Michael Albert on Social Movements & Getting Parecon

[mihiribrayan]

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[blaziermissy]

Our economic system is thwarting multi-progress areas. Mechination is here and the need for people in the service sector, which is where most of our jobs are, will be gone. Thus, we MUST move to a resource based economy.

Not to mention that we're competing with each other to meet our needs.

I disagree with Albert in that we don't need a world system. It's imperative that we merge to end the problem of war, to pool the resources, & to apply a systems approach for sustainability.

[funkmasterswede]

I honestly feel that parecon requires an almost overwhelming amount of politicization. Personally, I feel that consumer councils are not necessary and I see a market fear in Parecon. If this society is equitable then demand should be modelled via individuals not through councils. A consumer council would miss the inarticulate information that affects people.

[pixilatedpirate]

First there are two kinds of consumption, personal and collective. The choices an person makes for personal consumption are private. All the consumer council does is to communicate between the producers and consumers. The consumer council (which everyone is involved with if they want) might also decide on collective consumption, things that are used by a whole community, neighborhood or region.

[pixilatedpirate]

Second parecon is a market abolition model. As markets: 1) Hide human relations, ensuring that economic calculations focus only on dollars and numbers 2) Promote antagonism among buyers and sellers, putting people at odds, yielding conflict and precluding solidarity 3) Promote a class of intellectuals dominating traditional workers, precluding democracy and self management 4) Are bias against social goods, diminishing social and ecological concern.

[pixilatedpirate]

Hope that helps :)

[fluffyliddiard]

So personal consumption would be going to the store and purchasing goods that the collective consumer council has prescribed as wanted or needed for the society? Could that create a censorship not just on unwanted products for various good reasons for society(my opinion) like health hazards, environmental damage, but also stop things that individuals choose to buy without wanting to proclaim the want of them publicly.

[fluffyliddiard]

well...(i'll answer myself then, perhaps), it seems that anonymous choices can be put forward to consumer councils, from what i read. how anonymous choices then get any air-play within a council is the an interesting point. say, with no one willing to openly support something that some support secretively personally.

[splf]

has anybody here read the book? If so can you please say whether it actually describes how, technically, PARECON actually works?  I mean, beyond the philosophy, does it describe how this system can be implemented? I understand the philosophy, I just don't know how this would work in reality.

[pixilatedpirate]

Yeah it does actually, there is a chapter in the book about just that, you can find the free online version by googling parecon or stopping by the znet website.

[SluttySanta]

Definitely sounds like a MUCH longer discussion than this 7:36 summary. I wasn't sure what parallel he was drawing between the "no nukes" movement and movements against racism and sexism. Guess I'll have to visit parecon.org.

[phillipmcgarry]

it's about injustice. injustice is the same whether it's against women or racial minorities or whether it's against working class people. sexism and racism is no different than classism.