Sane Economics.
We have evolved an economic system that privileges the trolls over the elves. The system treats owners as principles and workers as, essentially, their servants. It evolved that way because the owners were always the people with power, and we have come to think of the present arrangement as inevitable. It is not. Most economic discussions assume those conditions as necessary. We need to devise a saner system. That is why we have had to go to the roots of economic reality.
A sane and democratic economic system will have to take into consideration two essential facts:
- Interdependence. An economy is about our dependence on many other people for goods and services. No one is independent. We cannot sensibly ask people to “stand on their own two feet,” but we can ask if they contribute to making the economic pie as well as taking from it. I have said this before, but it is worth repeating.
- No Natural Justice. There is no natural justice in any economic system that can be devised. In fact, it is impossible to say what a “fair” distribution of the product of our joint efforts would be. The Marxist slogan, “to each according to his need; from each according to his ability,” may be a useful ideal, but poses enormous practical difficulties. The same is true of the solution proposed by George Bernard Shaw, that everyone have an exactly equal share.
Principles of Reform. So what basic principles are needed in a system that aims at something approximating fairness and justice given what we know about the nature of economic organization?
- First Principle: Everyone Contributes; Everyone Receives. The first principle of economic justice is quite simple: everyone has a right to do productive labor for a living wage, and no one capable of contributing labor has a right to a free ride. Of course that does not mean that children should be in the labor force; their job is education — learning to become contributing citizens. And those who have contributed have a right to a comfortable and dignified retirement.
- Second Principle: Education. Since we all benefit if all our citizens are allowed to develop their maximum potential, education should be free and available to all. The only limitation should be the individual's own capability. It is a truism that people tend to abuse that which is offered for free, and the same is true of education. But the price should be the work required to take advantage of the education offered. If education — including higher education — were free to all, it could and should be much more rigorous and demanding. Presently poor students spend much of their time working to pay for their education while rich students join fraternities and sororities and spend that extra time partying and getting drunk. If higher education were free it should also be so demanding that students have little time for anything but studying.
- Third Principle: Health. Health care should also be available to all. Provision for health care should be based on the principles of insurance, with the assumption that all must participate. If all receive a living wage (one that affords health insurance as well as food, shelter and basic comfort) then all can pay the necessary premiums (whether they are called taxes or premiums, the principle is the same).
In sum, this means essentially that our economic system should be designed to favor the elves and to discourage the trolls and gambling gremlins. That is precisely the opposite of the way the present system operates. This is an utterly revolutionary concept, and you can be sure that the trolls and gremlins will fight it with everything they have. So it is vital to keep in mind this essential truth: no matter what they claim, the trolls and gremlins are unproductive parasites. We are simply trying to create a system that encourages everyone to be productive and discourages all parasites.
How To Do It? So how do we go about it? First, as revolutionary as this idea is, it is not really new. Previous attempts to create a worker's society have failed. We must avoid the mistakes of the past.