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Not ‘more!’ Not ‘enough!’ We want BETTER!!
Over the next two or three decades, our world will change dramatically and in many different ways: we should expect political, economic, social, technological, and environmental uplifts and quite possibly revolutions. Understanding where we’ve come from, where we might go—and what our choices could be—is a first step toward taking active control over our lives and the world in which we live.
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Posted by mjgeddes on 06/02 at 12:44 AM
Mike,
The question is not what 'ism' to support, what but works. For several years I ripped through one crazy idea after another, and (as perhaps you know) was a fanatical Libertarianism for a while (before I realized that this was bat-shit crazy too).
I've seen many many ideas on economics (most crazy, as I mentioned), but eventually I noticed one or two that kept recurring. One or two stood out, and these few ideas may be indicating a way forward....
(1) Guaranteed Minimum Income: Great idea, but for a long time I never saw how it could work... I always thought it was just pie-in-the-sky socialism and giving people money for nothing.
(2) Georgism : This was the first new big idea that made me realize that there were genuine alternatives to both capaitalism and socialism. The Georgists believe that all natural resources should be socialized (land, minerals etc) and the market should only deal with other goods and services which are not natural resources. Like (1), a radical idea, but on its own I never saw how it could fly.
But look at the combination of (1) and (2), and wow! (One day my brain finally made the link).
By socializing natural resources, a way is found to pay for (1), people pay rents for natural resources like land and materials, and this wealth can then be redistributed as the MGI; The big clue for me was Alaska... there's a big tax on oil profits there, and every-one gets a cheque. It works very well, and proves that the combo of (1) and (2) can work. Further, the MGI would then not be 'money for nothing', since everyone is in effect an 'investor' in the socialized natural resources, and has a definite stake in what happens.
Ideas (1) and (2) on their own are not original, and can't work on their own, but combine them and you really do get something genuinely new that can work. It's not socialism, it's not capitalism. It's not a 'mixed economy'. I think it's something truely new. To quote Douglas Adams 'it's good , it's right, and no one need get nailed to anything'. 
Posted by hector on 06/02 at 05:43 AM
"Here at the IEET, we could not agree more that progressivism:and technoprogressivism:must include and embrace not only economic or political justice, but also social justice, speaking out and making cause for the equality of every group."
... even the anti-progressivists.
Posted by Draciron Smith on 06/02 at 05:57 AM
One key thing sticks out for me. How can any society be just if each individual in it does not have a voice? Direct Democracy is that voice. With Direct Democracy each person is endowed with the greatest power in the land. The power to make and shape laws. There are no income barriers, no age, no gender, no ethnic group. Direct Democracy is literally power to the people for the people and by the people. NI4D is the first step to Direct Democracy. You can find more about it at http://ni4d.us/
Posted by EmbraceUnity on 06/02 at 08:03 AM
Open Source must be the mode of production by which our better technologies are produced. Most urgently, we must break open the genetic information which as been stolen from the commons via patents, and then move on to other technologies, creating coalitions along the way of all those who don't benefit from the artificial scarcities.
Posted by NDNorman on 06/02 at 09:55 AM
As another supporter of Direct Democracy, I encourage investigating http://ni4d.us/ as has Draciron Smith in a previous post.
Posted by Abraham on 06/02 at 11:00 AM
Are we going to sit and wait for the next president to make our move? Why, which other politician besides Obama can claim to be a Democratic Socialist?
http://nalert.blogspot.com/2008/02/obamas-socialist-relationships.html (The site has a negative slant, but it leads to the correct sources.)
Posted by Lynne on 06/02 at 07:47 PM
Please do check out the National Initiative for Democracy http://ni4d.us
See what Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Norman Soloman, Ralph Nader and others have said about it. Also check out how it reforms the current money game in politics nationally and at the CA ballot level, too.
Who will get the money out of politics and make the voting systems accountable? The people will! Because as George Washington said... The people suffer the policy not their representatives. So we need the National Initiative to bring in citizens as our 4th check in our system of checks and balances.
Posted by Jim Brauner on 06/03 at 05:00 PM
Lynne,
You took the words out of my mouth. I am somewhat like the writer of this piece, I have searched high and low for something that might work and they all seem to assume that the old paradigm of a small group of in-control leaders are going to do what is best for 'The People'.
The system that evolved in this American great experiment is just about to the point where if 'The People' in their innate power to know what is in their own interest do not start to assert it we will continue to vacillate between two power groups who by their own nature cannot ever not do what is in their own interest, and usually not in the best interest of 'The People'.
The founding fathers were clear, it is up to the people to perfect their own governance. www.ni4d.us is for me the only thing I see that can break into the monstrosity we have created.
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