In either case the goal is the capture of the state. Then the power of the state can be used to implement the socialist agenda. I don't mean the 19th century version that Karl Marx envisioned either. I think he was partly right, but couldn't get the full formula to bring about the goal of Socialism, which is Equality, Liberty and Fraternity. Mr. Marx was unable to see the total solution because of the times in which he lived. During the era Marx was studying Socialism and postulating about it, there was a lack of knowledge compaired to today. That lack of knowledge caused Marx to be unable to see the total picture.
The Socialist idea evolved into a notion that all of the means of production be owned by the proletariat or the working class. The managers and the production personnel in cooperation decides what to produce, how much of it to produce and what everyone is getting paid. If the board of directors of any company was half composed of production workers, I doubt they would be voting to give managers gigantic paychecks while the production workers are paid barely enough to survive. There would be a more even distribution of wages.
The addressing of the worker in relation to the managers is not an end solution. It is only part of the path to achieve the end goal of Equality, Liberty and Fraternity. The goal has always been Equality, Liberty and Fraternity, but people like Stalin had muddied the waters. Stalin, after they had captured the state didn't go the full mile in achieving Equality, Liberty and Fraternity. The Russian people had suffered so severely, he was unable to tell them that they would have to suffer some more to get to the goal of Equality, Liberty and Fraternity. So instead, after the revolution he proclaimed "This is Socialism." when in fact he had instituted "State Capitalism".
So we still have the question of how to obtain the end solution of Socialism, which is Equality, Liberty and Fraternity? The prevailing notion is that through total automation, total freedom can be had, which would enable Equality, Liberty and Fraternity. At present automation is being used to maximize the profits/paychecks of the managers, and the result is displaced workers who find themselves with no paychecks. Automation provided them with total freedom, but not Equality, Liberty and Fraternity. Freedom isn't worth much if you are struggling to obtain basic necessities while other people with freedom suck up all the benefits of the automation.
The addressing of the worker in relation to the managers is not an end solution. It is only part of the path to achieve the end goal of Equality, Liberty and Fraternity. The goal has always been Equality, Liberty and Fraternity, but people like Stalin had muddied the waters. Stalin, after they had captured the state didn't go the full mile in achieving Equality, Liberty and Fraternity. The Russian people had suffered so severely, he was unable to tell them that they would have to suffer some more to get to the goal of Equality, Liberty and Fraternity. So instead, after the revolution he proclaimed "This is Socialism." when in fact he had instituted "State Capitalism".
So we still have the question of how to obtain the end solution of Socialism, which is Equality, Liberty and Fraternity? The prevailing notion is that through total automation, total freedom can be had, which would enable Equality, Liberty and Fraternity. At present automation is being used to maximize the profits/paychecks of the managers, and the result is displaced workers who find themselves with no paychecks. Automation provided them with total freedom, but not Equality, Liberty and Fraternity. Freedom isn't worth much if you are struggling to obtain basic necessities while other people with freedom suck up all the benefits of the automation.
The solution to the proletariat's dilemma, which is poverty caused by displacement through automation, is a universal basic income or stipend. The source of the funds to provide that basic income should be the natural resources of energy and materials. The private ownership of natural resources, i.e. privately held mineral rights, would have to be abandoned in favor of public ownership of all resources that are in their natural state. The nationalization of all natural mineral and energy resources would have to be instituted. Then through the sale of these resources to enterprises, both private and collective, we could fund the basic income of them who have been displaced through automation. Yet a problem still remains. The scarcity of resources and the destruction of the natural environment on which we depend for survival.
The scarcity of resources and the destruction of the natural environment point to the last piece in the equation which would provide Equality, Liberty and Fraternity. That last piece of the puzzle would be unlimited abundance of natural resources. We are not going to have that as long as we confine ourselves to one planet.
Obtaining total automation, and unlimited supplies of natural resources, which can be had without destroying our natural environment, which also would lead to Equality, Liberty and Fraternity, we have to go beyond a closed system. That's where we are today. We are living within the closed system of the Earth, but trying for unlimited growth. The problems with that are already causing real problems for hundreds of millions of people.
Environmental degradation and resource depletion is causing the physical displacement of people and violence between groups of competing people. As the displaced people move into areas already occupied by other people, resentment builds because the displaced people are competing for the resources available in the places which are already occupied into which they move. Violence is employed by the people against the displaced in an effort to get them to move along, not come at all, or to eliminate them wholesale.
The scarcity of resources and the destruction of the natural environment point to the last piece in the equation which would provide Equality, Liberty and Fraternity. That last piece of the puzzle would be unlimited abundance of natural resources. We are not going to have that as long as we confine ourselves to one planet.
