too bad. When trading, questions arise as to how connected are you to the person with whom you are trading.  Do you care about what they are getting out of the transaction?  Do they care if they are selling you a good product? For my form of Sweet Briar Currency, I want to take it back to a community without a currency. In this world, Sweet Briar would be much more involved with what they were obtaining, and the transactions would be between to communication persons, and no money would be necessary. Instead of a hard currency, I propose to use the high five.

A simple high five could be the total sum of payment because instead of a hard currency that could be used for another transaction, the high five lingers only as long as your hand tingles after the initial smack. The necessity for reciprocation of items and skills would keep this system going. For example, the people involved in a transaction would also understand that they might need something the other person has at a later point. People would need to have some prior knowledge before transacting, unlike when using money. Word would get around who makes the best dinners, who is the best at tutoring in Spanish, and who doesn’t mind cleaning out the bathrooms. All needs could and would be met by an understanding that doing your best at what you do will get you want you need in return.

Since the high five is a pretty basic human movement, the denominations of the high five would need to be explained.  There are three basic fives: the standard high five, the double high five, and the low five. All of which would determine the satisfaction of the person receiving the item or service. So that means that the payment is relative to the product itself. The value is based on the same fundamental aspects of our current economic markets: the buyer has a demand, and the giver must reciprocate accordingly.

To go about a high five, the receiver of the item must have one hand at the ready, raise it into the air, look at the giver’s opposite elbow, and forcefully stretch their hand forward. It is important to look at the elbow, since it is a sure-fire way of not missing.  With the double high five, it is important to keep both arms equidistant so that a hand doesn’t hit someone else’s face. For the low five, you actually shouldn’t look at the other person’s elbow. For the Low five, the best thing to do would be to look down at the waiting hand, and aim towards it. With the low five only the giver’s hand is actively moving, whereas the standard and the double take both parties.

The standard high five is for those times when the product is just what you need. Where the item you are receiving did not exceed your expectations, nor did it fall below your expectations.  Usually, the standard high five is used when the transition is quick and easy, and the people involved go about their business with ease.  The receiver will probably give back to the person who gave them the object, but it’s not necessary.  The standard high five is a way to say “Thanks”.

The double high five however is where the product exceeds the receiver’s expectations. They are humbled and grateful for the care and execution the giver put into the product, and so as payment they get not one high five, but two! This is to be used when the product does the job better than usual, or surpasses other experiences affiliated with the person or item. This would extend the happiness to both parties: The pride of the previous owner for a good product and the receiver appreciating the extra work or time put into it. This could be spending extra time on tutoring, making a terrific dinner, taking out the trash when no one else did, etc.

On the other end of the spectrum, the low five is considered when the product is of poor quality, the transaction went sour, or the expectation were not met. This would lead to careful reevaluation of the transaction: if the receiver will take the product, if the person tried to cheat, or if something else should be substituted. If the person takes the item, that is when the low five will emerge as a sign of disapproval.  This is only to be used when the product is not suitable for use.

To high five is to express feeling towards a gift. It is to create a giving community with giving expectations, not taking expectations. There are examples of societies running like this, but they are small. Small communities can run without currency, but to regress would require a lot of cooperation.  The economic classes of sweet briar would not be based on how much they had sitting in their bank accounts; it would be based on how much they gave and traded.  The wealthy would actually be the most giving, and the stingy would not be able to survive.   I believe this would strengthen the Sweet Briar community because we would be more communicative, collaboration oriented, and closer.