You’re born, you live, you make stew, you die. There is not time for much else in most villages. But what if there was another way…
It seems like a capitalist society would be a cool thing to try out. I’ve been thinking about it and there is at least a chance it is possible with a good currency and a large population. However don’t think you can simply spawn as an Eve and start building a modern society. Capitalism is something you do once your settlement is advanced enough, and it needs to have its limits. The organisation required for a village like this is unheard of, but it could also prompt an era of mass production. Hand carts for everyone. That sort of thing.
But before you can do anything you’ll need a currency. There’s lots to choose from. My choice would be clay. It’s unrenewable, but still plenty of it for trading. It also means that when you get rich enough all you need to do is buy some straw and plaster for you to be able to build your own house. However the currency is really up to you. Next you need to put limits on this economy. I suggest that you effectively nationalise some basic parts of the village. Berry farms are free to eat from. The same goes for carrots, but only once they have been picked. There is a community nursery and public service workers get free compost, water and hoes. Making water free would also be handy. Anyone working for the public, usually as a profession, should be identified by something like a blue dyed wool hat so people know to give them the tools they need to work. This means that no matter how poor you are, you won’t starve if nothing else. Babies will also be taught the ways of the system all together, a key part of any organised village. It also means that those hoping to start buisinesses will get a leg up until they can fend for themselves in the capitalist jungle. Apart from all of that, the only other public service you will need is law enforcement. This can be solved by taking your most trusted individual and equipping then with weapons and a means of identification (like a red wooly hat). Then, if the soldier spends their life mostly doing basic community farming and thereby staying in roughly the same place, they can be called upon by citizens to enforce the general peace and property rights of the public.
This leads on to the harder part. The actual economy. To begin with this will likely involve assigning different players different areas to own and work on, like the village forge. They can then expand their practise by picking up apprentices from the nursery. Using the forge as an example, at any one time there would likely be around three players owning and working on it. They would likely share property in the same chests to make things simpler. This triplet would buy ore and kindling, forge some tools, and then sell the result to whoever needs it. As a result they might be inclined to expand their practise so that it becomes more efficient. Having an easily accessible currency is useful at this point so people can get some base funds easily. You might give out handouts to get things started to begin with, and later even try using loans. But remember to claim your stuff. If you have a chest, either lock it or make sure everyone knows it’s yours. If a thief comes along then tell the community law enforcement (respect that fluffy red hat). However, with a bit of luck, the whole capitalist thing might start catching on.
But it’s all well and good saying all this, but what about actually doing it as an individual? The easiest way, I think, is to run the nursery. Teach the children about your idea, if it catches on then start collecting the currency you want to use in later life. If it catches on then it will have succeeded. Maybe you’ll be born back into the town as an apprentice stew maker. But unlike your other stew making lives, this time you’ll be properly rewarded for all your efforts. Stew making is really hard after all. Then you can take a baskcet of your earnings and go out to buy that rabbit hat you’d thought looked fancy in the shop crate. You might even try crate trading, where you take out an item and leave the specified price in the crate before you leave. However you do it, capitalism could be worth the effort. And if we really want to do the industrial revolution, then we’ll need someone to start mass producing stuff. They are more likely to do that if there’s some money in it for them. So someone could make that cart factory and then another, until eventualy people are wondering what life was like before you could buy butter for your bread.