Economic ideas

[Don't Change Your Name]

I have an idea: I want everyone here to post up new ideas (or practical alternatives) that could guarantee a much more efficient and wealthy economy for all the people. No, I don't want dreams or things like "central planning", i want accurate arguments of things that could save up resources that could be used on much more useful things for a while, or reducing the quantity of workers in a sector to have more workers on another one.

I'll give an example: I think cars production should decrease for a while. Why? Because those resources used on cars could be used for other things, those working on this industries could move to others that could help more important ones (like producing more food), this will reduce the need for oil, it will make the few cars being produced better, it will decrease pollution for a while.

This is just an example I came up with. I'll post more later. Please follow this style, as if you were people of a worker's commune developing new economical strategies or if you were a socialist economist on a socialist government. But do not give simple replies, give examples of things that can save people from starvation and poverty, and have a good level of production of basic needs and an average one on other "luxuries", without having to rely on old theories or "slowly, over the years things will get better", and giving examples on things that are closer to the workers.

[redstar2000]

I'm not exactly sure if this meets your criteria, but one of the "long-range" plans that I'd like to see communist society follow would be the "de-suburbanization" of the population.

I think this could be most easily accomplished by the building of very large numbers of what would be considered today to be luxury apartment houses -- large, well-constructed, spacious and comfortable, really well sound-proofed walls, swimming pools, etc.

With something like this to offer, we could attract people back to the cities, reduce the use of private cars, let the land either go back to nature or farm it, etc.

It might take 50 years or so, but I think it would contribute to the well-being of the population and also to the well-being of the environment.

:redstar2000:

The Redstar2000 Papers (http://www.redstar2000papers.vze.com)
A site about communist ideas

[pandora]

Huge topic, but a good one as Guevara was Minister of Economic affairs in Cuba.
First get away from Globalization by increasing captial available to small buisnesses
and ending social welfare programs to large companies, he he. Let them really compete when the guy down the street is getting their perks.

Instead of sending money around the globe to support military interests use it for loans for small buisnesses, gasp people who may actually repay their loans and increase community, also education should be free, this is a no brainer as education increases the capital earning potential of the worker.

With more education statistically workers earn more=more taxes.

Fuck productivity goals, the ideal goal should be sustainablilty, Greenspan fucking our SS what's the point then, it's all for the companies nothing for people.

Third child care needs to be a right! In Germany you can take 3 years off to take care of your child and get your job back. More sustainablility for mothers=less children, studies have shown this again and again, we do the opposite population soars.

Education that stresses critical ideas, ethics in science, each idea thought through to the 7th generation. Get away from Descartes "clock" method of viewing the world and get a more organic "systems" apporach.

Stop raping the world "Franicis Bacon style" for resources, sustainability. Poured concrete and stone houses with wood beams, or adobe instead of cutting all the trees down, cooperatives, supporting small farmers, etc . ..Green WPA projects and then some. More community control on resources,
Mass transit, electric trains, windmills, hybrids and cars that operate on water.

Nationalization of all major industries and respect of Native property rights, etc.

[cubist]

higher taxes on business, and other bourgouiesie(sP?) activity to prevent the gap between rich and poor getting bigger.

and prisons would become factories on no pay terms, punishment for anyone convicted, effectively providing free labour to manufacturers allowing shit loads more profit to be distributed on the national budget.

[Saint-Just]

Originally posted by [email protected] 27 2004, 03:59 AM
I think this could be most easily accomplished by the building of very large numbers of what would be considered today to be luxury apartment houses -- large, well-constructed, spacious and comfortable, really well sound-proofed walls, swimming pools, etc.
I'm in agreement, is is what I have always thought. But people often complain that apartments are too noisy, which as you said is why they should be sound proofed, although it is quite costly.

I think we would do well to investment more money in economic growth rather than consumption now. At some point (possibly a few decades) computers will become more intelligent than humans and will be able to do a lot of our thinking work. There should be more child care available also, there is a lack of it in our societies, so that more people can work. Also, instead of prisons have labour camps.

[SittingBull47]

Originally posted by [email protected] 28 2004, 10:02 PM


and prisons would become factories on no pay terms, punishment for anyone convicted, effectively providing free labour to manufacturers allowing shit loads more profit to be distributed on the national budget.
Prison Labor for the public benefit is a good idea, but no way in hell should it be a "punishment". America has over 2 million prisoners and each one is being punished...that's working out really well. Prison should be a rehabilitation center, not a breeding ground of hate. If we employ prisoners to work on public works, then we should treat them as public servants and not jail scum.

