[lbo-talk] Winter solstice wishes

martin schiller mschiller at pobox.com
Fri Dec 20 08:50:14 PST 2013


On Dec 20, 2013, at 7:28 AM, Wojtek S wrote:


> Under socialism, the level
> and kind of production, and consequently the amount of labor input and
> environmental pollution would be decided not by capitalists pursuing
> private profits, but democratically by pursuing the maximum public good.
> Likewise, the distribution of aggregate surplus created by that production
> will also be decided democratically by taking into consideration general
> public welfare, incentives, and social policy objectives. The
> institutional mechanisms for this kind of decision making already exist -
> they only need to be implemented on a global scale to replace capitalists
> property relations.

Developing a compelling narrative that builds movement toward that end seems to be a necessary first step. I like the argument of the government as a super-corporation, with the people as equal shareholders. People seem to like and understand the relationship between corporation and shareholder. The government role would be seen as managing the national business for the long term benefit of the shareholders. Many would dismiss it as corporatism, but in a state where corporations rule, offering the people the opportunity to believe that they have the biggest corporation seems to offer hope.



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