The Current System is Obsolete
In a settlement that practices neotopian order, people with (outside) debt could seek refuge. If the bank comes to take the home they live in, within the settlement, the home does not belong to anyone (as it technically belongs to everyone) specifically and is therefore not for sale. The bank has no possible claim.
Our economy would be fundamentally sound, without anyone trying to skim off the top as middlemen in transactions, as is the case in a capitalist market. An economy where scamming others for personal good does not pay off even a little because it's so much easier to do it the right way.
Our current markets are obsolete in a sense, as they are fragile, but they do indeed function pretty well when used honestly. The problem is essentially this. Those that control the mechanisms of the economy, in this case bankers, are in a prime position to exploit the system without anyone finding out. Power is too great a temptation for most men. Eventually the system becomes corrupt and collapses.
I feel as though this is a feature, not a bug. Market values are based on how investors feel, a whim even. There is no raw data in the numbers that means aything useful because it's all based on arbitrary currency values.
A stable system would result from keeping detailed economic statistics of consumption and production, supplying useful indicators to everyone. Even creating such a system would likely garner popularity, eventually enough to go mainstream. Essentially, it would be a credit card linked to a website to track exactly what you buy and how much you produce. The cards could be anonymous, too. Since the purpose is to gain economic data, anyone using any card is still going to record the data. As an incentive, people could look up their own card number to check out their statistics.
This economy is driven by everyone doing free work. Because they work for free, the work is never obligatory. The credit cards are used to track task accomplishments, but otherwise, working is pretty much the same: you show up at a particular time, do some work, have the supervisor sign off on a job well done, and swipe your card. Pretty simple. Not only that but you are also credited with Experience Points (XP) for your work that should approximately reflect your skill levels in a particular area.
The people do work for free because they know a simple fact. Society provides them with everything they need and want, so in return they give freely to their society, knowing they will be rewarded in kind, even though the reward is indirect. Having all your data stored on this card is useful for merchants to determine whether or not they should give you a 'rare' item should you ask for it. If you contribute nothing, the Porshe dealer will not give you a Porshe, but you will still get what you need to live and prosper
Representative-based government is now obsolete. The internet makes it easy for citizens to represent themselves, to have their own voice be heard. Moreover, neotopian citizens are constantly voting with their actions anyway. They do not necessarily need their voice to be heard on an official website because they can make the changes themselves.
The core principles of neotopian society are as simple and sound as can be. First is that no one is granted any authority over anyone else. Essentially, you must abide by 'treat others the way you wish to be treated'. This also means no punishment is allowed, but that doesn't mean we are defenseless against criminals. With the internet as pervasive as it would be in neotopia, every citizen having access, common criminals, if there are any, would be quickly called out and pressured by society to change their ways. You must always remember there are no police stopping you from murdering someone, but instead you are opening yourself up to the consequences of humans, some of which are wild animals. Proceed with caution (don't piss people off) and you will have no problems.
Another core pillar of neotopia has to do with knowledge and its wide accessibility. Everyone is responsible for everything. Therefore, we must provide public documentation for every system that runs in society. With documentation and general education, the population will know how to do all the jobs several times over. It would be the equivalent of the effect interchangeable parts had on the industrial revolution. This knowledge of systems would be of value because they are useful and would probably comprise a sizeable percentage of the settlement's value, even though it could not be measured economically. Value, in this case, being defined as something that is useful.
In the end, all we need to do is provide the public with good alternatives to the things they dispise. Creating new, novel systems to replace the old failing ones seems pretty easy in this day in age. If nobody beats me to it, I will spend a fair percentage of my time designing the systems that would be necessary to completely replace centralized authority and control, instead giving it to the people, the individuals, the only ones that actually live in this country.
06.02.2011. 03:25
Comments
I don't even care if you think I'm a tool because someone actually read my site. w00t!
Do you have an argument against this? It would be a lot cooler if you did. That way you wouldn't have to resort to name calling like a noob.
What a F&*^King tool....
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