The Three Questions: What do you propose?

[shawshankinmate37927]

freedom while consuming products and services but not to work

Yeah, I know what you are saying. But people need work. I don't mean working at Burger King on a zero hours contract. I mean doing something meaningful, something with responsibility, with scope for self expression. The traditional middle class jobs have cornered the market in this sort of thing. Teachers, artists, engineers, doctors, lawyers, accountants.
   But even these jobs are going to eventually get eaten up thru tech advances.

What we going to do - all sit around all day watching Jerry Springer ?

Go fishing, read a book, go camping, climb Mt Everest, ride a bike, have a bar-b-que, play soccer, smoke a joint.....

I can think of so many things I would rather do than work

[1714922097]

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[1714922097]

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[1714922097]

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[shawshankinmate37927]

freedom while consuming products and services but not to work

Yeah, I know what you are saying. But people need work. I don't mean working at Burger King on a zero hours contract. I mean doing something meaningful, something with responsibility, with scope for self expression. The traditional middle class jobs have cornered the market in this sort of thing. Teachers, artists, engineers, doctors, lawyers, accountants.
   But even these jobs are going to eventually get eaten up thru tech advances.

What we going to do - all sit around all day watching Jerry Springer ?

Go fishing, read a book, go camping, climb Mt Everest, ride a bike, have a bar-b-que, play soccer, smoke a joint.....

I can think of so many things I would rather do than work

Oh yeah, have sex....how did I forget that one?

[practicaldreamer]

Go fishing, read a book, go camping, climb Mt Everest, ride a bike, have a bar-b-que, play soccer, smoke a joint.....

Oh yeah, have sex....how did I forget that one?

 In my 20's I did a stretch of unemployment. During which, short of climbing Mt.Everest (though I did climb as it happens), I did all the things you mention.
   But I can't say it was the happiest time of my life.

I take your point - but there will always be ways to contribute to society (it will never be perfect), but possibly not in the ways we were once accustomed. There will always be ways to help - help will always be needed.

    Hedonism isn't really fulfilling long term either - mores the pity.

[twiifm]

After looking deeper into TZM movement I can't help but draw similarities to Anarcho-Communism.  It seems like TZM is a technocratic version of Anarcho Communism.  PJ's critique of Capitalism is pure Marxian except Marx is about labor and PJ is about money.  Marx talks about "estrangement" & PJ talks about "structural violence".  They have exact  stance on the creative individual and the relation of state to the market.  i.e. The market impedes the individual from realising his/her full potential

Where Communists use the state mechanism to redistribute supply, TZM would use an algo to do it.  BTW Lenin also had the same idea about technology.

I do agree w the critique part but I'm more of a Post-Keynesian.  I don't think the market or the state or money need to be eradicated completely, just reformed.  I think regulations have to be smarter using better macro models

1.  Markets.  I think markets are wild and unpredictable but cyclical.  There should be countercyclical policies in place to soften effects of market wings.  What those policies are, I don't know at the moment.  But something like "Job Guarantee" is an interesting proposal

2.  State.  This is a hard one becasue, the state is the one entity that has the power/ budget to enact countercyclical policies.  However, the current structure of the state is inefficient.  Central Banks work because because they aren't directly influenced by political parties.  However, the Central Bank can only use monetary policy.  Fiscal policy is still left to legislatures.  Perhaps there should be an Office of Fiscal Policy that works like the Fed

3.  Technology.  I think algo can analyse big data.  But ultimately humans are programming the algos so there will be bias.  Even using algos, there will still be a political factor.  I'm not sure that by letting algos decide everything is a good thing

4.  Money.  I think it's ridiculous to try to have an economy (even a non priced Communist economy) to exist without money.  Even if money has no value you would still need it as a unit of account to do logistics

5.  Inequality.  This is a big problem now and probably some redistribution can occur temporarily by reforming tax laws.  But the longer term vision should focus on education, infrastructure, social services, etc..  This is such a big problem that it will take quite a lot to solve.  I'm skeptical that TZM concept  can solve this issue

[gts476]

Communists everywhere, wasn't killing 100 million people enough for these idiots?

[username18333]

Communists everywhere, wasn't killing 100 million people enough for these idiots?

Statists everywhere— Wasn't killing more than 100 million people enough for these idoits‽