How would you organize society?

[white_wolf]

In on of my threads a poster mentioned that we should get past the "isms" and we should not fall into the socialism or capitalism label, but should try and take parts of each that we like and throw out parts we don't. So I'm curious, if you were put in charge organizing society's economic system, how would you do it? Your plan can be as free-market as you want or as worker-controlled as you want. If you do believe in the various "isms" that is fine, but give reasons for it. I will post my opinions later, though I'm sure a lot of you know where I stand.

[Vinnie From Indy]

1. Clowns to the left and jokers to the right

Yeppers! That's the way you do it!

[Zanzoobar]

18. Belly stars over here, No belly stars over there.

[Cleita]

2. True democracy.

Everyone would take a turn for a few years in the legislating bodies of our government. It would be like jury duty with selection by lottery. You have to serve your time with compensation for wages lost. We, the people, would hire the professionals to run the government and economy and fire them if they were incompetent. We would make laws and change laws depending on what it takes to make things work. There would be no President, but maybe secretaries that specialize in areas like labor, treasury, etc. the usual. They too would be hired for their expertise and fired when incompetent. We would meet to debate and hammer out issues. In this way even the Mitch McConnells would have to answer to the Bernie Sanders one on one until agreement is reached, just like they did in ancient Athens, when citizens had to make their case by oratory.

[Toucano]

3. “Necessitous men are not free men."

That would be the basis for a society organised by me.

[white_wolf]

12. That is a good basis.

[Swede]

4. Shirts and skins.

Why not?

[Newest Reality]

5. Seeing how corporate media now "organizes" society with

an undeserved air of legitimacy, I would consider that one factor my biggest stumbling block.

I know your question pertained to the economic system, yet I would say that propaganda enables and supports the manufacture of consent and serves as a means to manipulate the culture, frame all debates and ideas, filter certain information and highlight others, etc.

On the financial side, I would eliminate corporate person-hood, starting with adding the word "natural" before person, and then begin a movement to role-back corporate power and break-down massive conglomerates. That would, in effect, help to bring back some form of true competition and might help smaller businesses to thrive. Anything that would reverse the increasing and alarming Fascist influences and tighten the reigns on the incredible impact that the wealthy have on our system while hiding behind corporate veils, would be crucially important.

I would carefully consider a people's movement to change the current way that government is functioning. That would include potential socialization of key industries on which we all depend for our survival. If the people did want to revolt, outright, against the power grab by large corporations, not only does the law protect, (yet not indite and prosecute) corporations currently, it allows them to function so freely and without regulation that the people are treated to a far different form of justice when it comes to welfare, tax evasion, etc.

I would end most, if not all, of the current subsidies given freely in vast amounts to corporations and earmark those monies for a new area of re-localization. That would include incentives for small farms, with a push towards more progressive and eco-friendly methods of produce production from no-till to hydroponic. The energy savings would be great as local communities became more self-sufficient and less reliant on imported goods.

Energy, like blood and air for our bodies, is the most important factor in any economy, to me. These days, we stand on the brink of Peak Everything and if we continue at the current, industry-lobbied protectionist rate, many of us will no longer be able to afford what has become a necessity in modern life. Therefore, I would increase taxes on corporations and the wealthy and begin a new era with a short-term goal to drastically reduce energy needs via conservation and also create a strong imperative to begin a sweeping transition to alternative energy sources, which I now feel is practical and doable. If we have to install 100x100 miles of solar panels in the Southwest desert and connect it to the grid to take care of all of America's energy needs, then let's do it, even though that is just one method to consider. If the Pharaoh's could build pyramids for various reasons, we can take on a big project like this. Peak Oil, (and peak everything) requires us to either make a swift transition, (vested industries be damned) or we will find that most of us will become energy peasants who will no longer have affordable access to it. It is one way or the other.

Due to the incredible, (unprecedented) amount of wealth in this country, I would also consider a new, national dividend in the form of a negative income tax that would assure that all citizens are guaranteed a sustainable and decent ability to thrive. We simply have to take into account that inequity is not longer viable or acceptable and that all will benefit the more each of us benefits. Considering how much has been lost to off-shoring, outsourcing, insourcing from prison labor, increased productivity where one worker does the job of three, and the silent, yet growing increase and improvements in automation that continues to replace workers, it is time for the citizens of the nation to profit, individually, from the vast amount of wealth that has been created.

[Sherman A1]

32. I have a few variations on a theme, but what you said is

good!:toast:

[joshcryer]

6. Throw out socialisms state appratus, demolish capitalisms property concepts.

Ignore economics entirely.

Near utopia. :)

[2gabby]

7. I'm curious, do you mean starting from where we are right now,

To describe a plan a for how to change into a better system, or are you wondering how an ideal functioning system itself would be described?

[white_wolf]

11. I hadn't really thought of that.

I suppose that is up to you, mine is a bit idealist and I know it is not achievable anytime in the foreseeable future, but it is what I would ultimately want to see.

