phonon
Posts: 396
Joined: Nov. 2006
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| Quote ("Rev Dr" Lenny Flank @ May 11 2007,17:48) | | Quote (phonon @ May 11 2007,16:49) | | Let me ask you, under your democratic workplace, would customers also get a vote? If so, then I could see one vote coming up that would be bad. "Should we give away our product/service for free? Yes/No." Well, customers might just vote Yes. |
Well, we already give away our sidewalks, roads and highways for free. . . (shrug)
Indeed, I would HOPE that is exactly what everyone would vote ------ after we decentralize the economy and eliminate unnecessary duplication (for most industries, having big conglomerates that ship things all across the world to compete with other big conglomerates there, is a huge waste of resources). So I'd prefer to let the local community itself decide, democratically, how many pizza parlors or whatever that it wants, and then put up the money, collectively, to establish them. Then let the local community elect the people who run it (with the ability to UN-elect them if they do things the community doesn't like -- it's lots faster than lawsuits, and much cheaper too). If we find we haven't enough pizza joints, we open another one. If we find we have too many, we shut one down and use the money for something else. Just like roads or highways. |
So if 51% of people don't like a pizza joint and 49% do, then what? Would this be an example of tyranny of the majority? But you said that piddly pizza joints would be immune? Also, if we shut down a business, who decides which one is shut down? What happens to the workers of that business, who are trained in that area, but not in others?
| Quote | And if the community does indeed decide that certain things should be free for everyone (such as basic food, shelter and clothing) -- and of course I would hope that it does decide exactly that -- then I would suggest that everyone, collectively, put up the money to meet those expenses. Just like we do with free roads and highways today.
With larger economic units, like auto factories or airplane factories, same deal, but on the state or federal level rather than local. Just like interstate highways.
My own preference would be that all the current corporate chain restaurants and mega-stores would be kicked out, and replaced with locally-controlled and locally-operated entities instead. But again, that isn't my decision to make ----- that would be up to the community itself to decide, democratically. |
Would people hold elections to figure out who runs the locally owned businesses? Or would entrepreneurs put up their capital to open these businesses? Would their business be allowed to grow, or once it reaches a certain size, they would be subject to the will of others (51%) through ballots? If an entrepreneur risks his capital and his business is shut down, how would he be compensated? Where is the cut-off point between a locally owned small business and a business large enough to be subject to the new rules?
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With most men, unbelief in one thing springs from blind belief in another. - Georg Christoph Lichtenberg
To do just the opposite is also a form of imitation. - Georg Christoph Lichtenberg
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