Democratic Socialism Manifesto
Currently, the Manifesto Board of Writers (and contributors) consists of:
Comrade Mephistopheles, chairman and founding writer
Comrade Ling (A contributor)
Comrade Nikolai Kirov, our head writer besides myself
Comrade SweetOne (A contributor)
Ingsoc Officer (Currently our head contributor)
Kazooka, a writer
notable diversity, a writer
And, currently, supporters of this document include:
Acebrock
Chairman
Comrade Ling
Comrade Mephistopheles
Comrade Nikolai Kirov
Comrade SweetOne
Ingsoc Officer
Kazooka
notable diversity
orwelliantherye
RAK
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Foreword
It’s observable that the easiest way to determine the overall sophistication of a culture can be done by analyzing its technological sophistication. Of course, some cultures exist without proper means of applying more and more sophisticated equipment to increase the productivity of everyday life. The Easter Islanders once had trees, but most likely uprooted their entire ecosystem of trees in order to bring the famed statues of Easter Island to their positions. In the end, the entire island was deforested, and the inhabitants were thus without any means of leaving the island by building boats. They were completely culturally isolated until European contact.
In a sense, even the Africans and the Indians of southern Asia were like this. Their cultures had neither the motivation nor the ability to progress naturally at that point in time, due to social immobility and lack of adequate resources to sustain a growing and thriving technological culture. Africa lacked the wide variety of crops available to the cultures that inhabited Eurasia, and the wide variety of domesticatable animals. Horses were absent from Africa, thus limiting their ability to decrease communication and travel time, and their ability to operate plows and grain mills. It’s no wonder that Europeans conquered them with guns against spears.
The Chinese are a more diverse and unique people than we give them credit for. Dozens of regional dialects differ enough to make hundreds of “Chinese” languages, and the people themselves are quite diverse as an Asiatic race. Their society has mostly been a single culture, nothing on the level of European statism and fragmentation. Yet, without the level of competition against other cultures as existed in Europe and Mesopotamia, China developed at a technological rate that was unsurpassed for millennia, until approximately the 14th to 15th centuries, at which time China began to technologically stagnate, possibly due to self-imposed isolationist policies and or to the aftereffects of Mongol rule, but in any case, it allowed Europe to surpass her. In any case, for a time, China proved that technological advance doesn’t always require competition with a foreign power as an incentive. China was the sole power in the Chinese world; Japan was across the ocean and was even more isolationist than China, while China pursued a policy of deliberate isolation from neighboring civilizations, such as the Indians and the Javanese. Europe had always pivoted on the rule of competition, and it shows in the system of mixed market economy which Europe has spread throughout the globe.
Technology isn’t to be feared. Without efficient machines, we couldn’t grow crops with the ease we grow them today, and we certainly couldn’t build cities or empires.
By looking to the past to create a better future, we learn from our mistakes and triumphs, and can build accordingly. Without a firm grasp of history, we are bound to repeat the same mistakes our forefathers made.
We advocate a society in which science is completely secular, where society is secular, and where the nation is ruled by average everyday citizens. We advocate a socialist economy and direct democratic political system. We advocate equality and egalitarianism where both are applicable and possible. We advocate the organization of small-city-sized assemblies where any adult citizen can speak and vote for issues concerning the district of its assembly. We advocate socialism on a level in which labor unions control the means of production, or of companies. As a system which calls itself Democratic Socialism, all companies would be compelled to be organized into worker unions, operated independently, and comprised of all the workers employed by the specific company. Strict labor laws would ensure employment benefits and the protection of said unions.
Capitalism is not just an economic system. It's a mode of thinking; one of competition and exploitation of people into human resources and wage-laborers. In America, many people work full-days and still barely get by financially; which is an economic crime. The goal of Democratic Socialism is to establish direct democracy, unionize corporations to better establish a base for socialistic policies, and restructure society and education to place greater emphasis on cooperation and free aid (free aid meaning aid without a price tag or strings attached) than competition and exploitation (exploitation meaning giving aid with interest or strings or price tag attached, and exploitation meaning the manipulation and domination of people into human resources).
