Fully Automated Luxury Communism
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We often discuss the problem of how to describe our movement…various alternative names for socialism, communism resource based economy, cooperative commonwealth…etc etc…Most come with baggage
I thought this was an interesting label to call our proposed new society.
"Full automation" sounds ok for some things such as medicines, vehicles, some buildings and some staple foods – but I would prefer home cooked meals, and hand crafted articles in the home, such as clothing, utensils, furniture, etc. Technology is great, but not for everything.A society where we sit around just adjusting robots now and again sounds horrendous.I volunteer in my local park and get involved in ditch and pond clearance, mending fences, and dragging logs through muddy streams on a cold and rainy winter's day. I love it. Aren't we forgetting the pleasure of physical work, when it is voluntary?Meel
Want to come around to my overgrown garden some day, Meel?…Happy to share the chores with you…Me watching you doing all the physical hard work, that'll be enough to tire me out
Deal!
Meel wrote:"Full automation" sounds ok for some things such as medicines, vehicles, some buildings and some staple foods – but I would prefer home cooked meals, and hand crafted articles in the home, such as clothing, utensils, furniture, etc. Technology is great, but not for everything.A society where we sit around just adjusting robots now and again sounds horrendous.I volunteer in my local park and get involved in ditch and pond clearance, mending fences, and dragging logs through muddy streams on a cold and rainy winter's day. I love it. Aren't we forgetting the pleasure of physical work, when it is voluntary?MeelAbsolutely Meel! I couldn't agree more! And what better refutes the argument that socialism could not work because "people are inherently lazy" than the practical example of volunteer work we see around us today and in such abundance… In a socialist society I would hope some aspects of work would become more labour intensive even if the more boring or dangerous work might become more automated. I think growing food is a case in point where there is a very strong argument for shifting towards a more labour intensive organic approach. Contrary to what some might think,small scale, multi crop organic farms are much more productive per hectare than large scale monoculture farms. They are also a lot more environmentally sustainable. In terms of output per farm worker they may not be as productive as large scale monocultural farms but this is slightly misleading since you have to also factor in the indirect labour involved in the manufacture of inputs for the latter. In any case since in a socialist society most of the work we do in capitalism will no longer need to be done, that means there will be an abundance of labour available for socially useful work of all kinds. Given this, it makes sense to adjust the nature of technology – the degree of "capital intensity" you use – to fit the facts of labour supply as you find them . Its called "optimising your use of factor inputs" One more reason why socialism will be a much more efficient way of organising production!
"Contrary to what some might think,small scale, multi crop organic farms are much more productive per hectare than large scale monoculture farms. They are also a lot more environmentally sustainable. "Yes, I remember reading this somewhere.Also intersting was somthing I read about "agroforestry" which is, according to Wikipedia:"Agroforestry or agro-sylviculture is a land use management system in which trees or shrubs are grown around or among crops or pastureland."It then goes on to say this type of growing food can increase productivity and profitability(!).But it sounds an interesting concept which can surely be used in a society where profitablity is no longer the driving factor.
Hi MeelHere are one or two links that might be of interest on the higher productivity of smaller multicropping farms vis a vis large scale monocultural unitshttp://www.monthlyreview.org/090810altieri.phpand this article by Geoffrey Lean:"Study after study show that organic techniques can provide much more food per acre in developing countries than conventional chemical-based agriculture. One report – published last year by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) – found that 114 projects, covering nearly two million African farmers, more than doubled their yields by introducing organic or near-organic practices. Another study – led by the University of Essex – looked at similar projects in 57 developing countries, covering three per cent of the entire cultivated area in the Third World, and revealed an average increase of 79 per cent. And research at the University of Michigan concluded that organic farming could increase yields on developing countries' farms three-fold.("Organic is more than small potatoes", Daily Telegraph, 7 Aug 2009).
Our SOYMB blog has many, many many posts on farming and agriculture and has been drawing attention to what is called food sovereignty and agroecology. The bloggers feel the issue is one of importance and relevance for the world socialist movement and have been making sure that the topic is well-covered. This merely one example of what has been discussed
Quote:Food sovereignty is about the right of peoples to define their own food systems. Advocates of food sovereignty put the people who produce, distribute and consume food at the centre of decisions on food systems and policies, rather than the demands of global markets and corporations that have come to dominate the industrial food system.There is now extremely good evidence that small-scale sustainable farming can deliver as much if not more food than large-scale corporate-controlled agriculture. For example, research by the UN showed that switching to agroecological farming methods has increased yields across Africa by 116% and by 128% in East Africa compared to conventional farming.There is also plenty of evidence that the livelihoods of farmers and communities can be improved, and that agroecology can deliver a huge range of other benefits, including reducing the gender gap, creating jobs, improving people’s health, increasing biodiversity, and increasing the resilience of food systems to cope with climate change.http://socialismoryourmoneyback.blogspot.com/2015/03/forward-to-nature.htmlUse the blog's search facility and you'll find a rich source of information from a wide diversity of articles posted on it from a variety of authors and organisations.
Thanks robbo and alanjjohnstone, for the recommended links. I will follow them up. Exactly when I don't know – I am drowning in recommendations since I started mooching around on this forum!
Have now followed up on the links – all very interesting.I have come across La Via Campesina before, possibly in Raj Patel's book Stuffed and Starved. Might be worth a re-read.It is good to know that the possibility is there to convert very quickly to sustainable, organic and small-scale agriculture, should we need to do so.The Cuban example growing food for themselves after the fall of the Soviet block, and the UK during the 2nd world war are good examples of what can be achieved.
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