An R.B.E, or a Resource Based Economy, relies on the concept that abundance for all people is a much more relevant motivator than monetary incentive, with the end result being a healthy & technologically advanced society.
To further clarify the concept of a resource based economy (R.B.E) consider this example: A group of people is stranded on an island with enormous purchasing power including gold, silver and diamonds. All this wealth would be irrelevant to their survival if the island had few resources such as food, clean air, and water. Only when population exceeds the productive capacity of the land do problems such as greed, crime, and violence emerge. On the other hand, if people were stranded on an island that was abundant with natural resources producing more than the necessities for survival, then a monetary system would be irrelevant. It is only when resources are scarce that money can be used to control their distribution. One could not, for example, sell the air we breathe, the sand on the beach, or the salt water in the ocean to someone else on the island who has equal access to all these things. In a resource-based economy all of the world's resources would be held as the common heritage of all of the earth's people, thus eventually outgrowing the need for the artificial boundaries that separate people – this is the unifying imperative.
by TheAnnoyingSwede February 3, 2011