The 21st century should be an age when technology is harnessed to enhance the life of all people and enrich that which makes us human: art, science, culture, politics, and the pursuit of happiness. We need to establish a new enlightened work-life balance. No one should have to work more than 35 hours or a five day week. We welcome flexible working arrangements, the extension of maternity and paternity leave, job sharing, sabbaticals, the extension of the minimum wage and the introduction of a maximum wage.
In the present day, society is overwhelmed with many definitions and variations of socialism. In this we wish to establish a final and correct definition for Democratic Socialism. In order to understand our ideas, we must first analyze the properties of the title Democratic Socialism. When we speak of this we are not referring to the Social Democrats who plague our movement, or either social reformism in bourgeoisie democracy. When we speak of Democratic Socialism, we speak of the economics of socialism within a pure direct democracy.
- Democratic - Referring to democracy not representative democracy, but rather real, direct democracy, pure.
- Socialism - The means of production under the control of the working class, not a centralized bureaucratic government.
Our Declaration of Principles
Redistribution of Wealth
Our basic position is support for a socialist governance based on economic and political equality. In opposing authoritarian centralism both within government and political party structures, it supports economic and political power being operated at the most appropriate level. It therefore supports democratically elected and accountable forms of governance at international, national, regional and local level. We recognize that the main role of government is to provide the social and economic infrastructure which cannot be organized by individuals or groups of individuals and to provide a framework for the operation of ‘civil society’. We accept that a central role of government is redistribution – to use the wealth of individuals and corporate bodies for the benefit of the population as a whole. We recognize the diversity of both politics and culture and that governance is necessary in both protecting diversity and individual rights, while ensuring that rights cannot be exercised in a way that denies the rights of others.
We therefore support the limitation of personal wealth and the operation of a progressive taxation system. The Government therefore should introduce higher rates of taxation for households on higher incomes and limit the accrual of personal and household wealth through both inheritance and the appreciation of land and property assets. The Government should focus on policies of wealth and income redistribution rather than incentivizing personal and household asset appreciation. The Government’s focus, for example, on increasing the number of households who are homeowners through use of tax resources as incentives represents an unacceptable bias towards focus on middle income households at the expense of the households on lowest incomes. It also makes the economic fortunes of even more households dependent on market forces outside their control. The Government has a short memory. One product of market cycles is negative equity and mortgage default repossessions.
On Ethnic Sovereignty
We believe, as the UN Charter guarantees, in a homeland for every major ethnicity. By this, we mean in the sense of foreign nation-building for an ethnicity which lacks a homeland of their own. We also recognize that such an achievement is no easy task, as events in Israel/Palestine indicate. However, we stand firm in our belief that every major people should have a sovereign voice to govern their own destinies without fear of foreign influence or domination. We support the peaceful union and federation of nations coming together to end animosity, competition, and wars. We believe in a federated humanity.
At any one time at least 20 military conflicts rage across the world with war in the Middle East being the paramount international flash point. While we support the right of national groups to a degree of political autonomy, the right to self determination, including for Palestine, Israel, the Kurds, Sunnis and Shias in Iraq, is conditional on respect for the rights of other national groups, especially where there is no clear territorial separation. We campaign for an international socialism, and for structures for world governance and dispute arbitration as a goal for a humane, egalitarian and democratic world.
On Equality
We believe in a more egalitarian approach to political theory and application thereof. We believe in moving forward in progress towards the better status of equality between sexes, religious groups and non-religious groups, cultures, and nations. We seek peaceful coexistence with each other. We support the organization and defense of these rights of equality of workers everywhere, as well as the rights of children, and the rights of women to be free from sexual slavery and unofficial institutionalized barbarism. We reject racism and historical revisionism which intends to seek inequality amongst all the peoples of the world.
We want a proportional electoral system where every vote counts equally. We believe active, democratic political parties are a crucial vehicle for social and economic change, but recognize they must be inextricably linked to extra-governmental movements to effect a fundamental redistribution of wealth and power. Economic and social justice is a prerequisite of a truly democratic society.
On Human Rights
We believe, as the Universal Declaration guarantees, in basic fundamental human rights for all. We feel that nations and organizations which seek to restrict the human rights of others should be condemned. We believe that all men and women, regardless of color, creed, ethnicity, religion, or otherwise attributes that differ from others, to be entitled to rights, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We reject the notion that some human rights aren't appropriate for certain cultures or nations at this time.
