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Misconceptions about the post capitalist libertarian communist society

category international | anarchist movement | opinion / analysis author Sunday April 01, 2007 23:28author by Ilan Shalif - AATWauthor address Tel Aviv Report this post to the editors

Lot of anticapitalists present some opinions about the post capitalist antiauthoritarian society. Usually people have one sided point of reference:
the opposite of the present globalized capitalism. On the face of it there is not only one obvious alternative to the present condition. (An exactly the opposite can be even worse than the replaced...) So when pressed, people who oppose the present social order reply with a spontaneous reply that do not present a complete model.

Lot of anticapitalists present some opinions about the post capitalist antiauthoritarian society. Usually people have one sided point of reference:
the opposite of the present globalized capitalism. On the face of it there is not only one obvious alternative to the present condition. (An exactly the opposite can be even worse than the replaced...) So when pressed, people who oppose the present social order reply with a spontaneous reply that do not present a complete model.

The Earth is one ecological system. The long history resulted in unequal distribution of natural and accumulated resources. It also resulted with huge amount of pollution. Both are impossible to solve locally only.

In what at first seems absurd claim, the solution of most of the capitalist system problem is not decentralization, but better organization. Instead of the rivalries and competition between egoistic powers, a one world of solidarity and cooperation. Instead of conflicts and competition between super powers and their lesser clients, one world commune of grass roots communities.

Instead of the isolated nuclear family units - a grass root community that can replace the capitalist insecurity, inequality, estrangement, and coercion, with
solidarity/fraternity, equality and freedom.

Instead of the semi chaotic market and bilateral agreements, a central information center that will regulate the supply and satisfaction of needs of the people of the whole world, in products and services.

Instead of competition and every one on its own, a society that really take care for all - with each contribute according to ability, and each receive as one needs.

For people who never experienced other than the life in capitalist system it is not so simple to imagine how such libertarian communist society will be organized. Thus some good intention people mix between demands and striving within the capitalist system with characteristics of the new society.

Decentralization and demands for workers say in their workplace are nice, but when taken out of the context of a post capitalist world they are just hollow slogans.

For sure each grass root community will have to decide and deal by itself on many points - there will not be a state apparatus to manage it instead of them.
However, any one will see how absurd it is to imagine a city of some millions or just few tens of thousands people managed without any united system of a sort that will take care of the basic infrastructure.

It is also absurd to delegate the task of taking care of world ecology and redistribution of resources to independent communities.

Some people are so brainwashed by the capitalist ideology that even when they urge for non-hierarchical non-capitalist society they still cling to the non equal "socialist" idea that people will get according to contribution - meaning lower principle than real social solidarity. They even contemplate the use of money - at least for a while, oblivious to the fact that it will need a state to back it - a sure slippery road back to class society.

The imagination of some, who were involved with workers struggle in work places cannot grasp a society in which the production of goods will be marginal. A society in which most organized work will be to supply services. Thus, the ones who will have the main say are the people organized in grass roots communities which supply the services to its members, and mandate people to workplaces.

For sure every work place have many aspects that no authoritarian system is available to decide on. Some of them are for the ones who are served is to decide on. Some of them are for the grass roots of the communities of users is to decide. But, many decisions will be mandated to the individual worker and to the group of people who do the service.

It is absurd to regard the workers of a work place as "owning" the workplace or having the mandate to decide what and how much to produce and for whom.

The organization of the world commune of communities is both more organized than any capitalist system can ever be, but also the least concentration of power in the hand of any one or any body except that of the assemblies of members of grass roots communities. The grass roots communities will have both huge responsibility to do better what the capitalist erratic market did, but the decision power within it will be in the hands of the members in the time of the regular meetings - non delegatable to any person unless it is within a recallable and accountable specific and limited mandate.

(For sure the brain surgeon will not have to call for any assembly to decide on each cut s/he does during operation....)

The bridge between the grass roots communities and the world commune will be the multi tier direct democracy in which the coordination and the implementation of the decisions of the relevant grass communities.

(There will be decisions relevant only for some neighboring communities, there will be decision relevant to a whole city, there will be decision relevant to a whole region or continent, and there will be some relevant to the whole world....)

Based on 55 years of thinking on the subject from time to time, and 16 years of life within communities that practiced libertarian communist relation (for the members only) - that managed their life in direct democracy with the power of decisions in the weekly assemblies... and some common sense, I started to compose "GLIMPSES INTO THE YEAR 2100 - Daily life in the libertarian communist society". the first 16 of them are available at http://ilan.shalif.com/anarchy/glimpses/glimpses.html

Related Link: http://ilan.shalif.com/anarchy/glimpses/glimpses.html
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