How would a Socialist society sustain itself?

[Flying Purple People Eater]

Look, I know it's been used as a scapegoat by rightists and conservatives all over, but It's good now and again to take in an opposing line of thought (Very good, actually).

How would a Socialist society sustain itself? How would you stop class systems from arising once more? All someone needs is a gun and a secluded community in say, Siberia, and he can start his own little Empire. A small group of people could quite easily sabotage where commodities would head. How would people make decisions in time before the food went rotten? Is this not assuming that the entire community has a hand in decision making - the very cornerstone of a classless society?

[Yet_Another_Boring_Marxist]

Simple, arm the people and orginize them into militias, decentralize the party so it becomes a tool of the working class and it's democratic representative, instead of the other way around.

Ok I guess it isn't that simple, I just don't feel like saying much right now. Critique me if you want and I'll respond better to that.

[Flying Purple People Eater]

Simple, arm the people and orginize them into militias
Who will arm the people? Couldn't the workers operating an arms-factory and their suppliers in the mines and forests simply use brute force to gain hegemony over a local town?


decentralize the party so it becomes a tool of the working class and it's democratic representative, instead of the other way around.How will decentralising the party stop reactionary movements? Armed ones, no less?

[Blake's Baby]

1 - all power to the workers' councils is a start.

Only the workers' councils have the right to organised force, so the workers' militia can disarm anyone else. These militia units will be under the control of the workers' councils in the district so there's little prospect o the workers allowing bandit-lords/landlords/mafia gangs to take over - why go back to being slaves? it doesn't make sense.

2 - production is for need.

In this case, how would diverting goods to the wrong place benefit anyone? They're going where they're needed, which if we were to have a value system (we won't) would be the place where these goods are 'most valued' so diverting them somewhere else (where they're not as valued) would make no sense. It's not as if you could 'steal' and then 'sell' them. If people need them in location A, that's where they're 'valued'; if they don't need them in location B, what's the point of sending them there? If they are needed in location B, then presumably location B has informed someone of this and some of 'good x' is being produced to fulfill the needs of location B right now.

3 - everyone does have a hand in decision-making.

I thought that was the point.