The New Society Pt. 1

The money people receive each week or month should not be dependent upon other people purchasing products or services. Sometimes there are not products or services available that need to be or should be purchased. If people need to be satisfied that all people are working and doing their part to contribute to society then we should create a system whereby people can volunteer and programs will be set up to provide work/community service/charity/food distribution and more so that they are benefiting society through their labor and therefor deserving of the stipend which they will get from the government and society regardless.

Who is going to pay for this? Well for one thing this artificial concept of wealth, money, and worth will be greatly altered. It is a fiction that each dollar carefully allotted to each person and company is exactly equal to some sort of service or work unit that they have contributed to society. The accounting structure will not be nearly so rigid and structured. This is a community, a co op, a society, a family; not some fight to the death corporate competition.

A Change is Needed - Not Capitalism

Technology Will Always Be Here – Nature, living organisms, not so certainly

Technology is discovered and is always there to be discovered. When technology is destroyed it can be reinvented and redesigned. It will always be there in waiting to be discovered. With nature this is not the case. Once it is gone it is gone for ever or at least a million years. So while slowing the pace of technology will not kill anybody not slowing the pace of environmental degradation might. Sure technology might save some people from cancer and what not but it has also led to many cases of cancer from pollution and contaminants in the air, food, and water. Therefore if technology saves us it will only be from itself.

People say that we have to have incentive and capital or else technology would be years behind what it is now. The problem is that the environment is being destroyed. The ocean has far fewer fish and general marine life than it did a hundred years ago. Modern technology has led to overfishing. Runoff from fertilization of farm fields has led to hypoxic zones which are areas of the ocean with little to no oxygen because of large algae blooms. Deforestation has led to habitat destruction for many species of animals and plants. With all this in mind I would ask these people who say we need the incentive of capital or else technology would be far behind where it is now, I would ask them, Where has it gotten us? We have great tv's and some nice medical treatments but that will not solve all the problems we have created.

The incentive of capital leads to overuse of resources and general inefficiency in society. With handouts given to people to stay home and use fewer resources such as gas for their cars we could save much energy by not requiring people to drive to work everyday and expend so much energy in the process. A different mode of operation is needed to stave off disaster. Not a capitalist incentive to bring about advances in technology.

Sure one could surmise that technology has saved countless lives as has it also taken countless lives. Polio vaccines, penicillin, chemotherapy, and many other treatments are due in large part to technology but technology is handled by human beings in an imperfect manner. We are so wont to create a system where everything is accounted for and people aren't allowed to be sloth without having warranted the right somehow that we expend countless energy doing unnecessary tasks, driving countless miles, and causing enormous pollution in the name of not being lazy and also in the name of progress. Therefore advances in technology are counterbalanced by the inefficiency and nature of our society as a whole.

In the end technology may be doing more harm than good.

Inheritance

I have nothing against individuals who inherit money but I am more concerned for those who don't. We are supposed to be a society of achievement based on work and not handouts. Yet handouts are inherent in our system so that is really a double standard in our society.

Very few people statistically inherit a lot of money but a lot of people are privileged through inheritance and not through achievement. This is on top of the advantages they already have such as a place in the family business or job in the corporation which led them to receive the large inheritance through a family member. Therefore the privileged receive advantages on top of advantages just because of the rules and laws of the system of society.

Taking away inheritance would benefit a larger proportion of people than it would hurt and it would help to level the playing field. This money could be used to cut the deficit, fix roads and infrastructure, educate the population, provide health care, and much, much more.

Therefore taking away the large inheritances of a privileged few for the greater good of society would help a far larger proportion of people than it would harm. So who are we going to cry for? The privileged few who lose their large inheritances or are we going to be happy for the enormous percentage of people who stand to gain by this change in our system of law and governance.

Autumn in Utopia - The Cultural Revolution

Autumn in Utopia – Chapter 1 - Setting Out

Waxing gibbous shining bright as I go for a walk on an autumn night. I walk down the sidewalk and a cool breeze blows. Oaks and maples are in its throes. Small branches are falling on the sidewalk below. Halloween decorations are in the yards. Gravestones, witches, and pumpkins carved. In the clear bright sky are thousands of stars. On the streets below are many cars. People are in the houses, not outside. I wonder why it is they choose to hide. Thousands of people are in the vicinity. Yet here on the street is peace and tranquility.