[2gabby]

22. That's what I wondered, because that's where I begin to get tripped up

Because I'm not sure which to think about first. Should I start with the ideal solutions, and work toward them? Or should I focus on how to make the changes without, oh, doing more harm than good getting "there". Revolutions scare the hell out of me.

That's all I had though, wish I had concrete ideas to offer.

[white_wolf]

23. I agree, it may come to that but we had better be very careful.

I hear some people on the far left talk almost joyfully about a coming socialist revolution, yet what they don't realize is, who will take charge? Do we want a revolution just to see another Stalin? I sure as hell don't.

[2gabby]

27. agree with that too nt

[Canuckistanian]

8. By stopping people from trying to organize it

I'm a laissez-faire kind of social radical.

[Common Sense Party]

19. Amen to that.

Society is blissfully DISorganized. Any coming together will be spontaneous, not driven by some planner's preferences.

[Kip Humphrey]

9. Cooperatism

more about this later.

[white_wolf]

10. Thanks for the respones. Their all very well thought out and vast improvement

over our current system. Now for my answer. I would propose turning companies over to the direct control of workers and allowing them to decide how to run their work places. They would vote democratically on the decisions of their jobs and not have them forced on them from a CEO halfway across the country. The would vote on all things related to the work place such as what to produce, how much to produce, the price, their own management, and any other things I'm not thinking of. I feel that there should be a market of some sort for nonessentials simply because, if you don't have an open market you will have a black market that will lead to price gauging and exploitation. Like I said though, under my system these nonessential goods and services would be produced at facilitates directly controlled by the workers. I believe essential services such as healthcare, basic decent food,energy, and even broadband since the internet is such an important tool for exchanging information and ideas. should be produced by the government and made available to all citizens.

[Cleita]

16. You are talking about cooperatives or employee

owned companies. There are good examples of successful ones in the world like the Mondragon cooperatives in Spain that incidentally happened during Franco's fascist Spain.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondragon_Corporation

[white_wolf]

17. Intersting. I didn't know about that one.

I was actually basing my suggestion of the workers councils that came out of the very early days of the USSR, but honestly whatever works I'm for it. I don't care what we call them as long as it stops the massive exploitation we see people put up with right now, its just wrong.

[Armstead]

13. Hell, I can't even organize my apartment. /nt

[reformist2]

14. Only two changes: 1) subsidized elections and 2) wealth tax would be main source of revenue.

[Fuzz]

15. Spicy and mild

[wickerwoman]

20. Hmm...

Politically: I would keep the current system pretty much intact but abolish the electoral colleges, publically fund elections, make election day a national holiday for all but essential workers (whose employers would have to make provision for their employees to vote). And I would make Supreme Court seats 20 year appointments rather than life.

I would cap military spending to match the budgets of the next three countries combined (i.e. about a quarter of what we spend now). I would take the $513 billion I just saved and put school funding at the national level (no more ballot initiatives begging for funds- no more quasi-university campuses in some districts and rat traps in others). I would provide 100% funding for four years to students at accredited universities with at least a 3.0 average and 80% for students above a 2.0. I would fund single-payer universal health care, low-income and community housing and public transportation. I would legalize and tax pot and decriminalize prostitution. I would release virtually all non-violent offenders from prisons and reassign them to community service. And I would shut down for-profit prison workshops in all areas that compete with free workers. I would increase arts funding and revoke the broadcasting license of media that deliberately spread misinformation or that promote bigotry or hate.

Economically: I would regulate the hell out of the financial industry. If you're "too big to fail" you're "too big to exist". Any industry that requires substantial bailouts should either be nationalized or allowed to collapse. Time to break up monopolies. I would take all the tax incentives, breaks and perks currently offered to corporations and offer them to worker-controlled local cooperatives instead. I would take all of the farm subsidies offered to corn, sugar and wheat manufacturers and redistribute them to a broader range of fruit and vegetable growers instead, especially small-scale ones. I would fund the hell out of pharmaceutical and technology research through public universities rather than private for-profit companies.

Now in my second week... :-)

[2gabby]

24. okay that's it I vote for you. That was really good. Problem solved. nt

[white_wolf]

25. wickerwoman 2012!

[2gabby]

26. rec'd! nt

[Thunderstruck]

29. Very nice! And there's still next week!

[David__77]

21. Technology-intensive, capital-intensive, state-driven development.

Manhattan Project x100. High income taxation rates to encourage investment rather than high individual personal consumption.

[Arkana]

28. Heavily regulated capitalism.

Socialism is a wonderful system until put into practice--human nature pretty much ensures that no purely socialist society will ever prosper.

[Forkboy]

30. Alphabetically.

[Ozymanithrax]

31. Heinlein's rule probably works best...

Political tags - such as royalist, communist, democrat, populist, fascist, liberal, conservative, and so forth - are never basic criteria. The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire.
Robert Heinlein

Those who want to be controlled stand on the right.

Those who have no such desire stand on the left.