Scrapitalism


2024 03 01    |    etc    no date    2024 +    2025    entries    home

Someone asked me what the first steps would be that I'd take to dismantle capitalism and its greed. Some of these are ideas on how to sustain people within the current capitalist system while working towards transition. Understand, first, that I am not a communist. I think we need to move away from using such terms to using ones that are less divisive but still communally respective. Communalism, perhaps? Whatever the word is, people need to stop having a hissy over the community-minded aspects of any kind of socialism. No one wants to take your personhood away. We just need to recognise that hyper-individualism is partly why we're in the boat we're in, with more self-serving consideration than acceptance of what's best for the wider good. This list is by no means exhaustive, and is subject to change, alter, augment, and grow, as we all should. Let's start off with:

  • Make offshoring of wealth illegal.
  • Seize those assets for collective good use in the communities from which they were thieved.
  • Make it illegal and impossible for any private donations of any kind to any political party.
  • Dismantling of monopolies, and preventing them from existing in future.
  • Prevention of personal and corporate wealth over a certain amount, unless the corporate wealth is being put back into the business for its good.
  • Implement a wealth tax on individuals and corporations.
  • Increase minimum wage to a living wage and tie it to inflation.
  • Fully funded universal healthcare and education from cradle to grave.
  • Implement a basic income to ensure everyone a safety net.


And:

  • Promote worker cooperatives, democratic workplaces, and strengthen labour laws and workers' rights.
  • Implement strong environmental regulations and shift to renewable energy.
  • End the criminalisation of homelessness and decriminalise poverty.
  • Prevent the profit-based motives attached to housing, provide affordable housing and rent control.
  • Cease exploiting natural resources and promote sustainable practices.
  • End the privatisation of public goods and services, and transition to a system where resources and means of production are held in common, rather than owned by individuals or corporations
  • Promote community-based economic development, local ownership, participatory budgeting, and democratic decision-making processes.
  • Progressive taxation to redistribute wealth.
  • Invest in public services and social programs to address poverty and inequality.
  • Phase out any legal frameworks that allow corporations to exist as entities with rights and privileges.
  • Transition to a system where the primary goal is meeting human needs and sustainability, rather than generating profit.
  • Cancel all debts, both personal and national, and transition to a system that does not rely on debt-based financing.
  • Transition to a system where work is not seen as a commodity, and people are not forced to sell their labour to survive.
  • Phase out the marketing and advertising industries, which perpetuate consumerism and fuel the growth of capitalism.
  • Abandon pursuit of economic growth as a measure of success, and focus on sustainability, well-being, and social justice.
  • Limit executive compensation.
  • Implement policies to prevent tax evasion and avoidance.

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