Is my friend a socialist?

[Schrödinger's Cat]

An opinionated question with no objective answer, I suppose.

My friend believes in worker councils replacing trade unions, whereby the workers vote on the decisions that affect them the most (wage) and distribute duties that would be inconvenient to vote on during a regular week (hiring process).

She opposes corporate profits, saying a business entity does not offer labor and thus can't collect money in its name. From what I've been able to recollect, she believes workers who have an interest in keeping a store tidy and up-to-date will pay from their wallets since what would have been corporate profits will be distributed to their wallets. She also believes in advertising, but again the money can only come from people.

She believes in keeping a monetary system and state, but limiting the influence of the two, especially in their relationship.

She believes the community has the right to interfere in any economic matter it deems appropriate through an initiative, direct democracy, or representative decision-making.

[Tatarin]

She sounds more like a social democrat rather than socialist. Socialism must later become communism - a system without money, and in where people work for each other.

Big business and corporate power isn't just a bad thing, it is the result of capitalism itself.

(I'm sure someone else will explain in a much better way.)

[RedHal]

simply ask her if she believes in private ownership. If she does, she's a social democrat.

[Schrödinger's Cat]

Originally posted by [email protected] 26, 2007 02:35 am
simply ask her if she believes in private ownership. If she does, she's a social democrat.
She said no to land property on the account of no human hands made the Earth,
yes to purchased goods, because the workers consented to pass ownership,
and no to goods before they are sold (still the property of the workers).

[Raúl Duke]

Sounds similar to some form of syndicalism/collectivism and maybe even mutualism.

Possibly....even the original version of ParEcon? (which I think, in the original, didn't ask for the elimination of state and maybe still uses money.)

However....these above ideologies are stateless (yet not communist, since there's still money in mutualism and in some forms of syndicalism/collectivism)....

[Never Give In]

Originally posted by [email protected] 25, 2007 09:07 pm
An opinionated question with no objective answer, I suppose.

My friend believes in worker councils replacing trade unions, whereby the workers vote on the decisions that affect them the most (wage) and distribute duties that would be inconvenient to vote on during a regular week (hiring process).

She opposes corporate profits, saying a business entity does not offer labor and thus can't collect money in its name. From what I've been able to recollect, she believes workers who have an interest in keeping a store tidy and up-to-date will pay from their wallets since what would have been corporate profits will be distributed to their wallets. She also believes in advertising, but again the money can only come from people.

She believes in keeping a monetary system and state, but limiting the influence of the two, especially in their relationship.

She believes the community has the right to interfere in any economic matter it deems appropriate through an initiative, direct democracy, or representative decision-making.

She said no to land property on the account of no human hands made the Earth,
yes to purchased goods, because the workers consented to pass ownership,
and no to goods before they are sold (still the property of the workers).

Social Democrat, it seems. JohnnyDarko has a point as well.

[Janus]

Her views on on worker's councils and self-management seem to hint at democratic socialism rather than social democracy.

[syndicat]

her belief that the money that would go to corporate profit goes to workers wallets seems to assume that the economy is organized into firms with market revenue. that is not parecon but a form of market socialism or market collectivism. what does she think the basis of people's remuneration should be? all equal or not? how hard they work?