Re: Let's discuss
No, I disagree with this, in particular your talk of wealth.
Technically, things don't cost money. They cost resources. Capitalism equates all resources (materials, labour, etc) with money, which is the problem.
Consider: If I have ten apple trees on my land, each of which produce thirty apples a year. Three hundred apples is more than I can possibly eat. Now, let's say that I also happen to have enough resources of my own to feed myself. My home is secure. If I get sick or injured, I can go get that dealt with. In capitalist terms, I'm rich.
Now, you might argue that I have to sell my apples for a dollar apiece. But what if I want to give them away to people less "rich" than me? What if I want to keep, say, fifty of them for myself to store for the year, and give the other two hundred and fifty away, or bring them to a place where they will be distributed to those in need? If I choose to keep the trees alive, harvest the apples, then either distribute them myself or to arrange to have them distributed, and I don't ask for compensation, then money has been taken out of the equation.
Now, here and now, this sort of system won't work in the real world. It'd be lovely if it did, but it won't. We're not there yet. The world itself has gone too far into capitalism, and the proper infrastructure doesn't exist.
So, my philosophy is simple.
1. Build your democracy
And by this, I mean a proper democracy. No first past the post. No electoral college. No voter suppression. Pure democracy.
2. Improve your technology
Technology makes everything easier in the big picture. You might look at an automatic cashier in a grocery store and think it's depriving some person of a job. Right now that's true, but hopefully in twenty years or less, those people will largely be free to pursue other avenues. Better technology will lead to better agriculture, meat-cloning (so better food production in other words), better and more energy-efficient transportation (get that food to those who need it), better AI (for all those boring jobs you really don't need people for most of the time.
3. Build your infrastructure
This is where it all comes together. If people's basic needs are met, they no longer need to work just to not starve. If you give them enough to eat, a safe place to live, and access to health care and education (all should be basic human rights), then they can still seek greater wealth if they need it for nonessential purchases, but it's no longer a matter of life or death.
The chronic failing of capitalism is its lack of a "human wellness" variable. That's what's killing the world right now.
Bear in mind: I'm a leftist. I want to abolish capitalism just as soon as we can, but in the meantime I'd probably identify best as a democratic socialist. But I'm very, very opposed to authoritarian regimes of any kind. I think the next thirty years is going to really prove to people that no, this myth of scarcity doesn't actually exist for most things. I mean, we have food enough to feed the world three times over. We have houses that are empty nine months out of a year, or empty all the time, yet the homeless still live and die on the streets. There are over a dozen people in the world, each of whom could literally give seventy-five dollars to every inhabitant of the earth, of all ages and all countries, and still not go broke. If that's not a broken, top-heavy system, I don't know what is. Seriously: who needs eight hundred billion dollars? Can you even conceive of that much money? I say tax the hell out of it. Redistribute at least some of it to those who need it most.
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