Mark Boyle (Moneyless Man)

Mark Boyle
Born	Mark Boyle (1979-05-08) 8 May 1979 Ballyshannon, County Donegal, Ireland
Residence	near Bath, UK
Nationality	Irish
Education	BA in Business
Alma mater	Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology
Occupation	writer, activist, freeconomist
Website	http://www.justfortheloveofit.org

Mark Boyle aka The Moneyless Man (born 8 May 1979) is an Irish activist and writer best known for founding the online Freeconomy Community, and for living without money since November 2008.^[1] 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.^[2] Boyle currently lives near Loughrea, in the west of Ireland.

Early life

Mark Boyle grew up in Ballyshannon, County Donegal, in north-west Ireland. He took a degree in Business at the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, before moving to the UK in 2002.^[3][4]

During the final year of his degree, Boyle watched the film Gandhi, about the life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. He has frequently cited this as the moment that changed his life.^[4][5]

Early career

During his first six years in the UK, Boyle lived in Bristol and managed two organic food companies. In 2007, after a conversation with a friend during which they decided "money... creates a kind of disconnection between us and our actions", Boyle set up the Freeconomy Community.^[6]

Moneyless lifestyle

A few months after creating the Freeconomy Community, Boyle set out on a two-and-a-half year trek from Bristol to Porbandar in India, the birthplace of Gandhi. Inspired by the non-violent salt march led across India by Gandhi in 1930, and by America’s ‘Peace Pilgrim’, he set off in January 2008, carrying no money and only a small number of possessions.^[7][8] However, he was forced to turn back only a month into the trip, as language barriers halted his journey shortly after he arrived in Calais.^[9]

Later in the same year, Boyle developed an alternative plan: to live without money entirely. After some preparatory purchases (including a solar panel and wood-burning stove), he began his first year of Moneyless living on Buy Nothing Day 2008.^[10][11]

Boyle has received considerable positive and negative publicity for his moneyless lifestyle, appearing on television, radio and other media in the UK, Ireland, Australia, South Africa, USA and Russia. Much of the attention has focused on his day-to-day routine, including food, hygiene, and traditionally expensive aspects of life, such as Christmas.^{[12][13][14][15][16]}

Mark Boyle is one of a small number of individuals who have lived without money in recent times. These include Heidemarie Schwermer and Daniel Suelo.^[17][18][19] However, Boyle frequently reminds his readers that a moneyless life is not a new idea; indeed it is the system of money itself that is the new development, having existed for only a small fraction of human history.^[4]

Freeconomy Community

As of 4 October 2012 the official website, www.justfortheloveofit.org claims "There are now 42425 members in 168 countries sharing 519515 skills, 106784 tools and 660 spaces" on the Freeconomy Community site. It shares similarities with websites such as The Freecycle Network, Freegle and Streetbank. The Freeconomy Community allows people to share, moving away from exchange economies towards a pay it forward philosophy.

Freeskilling

Alongside the online component of the Freeconomy Community, several areas including Bristol and London hold Freeskilling sessions, where freeconomists take turns to pass on their skills in free one-off evening classes. Past topics have included subjects ranging from charity fundraising and anger management to bicycle maintenance, bread-making and campaigning skills.

Freeconomy Blog

Boyle has been the primary author of the Freeconomy Blog since it was launched in 2007. Guest writers have recently included fellow moneyless people Heidemarie Schwermer, Daniel Suelo and Tomi Astikainen.^[20]

The Freeconomy Village

Boyle is currently working with others to set up the UK’s first land-based Freeconomic community. Other founding members include Shaun Chamberlin, author of The Transition Timeline (2009), and Fergus Drennan, also known as the BBC’s Roadkill Chef.^[16][21][22]

The Moneyless Man

Boyle’s first book, The Moneyless Man: A Year of Freeconomic Living, was published in June 2010 by Oneworld Publications.^[2] The book documents his first moneyless year, including many of the practical and philosophical challenges he faced. The author’s proceeds go to the Freeconomy trust, towards purchasing land for the foundation of the Freeconomy Community.

Quotes

• "If we grew our own food, we wouldn't waste a third of it as we do today. If we made our own tables and chairs, we wouldn't throw them out the moment we changed the interior decor. If we had to clean our own drinking water, we probably wouldn't contaminate it."^[5]
• "The degrees of separation between the consumer and the consumed have increased so much that we're completely unaware of the levels of destruction and suffering embodied in the stuff we buy."^[5]
• "If you don't own a plasma screen TV, people think you're an extremist."^[5]
• "It was really important for me to give up bank accounts so I closed my bank accounts so there was no safety net. I think that's the key. I think if I had a safety net I would not have got the benefits that I got from it. It was the fact that I knew I was living moment to moment, day to day."^[23]

See also

• Gift economy
• Anarcho-primitivism

References

External links

• The Freeconomy Community
• The Freeconomy Blog
• Moneyless man Guardian column
• Video of Mark Boyle speaking at TEDxO'Porto, June 2011
• Parasız da Yaşanabileceğini Kanıtlayan Adam: Mark Boyle