For Democracy
We believe in a system of direct democracy to be the best way to ensure the average citizen maximum voting and contributory power in the system. We believe in freedom of opinion and assembly, in free elections, in the separation of legislative, executive, and judicial powers, and in the separation of state and religion. We support the traditions and institutions of democracy in nations in which liberal and pluralist democracies rule.
We stand for workers’ democracy, be it in the factory, office, school, supermarket or farm. Producers and providers should have a powerful voice in the decision-making process mediated by the needs of service consumers and stakeholders. A Freedom of Information Act should apply to government, society and corporations which should no longer be able to hide behind the mask of company law to deny information to their employees.
Against Tyranny
We believe in the rejection of reactionary and anti-democratic institutions, movements, and governments. We refuse to make apologies for tyranny, or "understand" tyranny for which democracy is a hated enemy. We define tyranny as a regime in which the people are oppressed, and as movements that seek to do so.
We condemn nations classified as tyrannical, oppressive, restrictive, or anti-democratic. We remain skeptical of nations with approval ratings in the higher nineties and nations with only one legal political party. We recognize the anti-democratic nature of these nations, and offer only our sympathies and pity to the people ruled by those nations.
On Freedom of Criticism and Ideas
We believe in the freedom of peaceful thought and expression. Within the laws of defamation, libel, and incitement to violence, the right to criticize others must be protected. This includes the right to criticize religion in general or in specific. Respect for others does not entail remaining silent where these are judged to be wanting.
On Justice
We believe in the right to all men and women to be judged by a jury of their peers. We believe that all those brought to trial for any crime have the right to presumption of innocence, and the rights granted by the Miranda court ruling; namely: the right to remain silent without fear of incrimination thereof, and the right to a lawyer provided by the state at no charge to the defendant.
The Politics of Democratic Socialism
The System of Direct Democracy
Rule by a federal government entails corruption, oligarchy, and a general reversal of democratic rule. Strict centralized authority overrides local power. Therefore, direct democracy must be established. Each city, or county, of approximately 50,000 citizens, would form a local Assembly of all adult citizens in legal standing, provided they are not incarcerated or incapable of participating in society. These Assemblies would operate as a free forum. Assembly-wide, individual laws would be established, concerning tax rates and so on for the territory ruled by each respective Assembly. Through localized decentralization, pressure is taken off the federal government, and it becomes obsolete. There would be federal organizations only to coordinate wide-scale disaster relief operations and so forth. Such issues as narcotics and gun control which would hinder travel for citizens (you could be arrested for a law you’ve never heard of before) would be decided at the national level of Assembly, while issues like tax rates and tax types would be decided at the local level of Assembly.
The Assemblies would operate as a forum. 10 Councilmen would be elected each year to each Assembly’s Council to oversee and organize Assembly actions. A Councilman would organize proposals, initiatives, and set schedules. Their financial spending as well as activities would be subject to monthly reviews to prevent lobbying and corruption. Any citizen may speak and put forth initiatives after approving it with the Council. Any citizen may vote in the Assembly and attend meetings of the Assembly to be held at the discretion of the respective Councils. Voting would be organized by mail-in ballots and would remain strictly secret-ballot.
To further clarify, Councilmen make no decision independently, and all Councilmen, on the local, regional, state, or national level are elected by the people of their respective territories. All decisions to be made are made at the Assembly level, and transferred through their respective councils up to the National Assembly. The National Assembly thus, as a legislative body, makes a national decision affecting every Assembly.
By decentralizing government power and placing it in the hands of the people, by organizing that power through local Assemblies, each local area would govern its own affairs democratically to maximize local efficiency and effectiveness without intense bureaucracy and overlooking.
There would be two levels of Assemblies. Namely, the Assembly of the City would oversee actions for its 50,000 some citizens, and lastly, the Assembly of the Nation which would oversee actions for its multiple State Assemblies. The National Assembly would vote and decide upon national initiatives and proposals affecting the entire nation. Each City Assembly would vote upon the national issue, and their respective Councilmen would be compelled to put forth that vote.
The percentage necessary to bring about a majority in the case of a mere Assembly, or a matter affecting the region, state, or nation and thus requires to go up the legislative ladder through the National Assembly, is 67%. In order for a vote to be a majority in the National Council, it must be a majority of 75%.
