Posted by LDF on January 03, 2009 at 16:23:22:
In Reply to: Re: SIU to TOTALLY supplant state? posted by David Searles on January 01, 2009 at 14:16:02:
Thanks Dave and appreciate your thoughts and enjoyed your ramble...
As regards recollections of Walter Steinhilber and his great and nimble Weekly People cartoons I grew up looking forward to seeing, yes indeed he was a very fine man;he in fact urged me to attend Pratt Institute where he headed up the Print Department. His astute & memorable illustrations helped give a breathing space to the People's writings, and in fact I still carry one in my wallet that I cut out when I was in high school. You may remember it,for it still tells the story: increasingly bigger fishes swimming behind & swallowing the smaller ones with the biggest one ready to devour all (Capitalism!). Actually, our son contributed to The New Unionist in his own updated, contemporary graphic style, an honor for me as it carried on a great, time-honored tradition starting with artists like Daumier & the French Revolution. They are now 'on-line' with The Campaign For A working Democracy/ New Union Party website. So, forgive me as I also digress! But the world is getting more & more ready to think, see and react differently. We are all trying to keep the basic ideas alive & so we must keep trying in every way we can to reach people. It will take every talent, every approach to do this. And so we do what we can do, contributing in the best ways we can.
In any event, when you have a chance, you might want to give our visuals a try. Like any model, they are one possibility and might help some to envision how'familiar, natural, logical and easy' a working
democracy really is. Or could be if it is given a chance!
Our model pictures grassroots gatherings at worksites, in community halls, as well as 'at-home' participation via the internet. It connects the input and balance of two aspects of social life: where we work, and where we live. It incorporates the idea of community-ignored completely in the old SIU- and gives everyone, regardless of age, gender or ability, a 'place at the table' that reflects real, everyday family, multi-age and diverse life style needs. This is crucial to a new generation of Americans and often the focus of their worries about "technolcratic bureaucracy being the master". We would be producing to satisfy the needs and desires of people....working to live, not living to work! Work would not be the dominant factor, living life in a healthy, balanced and satisfying way would be. Of course, work site needs and concerns are also crucial to fulfill the needs, fairly and rationally, expressed by the community so worksites would have to balance the realities of production with the people's expressed needs. But with participation from both community (which develops the needs or you might say, 'the market' but without the profit motive) AND from the work-site (as producers of goods and services, from the factory floor, distribution centers/stores, computer desks, transportation core, healthcare centers, telecommuter or in-person...we would give our concerns about working conditions,
required man hours & job skills, etc.)we would discuss and inform each other.
These two bodies (in that way, similar to The Congress with its bi-cameral structure)would discuss, decide, consider and implement. Our model shows that.
What's new with our model? The 'bi-cameral model' is asignificant, evolutionary step beyond the SIU concept which was good for its 19th & mid 20th century 'male-head-of-household' arche-type but totally out-of-date today. It includes EVERYONE. It considers all needs. The SIU concept did indeed become sclerotic, like much of the SLP; what our model encourages is a more fluid, flexible and spontaneous participation. But of course we can actually do that now, because of technology. Our 'forebears' had much less to work with!
By the way, 'SHOPPING' and 'MONEY-LESS SOCIETY'? Now we know how: We could use of Time Credit Card Vouchers (The LTV's of yore) a continuation of our current familiarity with the credit card, but with a twist.
Records would be kept & available in 'stores' where we'd "shop"...and checking out could be just like we do now. Except 'credit' would be a record of hours worked, not debt. We could 'shop', possibly in stores with models for display, & then 'place our orders',
'deduct our Labor Time Credits' and walk home with our 'shopping done'!
The ideas are endless. The model is just to provoke discussion. But this is where we begin.
Dave, Your original questions about "The State and the SIU" still need dialoguing between readers & web visitors! Maybe we can begin the New Year discussing these and more. But lets keep moving ahead, and all best wishes....
Thanks again! LDF, Editorial Committee