Distribution

[Issaiah1332]

In a perfectly communist society, where everyone is equal and such. Who decides how much a person should get and such?

[Vargha Poralli]

Originally posted by [email protected] 12, 2007 10:51 pm
In a perfectly communist society, where everyone is equal and such. Who decides how much a person should get and such?
No idea.

Soviets,Councils,Confederations,Federations are the possible answers you might get.

It is very difficult question to speculate. IMHO I would rather leave it to the time to tell the answer and concentrate on what we can and shall do today.

[Pilar]

Where I live, the distribution decisions will probably be left to me.

In San Diego, California, I will be regarded as a reasonable person who will distribute fairly the goods and services of the society, under direct democracy.

I will also take no more portion than I allocate to others similarly situated.

Hurray for me!

[Forward Union]

me

[Pilar]

hee hee :lol:

[Ander]

"From each according to his ability, to each according to his need" -- Karl Marx.

[Capcomm]

why do you think "everyone is equal" in communism? When did Marx ever say this? In fact Marx understood that we all have our own unique needs different than everybody elses!

Distribution will be pointless, if there is such a surplus to meet everyone's needs than the idea of distribution would not be needed. Of course, taking into account that resources don't last forever, that raises another question.

[Issaiah1332]

Originally posted by [email protected] 12, 2007 07:34 pm
why do you think "everyone is equal" in communism? When did Marx ever say this? In fact Marx understood that we all have our own unique needs different than everybody elses!

Distribution will be pointless, if there is such a surplus to meet everyone's needs than the idea of distribution would not be needed. Of course, taking into account that resources don't last forever, that raises another question.
You misunderstood what I said...I met that everyone is equal in class and such. or rather their is no class.

I know the "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs" chant.

My question still unanswered is, if their is no state and no government, who will decide what people get and who will be in charge of giving it to them?

[Pilar]

The greatest threat to post-Revolutionary times is private agreement. Private agreement is the root of capitalism. Yes, it's true that you don't need a distributor, but allow people to take what they need. If they hoard or waste, the community can directly correct their actions.

REMEMBER, THIS IS NOT ABOUT LOVE, OR PLAYTIME, OR ENTERTAINMENTS, OR CHILD REARING AND PLAYING WITH THEM.

This is about the dull and dreary concept of taking.

Taking will be done by all in the presence of all. If one takes too much, the community will know it will be for either hoarding or private exchange, the latter a backsliding/counter-revolutionary act that will be dealt with by serious penalty.

Kill a few people who are taking for hoarding or private exchange and society will know there is justice in the world.

Who cares who decides.

If I grow 1,s000 tomatos and I am proud of it, I bring them to the community and take my share, and go home happy that others will enjoy my tomatos. If I take x number, others will take x + 1 or x + 2, or x - 1, or x - 2. Anyone taking x + 10 will be looked at as a bad neighbor, unles their home has such a large number of people.

Again, if anyone has a problem with the distribution, as state above, I will be around to make the final determination.

[Janus]

Someone has already pointed out Marx's famous quote concerning distribution in a communist society. As far as problems or decisions go, I would say that they would be managed by the community as a whole rather than by some centralized party.

[phoenixoftime]

I would suggest that in a communist society, the community would be self-disciplined enough to sort out any rogue comrades who decide to take more than their fair share without requiring any appointed leaders to police such matters.

[Issaiah1332]

All good points, comrades. Thanks

Where will these good be housed?

Will people just come to where these resources are being held and take what they need?

[Question everything]

Where will these good be housed?

Where are they normally housed?


Will people just come to where these resources are being held and take what they need?

But as for distribution, I always thought that they would make what was needed (plus a little more in case they were needed). And then the good would be delivered to the house by some one who worked as a deliveryman.

[Kwisatz Haderach]

Originally posted by [email protected] 12, 2007 07:21 pm
In a perfectly communist society, where everyone is equal and such. Who decides how much a person should get and such?
The idea behind communism is that everyone would be able to simply take whatever they want (within certain limits) from a communal stock of goods. Obviously this requires a few changes in the way we produce goods (for example, while capitalism loves disposable goods, a communist society would try to produce goods that last as long as possible, so that people won't need to keep getting new ones all the time). A communist society would also try to produce more goods that can be enjoyed publicly - for example, big viewing screens and movie theatres instead of personal TVs. The reason for this is to prevent waste: if one man owns 5 TV sets, then 4 of them are being wasted, since he can only watch one at any given time.

Now, if you're talking about socialism, that is another matter entirely. A socialist economic system still uses some kind of currency as a way of paying for things, and goods are still being bought and sold. Now, there are several ways to work out some kind of socialist pay scale. I personally support a currency that is pegged to labour time (so, for example, one dollar could mean five minutes of labour). If everyone is paid in proportion to how much they work, and if we assume that all work is of equal value, then this will lead to a very egalitarian pay scale. It is possible for one person to work twice as much as another, but it is certainly not possible for anyone to do the work of 20 or 50 or 100 people. (right now, under capitalism, the typical ratio between the income of a CEO and an average worker is around 500:1)

[Issaiah1332]

Now, if you're talking about socialism, that is another matter entirely. A socialist economic system still uses some kind of currency as a way of paying for things, and goods are still being bought and sold. Now, there are several ways to work out some kind of socialist pay scale. I personally support a currency that is pegged to labour time (so, for example, one dollar could mean five minutes of labour). If everyone is paid in proportion to how much they work, and if we assume that all work is of equal value, then this will lead to a very egalitarian pay scale. It is possible for one person to work twice as much as another, but it is certainly not possible for anyone to do the work of 20 or 50 or 100 people. (right now, under capitalism, the typical ratio between the income of a CEO and an average worker is around 500:1)


In Cuba, how do they distribute food and other necessities?

Again, thank you all for helping answer my questions.

[RNK]

A more important question is, what is the deciding factor of what a person needs? A sumo wrestler devours about as much food per year as a family of 3. How will this be reconciled?

Food, in my opinion, is just as important as industry; society must become self-sufficient when it comes to food. Unless we manage to develop food replicators.

[Janus]

A more important question is, what is the deciding factor of what a person needs?
It'll need to be determined through data analyzation and collection in different regions and then decided on by the community itself.


A sumo wrestler devours about as much food per year as a family of 3. How will this be reconciled?
Well, there are only probably around a few hundred professional sumo wrestlers or competitive eaters out there so I don't think that this will be a major problem. However, as far as different nutritional needs,etc. go, this will definitely need to be something investigated by and determined by the community though I would think that the major factors would be family size, weight,etc.

[Led Zeppelin]

Originally posted by Compañ[email protected] 13, 2007 07:54 pm
Cuba is socialist. They ration consumer goods that are scarce (mostly certain types of food) to make sure that everyone gets some, and everything else is bought in a store.
Socialism implies a higher standard of living than capitalism (or the most advanced capitalist nation), so obviously Cuba is not socialist economically.

You can argue it is politically because it's building socialism, but saying it's already socialist in terms of material development is inaccurate.