Constitutional Law and Autonomy of City Assemblies
The new government, taking power only from consent of the governed as a natural social contract would indicate, is to make a new constitution that will be markedly more individual and group oriented.
Disregarding those inefficient rules that contributed to the original downfall of the old government and placing a liberal, stringent, and effective document that will protect the individual and group rights [of which I assume a revised version of the American Constitution and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen will be a framework for this], while preserving some sense of unity and a semblance of local and national government that will be efficient without resorting to bureaucracy.
The new national Constitution's Bill of Rights would serve as a basis for each Assembly's Charter to begin with. From that point on, further Amendments and Articles would be ratified or struck out through democratic rule. In this way, Assemblies would be autonomous regions which govern themselves, and ratify their own laws, similar to how different States have their own Constitutions and differing system of laws and Articles and Amendments.
Oligarchial Institutions
I propose that oligarchial institutions be destroyed; namely: the Electoral College. It is undemocratic and violates the principles of democratic involvement. A common argument in favor of it is that, "The EC is meant to make sure that the people don't vote for a bad person, or that it is intended to prevent a tyranny of the majority." The problem with this argument is that “bad” is a subjective term, and democracy is majority. It only becomes tyrannical once freedoms are curtailed, and that is not democratic, but totalitarian.
War
Only a voluntary standing army, navy, and air force necessary for defense of the nation should exist. It is the right of every law-abiding citizen to possess a firearm. This is a right that the National Assembly will vote on; if the people want to retain or destroy this right, it's up to the people to do so democratically.
We put forth the philosophy that no war should be started by a Democratic Socialist society unless there is clear and present danger posed by a nation against a Democratic Socialist society, or allies of such a Democratic Socialist society, to be determined first by a unanimous vote of the National Assembly, and to be ratified by a popular vote of the population. Additionally, except for a basic internal security service, there should exist no intelligence agency, whether external or domestic, except to prevent spying and the likes. There should exist no governmental secrets except secrets determined by the National Assembly, and such secrets as how to build a bomb, etc.
Union with Canada
As equal language-cultures and generally of the same culture and history, as well as colonies of the same former mother country, we support an equal union between America and Canada, to be known as the North American Union. Each nation would operate independently domestically, but would operate together on matters of foreign policies. There would be a United Assembly for representatives from each state and province of America and Canada, respectively to vote on matters of international interest. No meetings of union between both nations would be held in secret; everything would be public to ensure the continuance of direct democratic socialism. Each country would operate its own judicial system. There would be two heads of state and a united cabinet of members from both Canada and America. The heads of state would be one from Canada, while one would be from America. They would alternate roles as head of state to visiting dignitaries, issue policies to the cabinet, and visit foreign nations. If one nation needed resources, the other would allocate resources freely.
The Justice System
We feel that it would be best to further democratize the government by requiring all judges and Supreme Justices to be elected officials. Judges would be elected by citizens of their respective districts while Supreme Justices would be elected nation-wide. State Supreme Justices would be elected state-wide. We feel that the American system of justice is a good start to base the new system on, and possibly, keep it as close to the original as possible.
The Social Policies of Democratic Socialism
Capital Punishment
The state clearly has no absolute right to put its subjects to death although, of course, almost all countries do so in some form or other (but not necessarily in the conventional form of capital punishment). In most countries, it is by arming their police forces and accepting the fact that people will from time to time be killed as a result and therefore at the state's behest.
We feel that no state should have the inherent right to execute its own citizens. Not only is this reminiscent of our barbaric past and even barbaric modernism, but it inflicts trauma on all people involved, can result in the death of an innocent which cannot be replaced or repaid in full, and is needlessly cruel. We feel that the deterrent to commit capital crimes is overrated as a result of capital punishment. We therefore propose to abolish the death penalty and replace it with life imprisonment. We feel this is a more rational course of action.
Punishment is supposed to be for the protection of society, and for the reformation of the wrongdoer. It purports to protect society by preventing the same criminals from repeating their crimes, and by acting as a deterrent to other prospective criminals. Capital punishment is a notorious failure in these respects. It does indeed remove the particular culprit from the possibility of repeating his crime; but this is of very small account in view of the fact that murder is seldom a career of repeated acts, but consists of single acts perpetrated by different individuals. The man whom we remove from the scene, therefore, is not the man who, if suffered to live, would have been likely to endanger our safety.
