Left-Communist position on "interest"?

  1. Die Neue Zeit
    Die Neue Zeit
    I don't think there has been much of a left-communist elaboration on the concept of "interest." Various alternative financing methods do away with this, instead replacing it with equity mechanisms, thus distributing the risk more evenly between the lender and the borrower. Thoughts?
  2. Devrim
    Devrim
    Jacob, can't you even see that this question doesn't concern us.

    The communist left does not have a minimum programme for running capitalism.

    It stands for class struggle in defence of workers' interests, not offering better ways to manage capital.

    Devrim
  3. Die Neue Zeit
    Die Neue Zeit
    Why "defense" and not "advance"? Does that not reek of economism?
  4. Devrim
    Devrim
    Why "defense" and not "advance"?
    Because we see in the current period capitalism can not offer permanent reforms to the working class.
    Does that not reek of economism?
    I don't think that we really even have the terms in common.

    Devrim
  5. Mike Morin
    Mike Morin
    [FONT=Times New Roman]Reforming Financial Systems[/FONT]
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    [FONT=Times New Roman]With respect to the "nature of wealth", I think that the "quality of life" paradigm in lieu of the "standard of living" paradigm needs to be stressed.

    "Quality of life" includes personal happiness for self, family, friends, neighbors, and all others. It includes ownership opportunities for all and everybuddy having the things they need, including health, healthy and loving relations with family, friends, neighbors, and all the people of the world. It includes peace on earth, and it includes a future for all the children of the world.

    "Standard of living" implies maximizing the consumption of things.
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    [FONT=Georgia Serif][FONT=Times New Roman]The current Capitalist dominated system is dysfunctional both from an equity/fairness and economic and natural resource sustainability perspective.

    The dominant paradigm in Capitalist financial business operations uses something called the discount rate which assumes that money will be worth less (eventually worthless) in the future, thus creating a necessity to extract profits exceeding a "hurdle" rate leading to unfair and unwise exploitation of both workers and natural resources, and to rampant inflation.

    The use of credit is not a good business or personal practice. In business, it should be discouraged because creditors have first claims on net revenues and hold liens on real property and capital assets. For "consumers", the use of credit is unwise because the system is set up to extract profits from interest thus assuring that when consumers use credit that they are losing money relative to inflation. Certainly the current foreclosure crisis in the USA is ample evidence of the inflation and the unfairness and unhealthiness of the mortgage lien process.

    Credit Unions and Mutual Insurance companies are in theory attempts to institute non-profit economic democracies for their respective industries. However, because of the need to compete for customers, both of these relatively progressive financial service organization types are forced to play the same game that is basically destructive to individuals, families, communities, and the natural environment. Ideally, credit should only be used as a last resort, much more preferably not at all. We should replace all aspects of the extant financial system with an Equity Union. In some ways, a mutual insurance company is similar to an equity union. However, because such companies are required to realize profits in order to compete for "policy holders" (really investors), the companies that comprise the portfolios of the mutual insurance firms cannot be not-for-profit, can not be mutual organizations themselves.

    In a not-for profit Equity Union financial services system based on principles of mutuality working in concert with ethical, wise, knowledgeable, and intelligent community, inter-community, inter-regional, and worldwide planning there would certainly be an important role for financial service workers.

    A major impediment to such an Equity Union would be the competitive advantage of the current financial sector and the fear of the friction of change to those individuals and organizations. Dealing with this sector of "the" economy, it would be more feasible with regards to Capitalist resistance and more humane, to orderly and peacefully transition to an Equity Union, coordinated with ecologically sound economic planning.[/FONT]
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    [FONT=Georgia Serif][FONT=Times New Roman]I am writing and talking about transitioning slowly, methodically, and with the minimum amount of friction and hardship from a dysfunctional financial system, based on self-interest, to one designed to benefit everybuddy.

    At risk of understatement, it will take a huge amount of work to educate folks to the need and benefits of such change and to communicate the basic Plan. Transition Planning will also be a very difficult process, but I see no alternative to the current, impending and worsening global economic, political, social, and natural environmental collapse.
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    [FONT=Times New Roman]The Peoples' Equity Union concept is designed to be a grass roots, popular choice "movement". I am organizing with individuals, workers, and shopkeepers in my neighborhood, adjoining neighborhoods, and through the inter-net to whomever I can attract an interest in the concept.[/FONT]
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    [FONT=Times New Roman]The focus is primarily local, yet global at the same time. It is my dream, not a hope yet, to encourage a critical mass of people to organize locally around a unifying mission, unifying principles, unifying strategies, and unifying tactics in order to minimize the amount of executive administration at the regional and global levels.[/FONT]
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    [FONT=Times New Roman]The theory is that neighborhood locales, the neighborhood community/worker hybrid association will have maximum autonomy and will be guided only, in their inter-community and inter-economic sector relationships by regional Planning Boards and a Global Policy Committee.[/FONT]
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    [FONT=Times New Roman]The goal is to be a true economic democracy: of, for, and by the people.[/FONT]
  6. Mike Morin
    Mike Morin
    [FONT=Times New Roman]Housing and Property Ownership[/FONT]
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    [FONT=Georgia Serif][FONT=Times New Roman]Concurrent with financial systems reform, discussed in a previous essay where equity sharing and not-for-profit equity investing would replace the current financial paradigm of for-profit equity investing, equity trading, and usurious credit arrangements, we need to evolve to a different system with respect to residential and other real property occupation arrangements.

    In lieu of rent or leases, people should be allowed to acquire equity in their abodes and business properties. For example, in the case of an apartment, if one paid $500 per month to a property management firm, let's say $50 per month would go to property maintenance, and another $40 to administration fees, insurance, etc. This would leave the resident with $410 of accumulated equity added to their account each month. If we had a large cooperative housing organization (preferably world-wide, and preferably the only form of property ownership) then when someone had to move or wanted to move, they could take their equity with them to the new property.

    With regards to mortgages, they are horribly usurious and should be banned. The scenario related above would also replace the current system of financing "home ownership loans".

    A huge problem that we are facing now is the terrible inflation in the market values of real property (and capital assets, for that matter). If we pooled our equity, pooled our assets, and collectively wrote off our liabilities, then we could significantly write down the market values of real and capital assets.
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  7. Jens
    Jens
    The problem with the arguments from Mike Morin is simply that capitalism is impossible without credit. In fact, the history of capitalism is also a history of the evolution of the mechanisms of credit. Capitalism without credit is a non-starter.
    Communism on the other hand is a system without money, so the whole issue of credit simply does not exist under communism... but then neither do problems of "financing" in general, equity, "financial paradigms", etc...
  8. Mike Morin
    Mike Morin
    That's my whole point, "Long John", the abolition of credit financing (and equity trading) and the replacement of such with an equity sharing arrangement.

    It is a first step toward your ideal of a moneyless economy (which I would argue, though desirable in a perfect world is unobtainable in reality).

    Where does this Communist system exist today, in reality, on the planet earth?


    Best regards,

    Mike Morin
    www.peoplesequityunion.blogspot.com
  9. Alf
    Alf
    It doesn't exist anywhere, which is why we are in favour of a world wide revolution
  10. Mike Morin
    Mike Morin
    How are "we" going to foment a revolution, how will "we" know when it is successful, and if we can reach a "critical mass" of knowing that "we" have control of the economic resources, what would be "our" plan?

    Do you expect it to just fall into our laps?

    Is your Communism a new religion? A new (worldly) faith?


    Mike Morin
    www.peoplesequityunion.blogspot.com