By Grace Maselli

Let’s face it. Timebanking is a “community-building and community cohesion tool,” says Stephanie Rearick, former co-chair of  TimeBanks USA in her article, Time Banks: A Tool for Restorative Justice and Community Strength. The concept works by pooling resources, exchanging skill sets and time, and keeping people inter-connected. There’s power in numbers, after all. And resource-sharing as part of the timebank model has been engaged across the U.S. and internationally since founder Edgar Cahn’s brainchild was launched 30 or so years ago.

Give It a Rethink and Some Hope

More recently, HuffPost has turned its attention to the the capitalist system and its call for a “radical rethink” known as “This New World,” a web environment in support of public discourse and real news, not to mention the collective good. Should you, dear reader, elect to partake, here’s the message to anticipate: “Thanks for signing up for HuffPost’s This New World email! We’re here talking about this because the capitalist system is broken and needs a radical rethink. In the past it has created jobs, prosperity and happiness. But today we’re facing increased inequality, eroding prosperity for all but the richest and an environmental crisis. But there is hope. As well as looking at the failings of the current system, HuffPost’s ‘This New World’ series shines a spotlight on the people, projects and movements, striving to create a fairer economy.”

And in case you need ideas from the Halloween costumery, consider a social justice bent as you prepare for cobwebs and apple bobbing. A judge or a suffragette, perhaps? No matter the choice, ponder the long line of timebank members who came before us, the ones who took the radical rethink seriously, and still do. There are about 300 timebanks across the U.S. and more popping up as you read. For good measure, here’s a Timebanking 101 primer to share with your friends.