[The Children of the Revolution]

1. Massively promote voluntary work and it's value in the world's schools. Not only will this provide a cheap supply of labour for crucial environmental and social causes, (child care, elderly care, city cleanliness, road maintenance etc.) it will teach youngsters (and indeed everyone) the value of communally based (i.e. not for profit) work. Which can only be a good thing!

2. "pandora" touched on this, but I think it is of huge importance: mass transit and traffic control. I despise cars; they're costly, noisy, smelly and "death on wheels". I, for one, would launch a government initiative to increase bike usage tenfold. Perhaps mass produce a standard bike (not too fancy, but does the job) and make it available to the masses at a cheap price. Also, ban traffic from town centres (it works astonishingly well) and encourage the return of busses, trams, trains and... walking!

This would help people, (MUCH cheaper) help the environment and annoy oil tycoons and motorists. Which is a win-win-win situation!!

3. Bit of a petty complaint, this... But I would impose a FINE on companies that produce products with blatantly excessive packaging. (They do this, to some extent, in Germany, I believe) It's just not necessary, and it makes me mad - such a waste!!



... but I think it [RedStar's actually-pretty-good-suggestion] would contribute to the well-being of the population and also to the well-being of the environment.


Wow!! We'll make a green out of you yet!! Seriously, nice one - never had you down as an environmentalist...

[cubist]

i see comrade,

a few things, i a communist ideal a thief is more than just a thief is it not? some one who doesn't like what he gets, gos and reduces what someone else can get, it is greed it shouldn't be tolerated, i would not have the criminals as thats what they are in public, you can't remind them of what they mis by letting them out. they need areason to want to be outside of the prison so keep them in there take the factory to the prison.

as to rehabilitation,

i disagree comrade, to rehabilitate relies soley on wether or not the defendant wants to be rehabilitated,
a junkie will go through it but may turn back at anytime,
a serial killer is sentenced for so long in jail that rehab is pointless as he will never get out seeing as i wish for there not to be a death penalty in my society,
petty crooks and miner drug users can be rahabilitated, becuase they spent 6 months working 40 hour weeks for fuck all, i don't know about you but i would never get cuaght again.

[Don't Change Your Name]

Ok, I'll add some more ideas:

- As suggested, replacing those useless and unproductive prisons. Replace them for forced labour (especially the kind of jobs noone enjoys), with a rotating Workers Army control. This will be better for the economy, it won't waste as many resources as prisons do (you know, people pay taxes to keep those criminals jailed who hardly ever have something to do), and it won't have to use barbaric punishments like death penalty. It will also help the criminals rehabilitate. More importance should be given to rehabilitation. It's better to have them working that spending money on letal injections or their food.
- Creation of new cities in rural "forgotten" areas (this will spread the population a bit more). Buildings should be excellent (especially apartments and houses), which will attract people. Also this city will require more proffessionals which will help those who want to do a job and hardly ever can because there are many who do so in their city.
- Stop using resources for the military. It's guns should go to the Workers Army. Advanced equipment (such as tanks) should be converted into something else. This will also save lots of resources.
- Creation of the best education ever. Free education, free improvement courses, more freedom of thought and better values and principles taught. Teachers-controlled schools, with students taking part on it's administration. This will bring us better proffessionals that will help the economy in the future.
- More spending and development of alternative energy sources. Apply them as soon as possible.
- Creation of huge skyscrapers where people can live, work, and do different things. Think about this: you can put 5 towns inside one of them, they save space (reducing for some years the destruction of forests), and we will have the highest and more advanced skyscrapers in the world!
- New types of propaganda to attract young people to different areas were workers are needed.
- Abolish money, replace it with special workers cards that send data to a special net to control abuses. Also a special system could check how many hours people works, so this would give some credits that can be used for different hard to get goods. Would help motivating people.
- Emphasis on health, education, alternative energy, food production, science, environmentalism, technology and workers self-management
- A special welfare system to give basic needs to those who need them, but as time passes this gets reduced if they don't want to contribute with the rest of society. (Of course this doesn't apply to every situation)
- Creation of many economical organizations to coordinate production, distribution, consumption, but without too much bureaucracy. This organizations take care of researching each person's preferences to establish the approximate quantity of goods that must be produced.