Socialism

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Beehaw's community for socialists, communists, anarchists, and non-authoritarian leftists (this means anti-capitalists) of all stripes. A place for all leftist and labor news and discussion, as long as you're nice about it.

Non-socialists are welcome to come to learn, though it's hard to get to in-depth discussions if the community is constantly fighting over the basics. We ask that non-socialists please be respectful and try not to turn this into a "left vs right" debate forum by asking leading questions or by trying to draw others into a fight.

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What would your perfect system look like? (beehaw.org)

submitted 1 year ago by TheBaldness@beehaw.org to c/socialism@beehaw.org

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I'm posting this in Socialism, so the obvious answer is that most people here would think socialism is the perfect system. But what do you mean by socialism?

Most Scandinavian countries are social democracies with regulated capitalist economies, progressive taxation and strong social programs. People who live in countries like this, Finland for instance, are consistently rated as some of the happiest people in the world. What would your perfect system look like? Try to give some details.

I identify as a capitalist who thinks government should provide things that are vital, like healthcare, education, military, etc. I also think the government should take the initiative on matters vital to modern life and national security. For instance, baseline energy generation, smart grid energy distribution, a national public data network (that private companies could lease bandwidth on, like the US phone system used to be), funding scientific and medical research in order to put the results in the public domain. I don't think anyone making less than median income should have to pay any taxes. Taxes would be phased in progressively on income above the median.

Those are some of my ideas. I'd like to hear some of yours.

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[–] StrayCatFrump 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Somewhere between anarcho-communism and anarcho-syndicalism, with a strong dose of social ecology. Small communities—however sparsely (rural) or closely (urban) packed—governed horizontally through consensus models, and federating with one another for larger projects and to form responsive and resilient decentralized networks of distribution. (I'm not limiting "community" here to the strictly geographical interpretation of a communal neighborhood, though that's certainly one form; others would be worker-owned-and-self-managed cooperative enterprises, recreational clubs of various kinds, etc.)

Find ways to build successful but non-growth/non-profit-centered industries with modern technology but without the expectations of rampant consumerism, and with governance models strongly influenced by more horizontal and matrilineal societies, past and present. If we can't do it and keep smart phones, then sorry: ditch the smart phones. If we can't do it and keep modern medicine, then prioritize refining the model so we can.