Collectivism [Archive]

JazzRemington

15th August 2005, 03:39

First, a definition:

Collectivism - Collective ownership of the means of production and distribution of goods based on the amount of work done.

Note that Collectivism is assumed to turn into Communism, as community ties become stronger and production increases to the point where free distribution of goods is actually possible.

I am now a Collectivist, in the Bakunin sense of the word. I do not think that COmmunism would be achievable immediately after the Revolution, because 1) the distribution of goods is screwed up, meaning goods and services are going to people who DON'T need them and 2) it is too possible that one can take much more than is required for his survival to the point of interfereing with someone elses needs and requirements.

How will this sytem work, then? First, the commune will meet to discuss the length of the work day and set up a system of exchange based on either hours worked, quality of work, or amount of goods/services produced, amongst other things.

Second, an administration will be set up to coordinate exchanges of goods and services between the commune and the rest of the federation (a united system of various communes).

Third, a system will be set up to deliver all goods produced by the workers of a commune to a location where it will be stored and purchased by other members of the commune or federation.

The workers will work however many hours and will, at the end of the work day, approach the Administration center to receive payment depending on the type of exchange agreed upon at its startup. The worker can then take his payment and proceed to purchase whatever he may need with it. This money shall be good throughout the federation the commune is a part of.

The price of goods and services will be a factor of both the amount of labor required to create them and agreement between the workers of the commune.

The job of the administration is simply to receive goods and to store them for later purchase or trade. They are to also keep records of production, consumption, and all other things with relation to the economic functioning of the commune. The job of the administration is not in any way a dictatorship over who gets what and their records are completely and 100% open to the rest of the members of the commune and they are also responsible completely to the rest of the commune as well. The job shall be rotated every once and a while between the commune so as to prevent any sort of monopoly forming.

Trade between communes is handled by the administration and with extensive input by the commune as well. Trade can take place via exchange of money for goods/services or goods/services for other goods/services.

A little incomplete, yes. But I just wrote this this second and I'm still a little unclear on the distribution. Should the administration center be used as a sort of store where things can be purchased or should they be distributed by the administration to locations within the commune?

JazzRemington

30th August 2005, 05:53

Here is an extended, but still incomplete, version of what I originally posted here.

OVERVIEW
Collectivism, as opposed to Communism, is a distinct, but albeit lesser understood, current in anarchist thought. It is said to have generally started with Mikhail Bakunin and his followers around the time of the First International in the 19th century. Here, he chose to call his ideas "Collectivism," to show the difference between him and the Marxist communists at the time. The theory is similar to Communism, but differs mainly, and probably only, in the distribution of goods. While Communism calls for free distribution of goods based on need (also called "gift economy"), Collectivism calls for distribution of goods depending upon the amount of work performed.

But it should be noted, or rather insisted, that Collectivism is to evolve into Communism, as the supply of goods goes up and the ties between the individuals within the communes and the communes themselves become stronger. Even Bakunin and his followers understood this. Indeed, James Guillaume stated so in his paper, "Ideas on Social Organization." But why is it that Collectivism must come before Communism, and why cannot Communism be achieved immediately after a social revolution? Simple enough: the revolution that will see to it that every man is free from the tyrannical clutches of both the State and capitalism shall be exhausting and a drain on everyone's resources. It would be impossible to begin freely giving away the products of one's labor in a condition such as the one the revolution will land us in afterwards. Only when production is high enough to supply everyone with enough of what they need freely and openly without the need for exchanges or money, can we move into Communism. The method of which this may play out will be discussed later in his paper.

THE REVOLUTION IN GENERAL
The Revolution shall be a social one: it will change the political climate, the economic climate, and the climate of society. It shall all at once abolish all forms of oppression and domination; from the local mayor of the small town all the way up to the King or even the fanciful notion of the gods. It will remove from the hands of the capitalists and the masters what was stolen from society and what belongs to it: Capital. Meaning, all land and machines of production shall be riped from their hands and returned to all.

There will be no vanguard, no elite, no party that shall do this. It will be a popular uprising against the Masters. The individuals themselves will be the ones performing this operation, they will be taking back what is rightfully theirs. It was once said, by an authoritarian communist no less, that a revolution lead is a revolution betrayed.

