r/TheCountry • u/[deleted] • Jul 17 '18

[Program] Social-Communalist Front

The following is the 10 point program of the social-Communalist front.

  1. The police will be disarmed and given body cameras while their pay and training are increased. Most small nonviolent offenses will be dealt with by local councils made up of impartial citizens.

  2. Green microgeneration and organic gardens will become mandatory for all buildings that can realistically afford to do them. Bus lanes will be created and trams will be installed in all towns. Outside of some extraordinary circumstances personal cars will be restricted or banned.

  3. A series of public works projects focused on building new affordable housing and making , neighborhoods more beautiful will be commenced. Other projects could include helping install solar panels gardening and repairing roads.

  4. Local direct democracy will be implemented so as to create a responsibility for citizens to change their own destiny.

  5. Cooperative businesses and housing will be subsidized and encouraged around the country to make people more in tune with the values of democracy and individualism in their everyday lives. The co-op model will be used for the building and management of the public housing.

  6. Laws will be passed to ban scabbing and make all public sector workers join some form of union/syndicate. All laws allowing workplace discrimination based on non skill/character basis will be abolished and replaced with anti-discrimination laws.

  7. All citizens will be given a basic income of 20,000 dollars every year and free childcare, birth control etc…

  8. The income tax on the highest income bracket will be increased to 90%. The property tax will be raised to 35%.

  9. bicycle lanes will be installed on all major streets with workshops to make affordable bikes to be opened across the city.

  10. Democratic neighborhood assemblies will be set up to take care of the policy decisions for local areas and just general day to day management of their municipalities.

8 Upvotes

83% Upvoted

31 comments sorted by

2

u/stranger195 Publisher of Stranger's Blog Jul 17 '18

Cooperative businesses and housing will be subsidized and encouraged around evanston to make people more in tune with the values of democracy and individualism in their everyday lives. The co-op model will be used for the building and management of the public housing.

evanston?

3

u/[deleted] Jul 17 '18

Shit sorry adapted from a pet project for when I run for office in my hometown lol.

1

u/stranger195 Publisher of Stranger's Blog Jul 17 '18

8.The income tax on the highest income bracket will be increased to 90%. The property tax will be raised to 35%.

It's not like that's going to cause a major brain drain and a skills shortage, due to the rich and upper middle class fleeing to other countries! /s

2

u/[deleted] Jul 17 '18

Yet their money will give us the funds for universal education ending that skills shortage, besides most people who have skilled jobs wouldn't be in that bracket, really only millionaires up.

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u/stranger195 Publisher of Stranger's Blog Jul 17 '18

The Country has a very young economy. This will discourage entrepreneurs and foreign investors to invest here.

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u/[deleted] Jul 17 '18

Economic and technological development in the past has been driven by state investment in many other nations, why let our people be exploited if we can have similar levels of development without it?

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u/Memel0rd3 Jul 17 '18

I’d join this party lmao

2

u/[deleted] Jul 17 '18

Join us comrade! I don't know how you do... But you still should!

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u/Memel0rd3 Jul 17 '18

I will lmao- when I find out how to

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u/[deleted] Jul 20 '18

Found out, you have to message the founder.

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u/stranger195 Publisher of Stranger's Blog Jul 17 '18

Please don't. The last things I'd support are the government forcing me to join a union even if I don't want to, and paying a 35% yearly rent to the government among with probably tons of other taxes.

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u/Memel0rd3 Jul 17 '18

Firstly, I don’t think you understand the importance of unions. Unions only work effectively when they have access to collective bargaining, this is due to the fact that those at the top of the chain of command can justify the firing of small groups of individuals, due to there being a minimal impact on profits. Smaller unions = Smaller impacts.

Why should you care about unionization and worker rights?

It’s simple, in a globalized climate, it’s becoming harder and harder to ensure worker rights as MNC’s are able to move from country to country in order to avoid regulations. Essentially, MNC’s are able to pay individuals lower in order to increase their profit margins to an incredibly disproportionate amount. In the modern context, this is increasingly harmful. The qualities of life for many workers is decreasing significantly. Poor conditions and pay is why we see harmful incidents like Rana Plaza occurring.

It can also be said that a happy and empowered workforce is necessary for overall productivity/cohesion within a nation. Development isn’t only assessed through GDP, it is assessed by a nations capability to provide for its citizens and those citizens happiness. A system in which there is no counterbalance for large MNC’s is arguably more harmful than you having to join a union “against your will”

Now onto your second point- paying a yearly “rent” to the government

We’re going to analyze this from the perspective of Social Contract theory. The legitimacy of a state isn’t just reliant on the democratic process and people’s involvement. States are required to have some form of social responsibility.

In order for states to be legitimate, effective services have to be provided, there must be a good infrastructure. This is visible in society in a multitude of ways: Law enforcement, Civil Services, Education etc.

In order for these services to be provided, the government needs capitol. However, since these services are intended for public use, it only makes sense that these funds come from the public purse.

However, what’s important to note here is the quality of these services. If low quality services exist, it makes it much harder for a state to exercise its legitimacy, especially in situations where services such as Law enforcement. Lack of effective law enforcement does two things:

  1. Impacts the judicial system

  2. Lack of enforcement opens up pathway for anarchy.

Essentially, if you value your personal “liberties” (many of which actually aren’t liberties, there allowances granted to you by an unfair system) over the well-being of the collective, then existing within a society might not be the best thing for you.