Obtaining total automation, and unlimited supplies of natural resources, which can be had without destroying our natural environment, which also would lead to Equality, Liberty and Fraternity, we have to go beyond a closed system. That's where we are today. We are living within the closed system of the Earth, but trying for unlimited growth. The problems with that are already causing real problems for hundreds of millions of people.
Environmental degradation and resource depletion is causing the physical displacement of people and violence between groups of competing people. As the displaced people move into areas already occupied by other people, resentment builds because the displaced people are competing for the resources available in the places which are already occupied into which they move. Violence is employed by the people against the displaced in an effort to get them to move along, not come at all, or to eliminate them wholesale.
The nations get into conflict over natural resources as well. We are seeing this effect intensify as the natural resources are depleted. Wars break out, which causes even more people to be displaced, further exacerbating the problems created by displaced people competing for limited resources wherever they move. All of this shows why the final piece of the puzzle is unlimited resources. If there were unlimited resources, people would not be motivated to go into conflict over them. The conflict wouldn't happen thus people wouldn't be displaced by war.
Karl Marx was unaware of this factor as far as I can tell. If he was aware of it, he didn't know where to obtain these unlimited resources. During his times the resources seemed to be unlimited because they didn't know that there was a limit on Earth to the resources that could be extracted. Because of exploration, and scientific advancement and discovery, we now know that the Earthly supplies of resources are limited and we also know where there are unlimited supplies of resources. Those supplies lay off world.
It is required that humans begin the harvesting of resources in places other than the Earth. We humans have got to break out of the closed system in which we evolved. We have to start an effort to mine the planetary neighborhood for material wealth and energy resources, which are unlimited in nature. Then through the effort to mine these off world resources automation would further advance. The combination of unlimited resources and total automation, coupled with the capture of the state, would allow human beings to have total freedom, which would foster Equality, Liberty and Fraternity.
Total automation would have to be advanced to a state in which the machines would be able to design themselves and build themselves with resources they discovered, extracted and refined without the benefit of human intervention. In the beginning (now), the humans would be required to set up mining operations and colonies off world in places like the asteroid belt, the moon and Mars. We would also have to set up grids in space to collect the energy coming from the sun and beam it to wherever it is needed. This would be the source of the unlimited supplies of energy and materials.
So in order to sum things up, these are the factors in the equation which would allow people to obtain the goal of Socialism, which is Equality, Liberty and Fraternity. First, the capture of the state. Second, the nationalization of all natural resources on and off the Earth. Third, the utilization of resources which lay off the Earth. And finally, total automation.
Until humans do those four things, they will continue to suffer the degradation of the environment, a scarcity of resources, war between the nations, famine, mass migrations of people and the problems caused by these displaced populations. Unless we humans break out of the closed system of the Earth, we will continue to suffer the degradation of the environment, and endanger our species existence.
Karl Marx was unaware of this factor as far as I can tell. If he was aware of it, he didn't know where to obtain these unlimited resources. During his times the resources seemed to be unlimited because they didn't know that there was a limit on Earth to the resources that could be extracted. Because of exploration, and scientific advancement and discovery, we now know that the Earthly supplies of resources are limited and we also know where there are unlimited supplies of resources. Those supplies lay off world.
It is required that humans begin the harvesting of resources in places other than the Earth. We humans have got to break out of the closed system in which we evolved. We have to start an effort to mine the planetary neighborhood for material wealth and energy resources, which are unlimited in nature. Then through the effort to mine these off world resources automation would further advance. The combination of unlimited resources and total automation, coupled with the capture of the state, would allow human beings to have total freedom, which would foster Equality, Liberty and Fraternity.
Total automation would have to be advanced to a state in which the machines would be able to design themselves and build themselves with resources they discovered, extracted and refined without the benefit of human intervention. In the beginning (now), the humans would be required to set up mining operations and colonies off world in places like the asteroid belt, the moon and Mars. We would also have to set up grids in space to collect the energy coming from the sun and beam it to wherever it is needed. This would be the source of the unlimited supplies of energy and materials.
So in order to sum things up, these are the factors in the equation which would allow people to obtain the goal of Socialism, which is Equality, Liberty and Fraternity. First, the capture of the state. Second, the nationalization of all natural resources on and off the Earth. Third, the utilization of resources which lay off the Earth. And finally, total automation.
Until humans do those four things, they will continue to suffer the degradation of the environment, a scarcity of resources, war between the nations, famine, mass migrations of people and the problems caused by these displaced populations. Unless we humans break out of the closed system of the Earth, we will continue to suffer the degradation of the environment, and endanger our species existence.
No comments:
Post a Comment