The
world has a proven abundance of resources and more than enough to
feed and give us all more than we need to thrive. Yet because of
the capitalist system, these resources are severely restricted,
keeping half the world’s population in poverty and allowing
millions to starve to death every year. The capitalist
exchange-economy is detrimental to humanity as it creates social
divisions, and conflicts of interest between nations, groups and
individuals. It also creates conflicts of interest between the moral
aspirations of the individual and the individual’s desire for
materialistic rewards and security.
Modern society has access to highly advanced technology and can make available food, clothing, housing and medical care; update our educational system; and develop a limitless supply of renewable, non-contaminating energy. By supplying an efficiently designed economy, everyone can enjoy a very high standard of living with all of the amenities of a high technological society. The technical advancement over the last decades has been incredible, and the progress should be helping us to end global poverty. Ironically, the opposite has happened and world inequality continues to rise more and more. When new technology is implemented in work-places, workers are made unemployed. When the capitalist economy takes a down turn, the media blames the world’s woes on the least powerful of society, the poor, the sick, the migrants, all victims and not the instigators. Pollution kills many millions people on the planet every year and the numbers are risinis also a problem, yet attempts to reduce emissions are bad for business. A resource-based economy would make it possible to use technology to overcome scarce resources by applying renewable sources of energy, computerizing and automating manufacturing and inventory, designing safe energy-efficient cities and advanced transportation systems, providing universal health care and more relevant education, and most of all by generating a new incentive system based on human and environmental concern.
Many
people believe that there is too much technology in the world today,
and that technology is the major cause of our environmental
pollution. This is not the case. It is the abuse and misuse of
technology that should be our major concern. In a more humane
civilization, instead of machines displacing people they would
shorten the workday, increase the availability of goods and services,
and lengthen vacation time. If we utilise new technology to raise the
standard of living for all people, then the infusion of machine
technology would no longer be a threat.
A
resource-based world economy would also involve all-out efforts to
develop new, clean, and renewable sources of energy: geothermal;
controlled fusion; solar; photovoltaic; wind, wave, and tidal power;
and even fuel from the oceans. We would eventually be able to have
energy in unlimited quantity that could propel civilisation for
thousands of years. A resource-based economy must also be committed
to the redesign of our cities, transportation systems, and industrial
plants, allowing them to be energy efficient, clean, and conveniently
serve the needs of all people.
We want you to realise is how easily socialism can be achieved, once we have the political will to achieve it. We also want you to understand just how empowering, creative and socially cohesive socialism would be. The world has so many problems and the solution is a economic system of production for use and free access. We think it is possible. Today we live in abundance. There is enough for all. Totally sustainably. We now have the knowledge and technology to provide easily for all human need. Without war, poverty or exploitation. There is no shortage of land, food, building materials or the capacity to produce the things we need. A growing number of people and organisations around the world are realizing that a class-free money-free society based on common ownership is the answer to all our problems. It solves everything. Once a majority of the population understand socialism the change can take place. We see it as being almost immediate, voluntary and unopposed. It can happen just as soon as enough people wish it and will it. That's all it takes. The only change required is in your mind.
We
already have everything we need to establish socialism. People
will
continue
to do the essential tasks. Not because their arm is being twisted by
debt, poverty and starvation. But
because society needs them.
Most
people are perfectly content once they have enough. Enough is easy to
sustainably produce today but the 'infinite growth' that the profit
system needs ensures we are being continuously bombarded with
advertising and marketing trying to convince us we need more to make
us happy by conspicupus consumption and ever-changing fads and
fashions. Humans are born preloaded with altruistic motivation. The
vast majority want to help each other and take care of our
surroundings. At the moment, they simply can't afford to. Once all
our needs are provided freely and easily, as they can be now, we will
be free to do what our conscience tells us. If a job is worth doing
for society then society will see that it gets done. Like volunteer
firefighters or ambulance staff today. Humans have already invented
systems and machines to do the crappy shit jobs much more easily, if
not eliminate them altogether. When almost everyone has the time,
resources, energy and the means to help others, they will freely join
the rota for the necessary but unpleasant jobs. Why ? Because there
will be social admiration and esteem for those who contribute. Those
who will do the work will mostly be the same
people as now. When people aren't treated as wage-slaves and are
secure and contented, they will offer their time to do what's
important. We now know what we need to do. We've got everything we
need to do it. It's just right now, in this outdated system, we can't
'afford' to do it. Imagine how you'd be without the worry of bills,
rent, mortgage, losing your job. When everything is voluntary, just
like in most voluntary organizations today, the members vote
democratically for whoever they think would be best for the job. In
many companies the current boss may well remain. But now the staff
are voluntary, the balance of 'power' changes. For the good of all.
Not just the boss. What communities agree is worthwhile will be
accomplished. People will voluntarily contribute in health, sports,
community, recreation, family, emergency services, conservation, etc.
Enough
decent sustainable food, housing, education, healthcare, security
etc. can be easily provided today. We are surrounded by abundance
today. When humans have a decent standard of living, they behave very
differently. Currently we are perpetually starved of our humanity by
falsely induced poverty and subtly marketed brainwashing. Because we
now have modern technology to help us with everything voluntary,
society becomes the provider of everything. If society needs, then
society will provide. Every supply chain, whether it produces
electricity, food, car parts, vet services or TVs, relies upon
people. A lot of people. They all have families, neighbours, friends
etc. They are society. Without prices and money in the way, society
gets what society wants and the supply chain is self-regulating. We
will all have free access to as much as we can environmentally and
sustainably produce. Renewable energy can easily replace all
exploitive energy once it becomes 'affordable'. Once antiquated
fossil fuel industries no longer have to protect their interests.
Imagine free electric cars for all to use. When ownership is replaced
by access, we will need far fewer cars, boats etc. Why own one
anyway? In an economy based on production for use rather than
production for profit, we could easily produce all of the necessities
of life and provide a high standard of living for all. In a
resource-based economy such socialism all of the world’s resources
are held as the common heritage of all of Earth’s people, thus
eventually outgrowing the need for the artificial boundaries that
separate people. This is the unifying imperative. This idea of world
socialism has nothing whatever in common with the present aims of an
elite to form a world government with themselves and large
corporations at the helm, and the vast majority of the world’s
population subservient to them. Our vision of globalization empowers
each and every person on the planet to be the best they can be, not
to live in abject subjugation to a corporate central command body.
Our proposals would would provide the necessary information that
would enable them to participate in any area of their competence. The
measure of success would be based on the fulfilment of one’s
individual pursuits rather than the acquisition of wealth, property
and power.
In
socialism, the
products of labour will be freely available or it won't be socialism.
Instead of exchange, we'll have democratically controlled
distribution networks. They'll exist on local, regional, and world
scales. All products will these distribution networks who will then
see that they're distributed according to need. With most products,
the goal will be to peg production to expected need. With some
products and services, this could mean basically unlimited access.
With others, there may be rationing, based on a democratically
decided and controlled system. That's not exchange, though. That's
the abolition of markets and the implementation of a planned and
rational distribution system. There is no need for money or trade
within such a system. We are talking about replacing an integrated
global capitalism based on value production with an equally
integrated global society of free access. 'Alternative ' currencies
are still money, reflecting equivalent exchange between private
owners which if developed at a social level would begin to undermine
the common 'ownership' of both the system of production and
distribution of goods and services that we would all be benefiting
from.
Once
we've abolished commodity production and exchange, money would cease
to function as money. There'd be very little point to it.
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