Eva Durant wrote:
> Are these kind of transitional demands?
They appear to me to be attempts to develop a more inclusive economic system. Some
activists might "demand" the implementation of their favourite schemes.
>
> Because they contain no solution to the
> problem of the basic capitalist mechanism
> of production
In a period of convulsive intragenerational sociotechnical change it seems
counter-productive to think in terms of _a_ solution. In a maelstrom one tries to
get a handle on the pattern of events, perceive the window of opportunity and go
with it. Then start looking for the next. A mind-set devoted to implementing a
final solution is ominously reminiscent of certain WW2 German policies.
This, of course, is not to deny the virtue of the "Grand Design" or utopia in
inspiring people and giving them hope. But just as in everyday life designs are in
constant flux , so it probably is so in the design of the economy. (I guess I've
inadvertently slipped into the "Holy Grail" syndrome!)
> - there will be not enough profits made
> based on this tax-scheme to make capitalist
> enterprises viable.
Which tax scheme? Only a few involve taxes, but when they do you're right to
consider the possibly deleterious impact on local (i.e. national) business - they
may threaten as usual to take their business elsewhere!
> So you just wait until they collapse,
> and then there will be no other alternatives but
> for the employees to take over ownership
> and management at last?
> Hear, hear...
>
That is probably basically it! This may well be the ultimate irony of capitalism
since, as has been pointed out by others, it probably contains the seed of its own
demise or transformation. There may be a rough parallel here with the British
aristocracy: In 18th century France they had a revolution to overthrow the
aristocracy while in Britain over a couple of centuries it simply became irrelevant
or decorative.
>
>
> >
> > 1. Reduce the length of the work-week (4 day)
> > 2. Extend ESOPs (Employee Stock Ownership Plans)
> > 3. Extra tax on corporations not participating in ESOPs (to be used by
> > govt. to buy stocks on behalf of employees)
> > 4. Educational system cultivating a mind-set geared to self-employment
> > and the "meaningful" use of leisure time
> > 5. Corporate "profit centres" become employee owned
> > 6. Individual persona incorporated into expert systems and royalties
> > paid for each use, e.g. actors' attributes may be incorporated into
> > computerized images
> > 7. Infomediary professionals trained to facilitate the interface
> > between people and their automated systems
> > 8. Give greater official encouragement to the establishment of
> > role-playing societies (pioneer villages, period societies (e.g. 18th
> > century society), etc.), "living museums"
> > 9. Establish system of micropayments (perhaps modeled after LETS
> > (Local Employment (Exchange) Trading System) in which people accumulate
> > an income through numerous microtransactions
> > 10. Right to privacy modified to include a right to payment for providing
> > the personal data (including opinions) required to support the automated
> > economy
> > 11. While business may still compete, nevertheless inculcate a more
> > cooperative mode conducive to the sharing of information (perhaps
> > primarily but not solely via the Internet) by forming cross-institutional
> > teams
> > characterized by information literacy
> > 12. Founding of voluntary neighbourhood productive associations
> > ("consentives" - to use Robert Theobald's term) may be particularly
> > applicable to low income areas
> > 13. Encourage the expansion of DIY (do-it-yourself) activities taking
> > advantage of sophisticated hi-tech instructional systems (which may also
> > provide access to LETS so people can easily find those who can help, given
> > that they
> > have neither the time nor inclination to complete a task)
> > 14. And then there's the Tobin Tax, a proposed tax on global
> > corporations' electronic financial transactions
> > 15. The role of volunteers is critically important to many organizations
> > dedicated to helping the disadvantaged. Some firms grant paid leave to
> > employees who can provide skilled help to such organizations. The
> > volunteer system may be a vehicle for transferring wealth indirectly
> > 16. "1984" with a new face: Pervasive global electronic surveillance
> > systems ensure that _each one_ of the earth's billions of people can be
> > acknowledged and their needs entered into a database - something like GPS
> > (Geographical Positioning Systems) ensuring that no one need ever be lost
> > again
> > 17. The practice of "twinning" cities, "adopting" highways may be
> > extended globally to possibly establish a more grassroots approach to
> > Third World development as an alternative to the International Monetary Fund.
> >
> > Information may replace money as the means to development. Outfits like
> > CESO (Canadian Executive Service Organization), CUSO (Canadian
> > University Service Overseas) and the US Peace Corps may be precursors
> >
> > ... etc.
> >
> > A note to those who almost inevitably will assume that I am a proponent
> > of these thoughts - I'm _not_. These are probes only (to use Marshall
> > McLuhan's words).
> >
> >
> > --
> > http://publish.uwo.ca/~mcdaniel/
> >
> >
--
http://publish.uwo.ca/~mcdaniel/
