Gregory's Server@DrDanMarshall
I still disagree with this scenario because it still retains elements of hierarchy and inequality. While the equal distribution of wealth and democratic decision-making in workplaces are steps in the right direction, as long as private ownership and control of resources exist the same problems of inequality will persist.
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@Radical_EgoCom We *could* ensure equal shares of the means of consumption, but that would also eliminate the ability of the market to allocate scarce forms of labor! :D I leave it to you to propose an alternative method, but I'm okay with stipulating "a magic fairy does it" for the purposes of this thought experiment. Investors *might* have a disproportionate influence at a single firm, if they decide to put all of eggs in one basket. But since everybody has equal wealth... @Radical_EgoCom the investors would have the same power over society as a whole as the workers themselves. (And the investors would also *be* workers, either at the same firm or a different one.) @DrDanMarshall 1. **Equal shares of the means of consumption**: Ensuring equal access to resources doesn't necessarily mean distributing them equally; it means making them collectively owned and managed. 2. **Market allocation of labor**: Markets, as I see it, perpetuate inequalities and exploitation. Instead, I propose decentralized planning and/or participatory democracy to organize production and distribution based on need rather than profit. @DrDanMarshall @Radical_EgoCom On point three, if a mutual aid society invests in a cooperative workshop, what say, if any, should that give the mutual aid society in the internal decision of the workshop? I'm basing the 60/40 split on what Piketty says about how the share of national income gets split between capital and labor, btw. Ain't no reason capitalists should get 100% of the say, but it is their resources, so... @Radical_EgoCom I was basing unequal shares of the means of consumption on something Marx said in his Critique of the Gotha Programme. Was testing to see if you would *also* be okay with it, guess not :D How exactly to allocate scarce forms of labor, even within a single household, seems like a Non-Trivial Problem which I really don't want to go into right now. Is it okay if I chalk it up to magical fairies for the time being? @DrDanMarshall @Radical_EgoCom It seems to me that if a form of labor is scarce, then there's a reason for it. Can you give examples of some scarce forms of labor that would potentially be underserved? @DrDanMarshall @Radical_EgoCom When I look it up, it sounds like you're possibly describing certain forms of skilled labor, so are we worried about not incentivizing enough people to occupy those roles? If so, then I think you may be overestimating the size of demand in a non-capitalist framework, which is understandable given how we currently treat skilled labor. @nonehitwonder @DrDanMarshall @Radical_EgoCom @Oddel @DrDanMarshall @Radical_EgoCom I suspect that if a large enough number of people want to organize a festival, that there will be people willing to do the work to make it successful, including the task you just described. If not, then maybe there shouldn't be a festival. We clean up our messes; isn't that a basic value we teach to children? I think a lot of these scenarios are still taking place in a hypothetical world still running at a scale driven by profit motive. @nonehitwonder @Radical_EgoCom Let's back up a bit and talk theory before we get to concrete cases. Are you familiar with the labor theory of value, the marginal utility theory of value, the differences between them? @DrDanMarshall @Radical_EgoCom I am. Please continue with an example of some scarce forms of labor that would potentially be underserved in an Anarcho-Communist system as you currently understand it. @nonehitwonder @Radical_EgoCom Now that questions of religion and insults have been addressed... I do not claim to understand anarcho-communism, despite being a ways into the *second* volume of An Anarchist FAQ . So I cannot do what you ask. What I can do is construct a list of desiderata that it would be good for *any* replacement for capitalism to fulfill, and you two could tell me if you think your proposal would do that. Do you want me to do that? |
@DrDanMarshall
In your scenario individuals still have unequal shares of the means of consumption based on income, which will inevitably lead to disparities in power and influence within society. Additionally, the presence of investors with advisory roles introduces a form of hierarchy and potential for exploitation.