[Campaignforrealdemocracy] Democracy & Full Employment

[Robin Smith]

Dear Mark

May I call on us all to commence by putting aside the politics, until
the economic principles have been agreed upon and made so clear that
even a small child could understand them?

I think this is what you are calling for. But these principles are not
at all clear, I see no agreement nor have I heard any decicions. Is it
possible to proceed with the practicalities and policy (political
decisions) when we do not yet understand the fundamental principles at
stake? Is it not true that if we insist on proceeding from this point
of confusion, discontent and destruction can be the only result short
of a miracle?

I made this point very badly(apologies) at the Festival Hall meeting.
I felt the more vocal members were denying this approach was sound and
that practicalities are foremost.

What am I proposing? I will assert that until the private collection
of the rents of monopoly (land title holders, interest on debt,
cartels, unions, etc) are outlawed by our community, there will always
be a need to supplement the resulting "un-privileged" and impoverished
with benefits, at great cost to society on the whole, and tax free to
the private collectors of these rents. Democracy will be there but
economic survival will come first.

In my limited time here, this is the first time I have seen any
movement with the heart and courage it will take to inspire those with
the real power, the people, to awaken and finally re-establish the
advance of this great society?

Can it be done without starting from points of certainty? The economic
principles that identify the nature of wealth, and the laws of its
production and distribution. That hold the key to justice, peace and
prosperity.

Brgds
Robin.

2009/8/4 Mark Barrett <marknbarrett at googlemail.com>:
> Hi everyone
>
> As it's been reported in the press this week that a quarter of the UK budget
> is now being spent on benefits, could we please have some list discussions
> about how this money might be harnessed to create a really democratic
> society, or to use the phrase previously embraced, greater local sovereignty
> (LS)?
>
> I've sent this message to the three lists above as I've found them to be the
> most fruitful in terms of discussions on the topic of building a just
> society. If anyone has any other lists they can recommend for this end, pls
> let me know. On this subject please can people hit reply to all so that all
> three lists can take part in any debate that ensues?
>
> Benefits & Productivity
>
> For me this is the next stage of productivity in the industrial economy, the
> pursuit of a really democratic culture with full employment, freely chosen.
> So I had this idea that people could do a few hours work each week - what
> one colleague has dubbed a 'mini-job' - in return for payments. Say, an hour
> for every £10-15 they receive. Key thing is that this work should be chosen
> BY the recipient, in collaboration with a local community of their choice,
> so that the work allows the individual to do what they would rea;y like to
> do rather than have the state force something on them as is the case with
> neo-liberal workfare programmes now being experimented with. Obviously these
> kinds of decisions would need different, decentralised benefits
> 'purse-string' structures - essentially a breakdown of the currently
> unwieldy and wasteful nationalised benefits programme into a really
> democratic, ie each local community owned, public service. Of course there
> will be lots of questions about how this will work in practice, which is why
> I am posting about it now, but for me the huge benefit (sic) in this is that
> it will allow state expenditure to be directed towards the development of
> locally based creativity, community fabric building, green jobs, real
> democracy, individual and collective entrepreneurialship, and a re-embrace
> of the dignity of work. It will also allow people to wean themselves
> off benefits as they develop new skills, improved CVs, greater self
> assertion and confidence, not to mention the huge health benefits in terms
> of tackling isolation, depression, social breakdown at the root. It will get
> people off their backsides but not Tebbit "On Yer Bike" style, rather Rumi
> "Let the beauty that we love be what we do"..
>
> The way I see it, alongside the present economy, communities should be able
> to compete with one another for labour, by simply embracing a cultural
> stance. A mixed economy, two parallel economies inteplaying with one
> another rather than this monoculture of labour everywhere competing for
> capital, or else the indignity of the dole.
>
> Here's the story about 186 billion benefits.
> http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/5962510/Unsustainable-social-security-spending-equal-to-a-quarter-of-goverments-budget.html
>
> Thoughts anyone?
>
> Love
> Mark
>
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>
>



-- 
Economics Comment
http://gco2e.blogspot.com/

Work
http://www.systemicfiscalreform.org/

About Me
http://fon.gs/robinsmithme/