I get into my truck and go for a drive. I've got a big 18 wheeler and I'm driving to the power plant to pick up a load because it's a nice night for a drive. Nobody works anymore because they have to or are required to. Everybody works now simply because they want to. I know Grady at the plant will have a load I can pick up and tomorrow I will haul it to the processing facility. There is always work to do now and nobody really wants for anything because everybody wants to work.

The engine rumbles as I go on my way. I wave hello to some kids at play. I think what an awesome day. Just last year we were all enslaved.

Autumn in Utopia – Chapter 2 - The Conflict

Someone retaining capital and power from the days of capitalism is attempting to buy people off and control them for his advantage again. He is trying to make money off of them by offering them money. That way he can get them to do what he wants while retaining a dominant position for himself and his family for years to come. He also instills this hope in his followers. That they may be able to hold a position above others to where they can have material goods and leisure of a higher level than they are able to now under the policy of cooperation. His name is James Maverick.

I pull into the power plant and go in to see Grady. It is 10:30pm on Monday.

“Grady. How are you?” I ask.

“Just fine Walt. Did you know Maverick was in here? He offered Stuart a hundred thousand dollars a year to be his partner and run the place. He's also got a bank project he's working on. Says he's got investors and everything.”

“You don't say.” I reply. “Trying to get the great scam back in place I see.”

“Yeah,” Grady responds. “Stu didn't take him up on it but Maverick says he'll be back.”

“I'd better talk to Stuart.” I say.

Chapter 3 – The Conversation

“Stuart my man. How are ya?”

“Good Walt. I suppose you heard about Maverick?”

“Yeah. What's that all about?”

“He's trying to entice people with money. That old system again. What a waste. Having to keep track of everything so you can see who's got what and how much. It's all based in fantasy.” Stu says.

“I agree. Keeping track of everything. We have eliminated over fifty percent of labor just by not keeping track and worrying so much about how much everybody's got or taking.” I reply.

“Next time he comes down here,” Stuart smiles, “I'm going to tell him to buy his own power plant and quit using ours at no cost to himself or his neighbors up on the hill in those big houses. They look like museum pieces. I'm surprised those people aren't still wearing wigs and bell skirts.”

We laugh.

“Some people just can't seem to keep up with the pace of the changes in the world.” I declare.

Chapter 4 – The Deconstruction

Today is the second day of October and I am going to the deconstruction site to see if I can help. There are people on the heavy equipment tearing down office towers with cranes, bulldozers, and dump trucks. Someone there decides that they will show me how to work a heavy mover so I can help begin hauling things away. In this way I partake in the process of tearing down the building piece by piece.

Ultimately there will be very few buildings in Utopia when deconstruction is completed. Most of the land will be parks and forests. Many people live in small wooden huts in the forest choosing to live very natural and earthy lives. Food is brought in on the caravans that supply the out lands. It is composed of travelers and others who choose that line of work. Most of the food is hauled by compact electric vehicles which are recharged by the sun and hydrogen cells and also horse pulled carts are common. New forests are already being planted in previously torn down downtowns and office sites.

Concerts are common in the forests with different musical groups showcased daily and hourly. On my way home from deconstructing the building I stop at an ongoing showcase. Some friends are in the band and the audience as well.

“Jimmy. Nick. How's hap's?” I ask my friends.

“Hi Walter.”

“Hey Walter.”

“What cha eatin'?” I ask.

“Zucchini bread.” Nick replies. “You should grab some. There's beer too.”

“Sounds great.” I reply and head toward the table.

The concert venue is a clearing in the woods outside the former town. Actually the forest is as of yet very small for it is newly planted. Utopia has yet to reach its planned state seeing as the Walkout only occurred a couple years ago.

The band plays and people dance. Children, adults, and teens. Some careen. Some serene. Some ponder the Pleistocene.

Chapter 5 – Education

Education is provided free of cost, of course, as money is no longer used in Utopia. Courses are pass or not pass. There are no mandatory general requirements. There are no regular eight hour days of classes.

Chapter 6 – The War

I am sitting at class when we first get word of the coming onslaught. All the powerful weapons of the capitalists directed upon us. They apparently maintain enough support and control to be able to mount this attack. The class is in an open clearing in the woods and we are sitting on log benches and writing on smooth wooden tables.

We hear a loud explosion as a nearby home is hit with a bomb. We see troops coming toward us. The occupying force and the troops immediately begin reinstating all the rules and regulations of before and what they call law and order. We are in danger of being re-enslaved but I think we have a clear enough doctrine and understanding that we merely have to peacefully resist the occupiers. We already have a model for resisting the occupation from when the peaceful revolution was accomplished the first time.