When the fighting has ceased and all is done, a new world shall unfolded from the ashes of the new. Contained below is a general outline of the new type of society and its organization after the revolution has happened. This must be noted to be very broad and general, and will without a doubt be modified on an individual basis.

THE LAND
The first striking thing of Collectivism is the land. All land shall be riped from the hands of the few and given back to the many. Now there is one objection to this that may arise out of ignorance and misunderstanding: what about the small share holder? Certainly, if an individual or a group owns a piece of land and works it themselves, then that is fine and it shall not be touched. What we are referring to in this sense is that lands that are owned by someone else who is not the one working it will have it taken from them and returned to the one who is working it. But even then there would be those who would want to have nothing to do with this sort of thing. They will be left completely alone and shall be able to keep all the land that they can actually use.

The farmers will probably see that it will be more beneficial if they pool all their land together and collectively work it, so as to increase production and output. This is what we mean by "collectivization:" the voluntary pooling of things and collectively using and working them. They all we be responsible for the upkeep and workings of the land because they all "own" and use it. Only by cooperating to collectively work and maintain the land they all use will they be able to produce goods in the quantity necessary to make their selves and others happy.

But now you may have noticed that I placed the word "own" in quotes. This is simply because they do not own it in the capitalist sense. They have no right to sell the land or rent it out to others, or to do anything of the sort. Their ownership comes from usage. What they use, they are considered the current owners of it and once they are no longer in the understanding of using it, then they are no longer the owners of it. But even when one is using land, he still has no right to sell it or rent it or anything of the sort because, if anything, the only thing that has the proper claim to a piece of land is that which is called "society," the collection of individuals and their interactions with each other.

THE MEANS OF PRODUCTION
The means of production shall be organized much like land. So there is little need to repeat here what was said in the above passage on land. All the tools that are used to create goods shall be owned by the whole of society so that every individual can have access to them when in times of need. If, for instance, a printer moves from his home in one area and into another, he is virtually guaranteed to find work in another area where there are printmaking materials available.

THE PRODUCTS OF LABOR
The products of labor shall be turned over to so-called "exchange agencies," which shall be discussed further on in this paper. They shall be exchanged for currencies based on whichever method of exchange was agreed upon and may be bought by any individual from stores and/or be traded with other communes. But ultimately, these things are of a social characteristic, being that society as a whole is in someway responsible for their creation. But, being that we shall be in the unfortunately period of the post-revolution that free sharing amongst society of its products of labor is unattainable, we shall most likely have to work with a voucher-for-product system for the time being.

THE COMMUNES
Here, at long last, is a very general blue print of what this new society shall look like. It must be repeated that this is not set in stone and is subject to change and modifications from commune to commune.

A. Exchange Agencies
First, the commune shall set up an exchange agency that shall act as facilitator for exchanges within and outside the commune. This agency shall collect information from other members of the commune on various subjects, including what is being produced, how much is being produced, how long it will take, etc. and will also collect any products donated to them from the members of the commune and shall give in exchange vouchers that will be usable through out both the commune and the federation. The agency shall be completely responsible to the other members of the commune and will be made up of a rotating staff, picked democratically by the commune.

B. Length of the Work Day
The next, and perhaps one, if not the, most important steps is to settle upon the appropriate length of the work day. At the end of the work day, the commune members shall approach the exchange agency and receive their vouchers according to which ever system they have voted on as appropriate for them. Note that the individual may work however many hours he wishes, but will only be paid for those hours before the end of the work day.

C. Product-Voucher Exchange Scheme
Once the exchange agency is set up, the commune shall decide one how to pay the members. This can be figured in different methods, but a few will be discussed here so as to provide a few examples of what is possible.

1. Exchange based on labor performed This can go two ways: payment based on the length of labor or on the type of labor performed. In both ways, a set rate will be discussed and reached by the members of the commune. This works well with both the individual who actually produces a good and an individual who produces a service.

2. Exchange based on amount of labor performed. The next scheme is based upon the amount of labor performed. This is mostly based on how many hours the individual works.

D. Housing, Medical Services, and Other Services.
The commune shall provide its members free housing and medical services. But what about the individuals who labor to produce these services? How shall they be paid? By the exchange agency, of course. An individual who has nothing to offer but a service, whether it be an architect or a barber,