With the economy so closely mirroring a period which history ominously titled “The Great Depression,” the capitalists’ theory of “too big to fail” has, and the idea of “free trade for all,” ironically, has not.

Yet in response to Adam Smith’s failing capitalist utopia, grassroots’ organizers have created a new economic system – a gift economy.

Known as “Really Really Free Markets,” they have been spontaneously popping up throughout the United States, and have inevitably made their way to Athens.

“A gift economy is one in which participants give without the expectation of reward or remuneration,” said Matthew Pulver, a local organizer. “The Really Really Free Market is one way people in Athens can explore alternatives to the cold, coercive, hierarchical and unforgiving logic of our type of economy.”

But one inherent principle is the idea of building social trust.

“One of the most hopeful things about events like this is that there is an underlying tone of understanding, collectivity and helpfulness — everyone chips in, everyone helps out,” said Liz Kinnamon, a senior from St. Simons Island.

At Athens’ Really Really Free Market one can expect to find everything from toasters to tank tops to hand massages to food.

“The last RRFM was really successful . People showed up on bikes or by foot, maybe sat down to eat free food from Food Not Bombs, got a free haircut or bike-fixing tips, and went home with old records, CDs and clothes,” Kinnamon said. “The funniest thing I can remember being taken home by someone was a washing machine.”

Pulver said a good example of the gift economy was the life and history of Jesus Christ. His message can be concisely summarized: give freely and generously, regardless of potential reward, he said.

“One can show up and simply take what she needs without having anything to offer. Or vice versa. Bring but not take. Everything is entirely voluntary. So we certainly encourage people to show up even though they may not have much, or anything, to give,” Pulver said.

However, the original Really Really Free Market began in Miami as part of protests against the 2003 G8 Summit and its proposal to create a Free Trade of the Americas, which critics say exploits people and resources by favoring multinational corporations and reducing the influence of unions.

“Internationalism, meaning the sense of social solidarity shared among all peoples of the globe, is a valuable pursuit. Neoliberal globalization, on the other hand, is the intensification and expansion of capitalism in order to maximize the profits of a few,” Pulver said.

“The financial crisis and the banker-friendly recovery plans can be thought of as neoliberalism’s American beachhead.”

However, the repressive-like nature of this type of economy is no longer confined to those in the less-developed countries of the Global South.

Kinnamon reiterated the significance of the market’s name and, ultimately, its purpose.

“More people are beginning to opt out of the cold, impersonal, monotony of the ‘free market,’ and the ‘really really free market’ is a name that understands the irony of the former.”

“Americans are becoming familiar with a new feeling of powerlessness at the hands of bankers, multinational corporations, Wall Street elites, and their hired hands in Washington,” Pulver said.

“The Really Really Free Market can be thought of as a small experiment to challenge the hegemony of that logic.”

As to whether the Athens Really Really Free Market will continue, no one knows.

“There is a spontaneity of organization inherent to a RRFM . Neither I nor anyone else are considered a leader or lead organizer of the event, only a participant,” Pulver said.

“More immediately important is that people are really struggling right now. And a RRFM doesn’t depend on government or NGOs: it is as simple as folks sharing with other folks. It can be done anytime, anywhere and by anybody.”