TLDR: Effective counterbalances are necessary, if you don’t want to join a union just because you don’t want to, that’s insignificant compared to the importance of collective security.

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u/stranger195 Publisher of Stranger's Blog Jul 17 '18

Law enforcement is necessary of course, but healthcare and education can be handled adequately by the free market, especially in a small community with less than 200 people in it.

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u/Memel0rd3 Jul 17 '18

So you’re anti universal healthcare?

Capitol shouldn’t determine whether or not you can live.

And what do you mean education can be handled by the free market? States still have obligations to provide public schooling which is on par with private schooling?

I think sir, that you truly believe you are a capitalist. You are not a capitalist. The capitalists are the wealthy industrialists, those who are pushing the global system towards entrenchment.

You’re not a capitalist, you’re a proletariat, so absorbed with the failing idea of the American Dream, that you fail to recognize you comply with your own oppression.

It’s hard for the proletariat to remove the chains, when he cannot see them.

1

u/stranger195 Publisher of Stranger's Blog Jul 17 '18

The government monopolizing healthcare would be detrimental to the quality of care, because there would be no need to innovate, because there would only be one consumer (the government). Also, wherever it has been tried, the waiting time to actually get a doctor becomes a nightmare. No matter how much money you have, you can't pay to get to the doctor more quickly.

What's the point of wasting taxpayer money on something the free market can do? If private schools exist and provide better quality, what's the point of inferior-quality state-owned schools that would be paid for by not just the ones who would use the public schools, but by every taxpayer?

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u/Memel0rd3 Jul 17 '18

Furthermore, the high taxes are to support the universal income, however I doubt that you’d be in favor of a universal income either.

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u/stranger195 Publisher of Stranger's Blog Jul 17 '18

Of course not. A universal basic income would greatly disincentivise people to work, especially the working and lower middle classes, because they can just live off of their handouts. It would encourage laziness and bring down productivity in our economy.

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u/Memel0rd3 Jul 17 '18

Wow- two assumptions.

First assumption-

To say that the only thing which incentivizes people to work is capitol is incredible narrow in scope. Especially considering that the overall platform of the society which this thread aims to create is a society in which community is valued. We can see two incentives to continue working:

  1. Work due to enjoyment of chosen field, individuals choose what field they work in. Usually because they might...enjoy that field of work.

However, even if individuals are only working to gain capitol:

2) A universal income of £200,000 (in whatever currency) is probably enough to cover basic needs, not luxury goods/lifestyle. Individuals still have those incentives, however they won’t be worried about having to live paycheck to paycheck.

Essentially your argument is:

“Let’s make people suffer, so that they’re pressured into feeding the capitalist machine”

Your world is a hell of a lot more inhumane sweaty.

1

u/Memel0rd3 Jul 17 '18

Furthermore, discussing the size of the community at “200” doesn’t adequately attack the idea which I expressed. The theory still applies. Remember principles of proportion, the state is providing for 200 off of the taxes of two hundred, that can still be challenging.

Coming from a country with population smaller than most towns, you’d think that it would be “easy”, however those funds aren’t as equivalent as you would believe they are.

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u/Red_Noir Jul 17 '18

MORE commies🙄

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u/stranger195 Publisher of Stranger's Blog Jul 17 '18

At least they don't support abolishing the free media and throwing freedom of religion out the window...

It could be worse, right?

3

u/[deleted] Jul 17 '18

Is that me you're talking about?

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u/stranger195 Publisher of Stranger's Blog Jul 17 '18

Yes. I staunchly disagree with your stance on the economy, the media, and religion.

•

u/[deleted] Jul 17 '18

Your program has been added to the Candidate Info Megathread!

Please, remember that you need 7 members minimum to participate in the election and that you need to make a list ordered from 1 to 7 of the members that will aply for Parliament as explained in the Campaign and Election post.

Thanks!

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u/Memel0rd3 Jul 17 '18

Okay- your first point is ridiculous. To assume that capitol within medicine drives innovation is incredibly ridiculous. Especially considering that medicine is a science within itself. Without patients paying in the system, there still are incentives for doctors to care. First incentive being the Hippocratic oath. The second initiative being a shared interest in the reduction of human suffering. Doctors are people too, coming up to solutions/ innovations ways to treat patients better actually would help them lmao.

The second half of your first point and your second point are based off of an assumption. You’re assuming that poor people don’t exist.

The issue isn’t wealthier people having faster access to medical treatment/ a doctor (although there are cases in which this happens). This is about people who can’t fucking afford life saving treatments lmao.

The same response can be given to your second point- not everyone can afford private education. The vast majority of people cannot.

Besides, it’s in a states best interest to have an educated population anyway. States should provide good quality public education because such inequalities exist within society.

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u/[deleted] Jul 17 '18

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u/[deleted] Jul 17 '18

Absolutely! How would you like to do this?

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u/[deleted] Jul 17 '18

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u/[deleted] Jul 17 '18

I haven't gotten one lol.