International

As we rolled into a new calendar year, most people were probably unaware of a 'storm in a teacup' that was brewing in one corner of the scientific community. In November of 2012 a team from the universities of Caen and Verona reported their findings after a few years of research into what is currently the single most-used pesticide in the world and a species of corn genetically modified to tolerate it, both patented by the Monsanto corporation.

There are few things quite so mis-understood by humans as their own psyche and behaviours. A few examples of our distortions from reality include concepts such as the existence of 'good and evil' people, or of a human having a distinctly separate 'mind and body' and hence having separate 'mental' and 'physical' health. Such old superstitions are still passed around human cultures today, even decades after evidence that shows them to be irrelevant has passed from the cutting edge of science.

We are familiar with Peter Joseph’s references to the self-appointed guardians of the status quo – those all-too-abundant, willfully ignorant members of society who seem to regard any criticism of the current system as an attack on their own dignity, self-esteem and social status, and who are all too ready with their belittling strawman attacks as soon as the RBE concept is introduced. We have all spent time sharing online resources helping to arm ourselves with various tips on how to cut through their logical fallacies and maintain a strong, credible position in any debate.

Mark Boyle, AKA The Moneyless Man, (born 8 May 1979) is a writer and activist best known for founding the online Freeconomy Community, and for living without money since November 2008. Boyle writes regularly for the Freeconomy Blog and British newspaper The Guardian. His first book, The Moneyless Man: A Year of Freeconomic Living, was published in 2010. He recently published ‘The Moneyless Manifesto’ where he does not only demystify money and the system that binds us to it, he also explains how liberating, easy and enjoyable it is to live with less of it.