[GJM] #829, Paths To UTOPIA, Hard Or Easy, Are We Free To Choose?

[wesburt at juno.com]

Steve,
Your thoughtful reply was most welcome.  
Sorry to be so slow getting back to you.  I 
have inserted [my comments] below.
Regards, 
Wes

On Wed, 25 Jul 2007 09:07:48 -0700 Steve Nieman <stevenieman at mac.com>
writes:
Wes,


I enjoyed your post as usual.


Your modification of Karl Marx's/Communism's famous is interesting:  From
each according to his ability, (while in production).   To each according
to his needs, 
(while in development or disabled).  I'll have to mull it over for
awhile.


At some point, technology will remove the requirement for anyone to work,
if they don't want to.  So the catch will be how to set up
government/corporate institutions properly to fairly distribute what is
produced primarily by machines.

[The social dividend of C. H. Douglas and other 
proposals of a universal subsistence allowance
would restore a free market for pricing products 
and what ever labor, or other expense, was 
required to produce the products.  But that is a problem for the future,
it seems to me.  My question is: Why did DR establish subsistence
allowances for the retired folks in 1935 and leave the subsistence of
dependents in development 
to fall in the household budgets of parenting families at the beginning
of their working career?
That seems just backwards to me.]

Human labor in the economy is changing BIG time compared to what Marx
observed while he was alive on Earth.  As time twirls away behind us,
more and more of what he advocated just doesn't have the same meaning, is
the way I see it.  As usual, people who are alive NOW have got to figure
out new ways of doing everyday things so we can all live our lives in
peace and harmony.

[Local governments in the USA fully funded 
universal public education early in the 
nineteenth century.  Their failure to do the 
same for the subsistence of children is the primary imbalance in the US
economy.  This is where we dance against nature, to our loss.]

As you've observed, in many ways we are NOT free to choose.  Life, Nature
is the way She is.  We need to find ways to dance with Her and not
against.


Regards,
Steve Nieman
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On Jul 24, 2007, at 5:57 PM, wesburt at juno.com wrote:
~~~ Balance of text deleted by Wes Burt ~~~
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