As to the reformative character of punishment, it is scarcely necessary to point out that capital punishment effectually removes all possibility of this by cutting short the life of the wrongdoer and thus taking away both his chance of reform and our opportunity of discharging the duty of reforming him.
Censorship
There should be no implementation of censorship of any kind. This does not mean there will not be laws against slander, libel, incitement to violence, or the like. There should be a free and uninterrupted flow of information, while protecting individual privacy overall. To assuage parents and people who wish to control what they or their children watch, controls shall be put into place informing them of content, thus allowing them to choose what they see. What people do on their own with whatever or whomever they choose shall not be of any concern to the government. The new government should not make laws contrary to these principles.
Education
The education system would be revamped as each Assembly sees fit. One basic foundation would be the organization of a strictly secular education system. Emphasis would be placed upon technology and innovation, as well as intellectual achievements, the sciences, and the arts. Individual achievements should be encouraged as a cornerstone of a thriving civilization, and a rich culture. Education should be free except for the university level.
Increased education funding would likewise increase the skilled worker pool, and make sure our respective societies do not decay from apathy. Informed citizens who are both educated and skillful make effective enemies of potential rise of totalitarianism which grips China and quite a few other noteworthy countries.
The sciences would be encouraged. Secular scientific analysis and development would be taught in order to educate on the dangers of ignorance and superstition. Religion and spiritual philosophy would not be taught, and would remain in the hands of every parent. Scientific theories, and not religious dogma, would be established as the cornerstone of science. Environmental, climate, geographical, and resource theory would be applied to the study of demographic history, and cultural domination. Hopefully, the study of demography would encourage cultural tolerance rather than racism and prejudice.
An emphasis on languages would be put into place, making at least one foreign language class a requirement throughout high school.
An emphasis on the arts would be implemented. Students would be encouraged to display artistic achievement and ability, be it love of literature, of music, of art, of drama, and so on. Through emphasis on culture, a cultured youth would ascend.
Schooling would also emphasize the establishment of job skills. Classes concerning finance, socialization, and living independently would be established, or put into curriculum of other classes.
A basic understanding of law would be taught as well. Study of the Constitution, Charter, and major foundations for jurisprudence and human rights would be implemented.
Physical education would be similar to the American physical education system simply for ease and familiarity. There would be two branches: "activity" P.E., and "weightlifting" P.E. Both would involve exercise such as running and basic exercising, but that's where they differentiate. While Activity P.E. would focus on sports and activities involving team competition or individual sporting competition, Weightlifting P.E. would involve "squatting", "benching", "leg-press" weightlifting activities, as well as physical exertion which wouldn't apply to sporting activities.
Discrimination, although a social issue, should be focused on and eradicated, as racism and sexism are to be considered anathema to a refined social order. Those with disabilities should be entitled to the same rights and opportunities as non-disabled people, and these things should be taught in schools.
Narcotics
Narcotics are a source of woe and joy to those who use it. Recognizing individual rights while at the same time recognizing individual rights may not be used as an excuse to justify causing or exposing harm to others, we therefore suggest most drugs, except those determined to be too dangerous, such as methanphetamine or heroin, to be legalized, but regulated and taxed accordingly. This will eliminate the underground of drug criminality, destroy the drug cartels, and eliminate drug-dependent poverty. This policy will also ensure drugs are clean and safe, as opposed to the commonly-tainted heroin.
While we largely support the legalization of narcotics as we describe above, the issue will ultimately be up to the National Assembly to decide on a national policy of drug use.
Religion
Religious institutions and ideology shall remain separate from the state in every area. There will be no “In God We Trust”, and no “one nation, under God”. It is the obligation of every citizen to prevent religious dogma from infiltrating a secular government of the people and for the people, not of the church and for the church.
All people are entitled to worship anything or anyone they please as long as it does not involve harmful activities such as suicide cults and the like.
Civil Rights
Being an ideology designed to give power and choice to every law-abiding citizen of the nation, we support and uphold the civil rights inherent to the American Constitution and to the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen.
The State shall grant secular marriage services to homosexuals, but no religious organization will be forced to perform any such ceremonies with individuals such an organization does not wish to marry. Marriage is therefore suggested to be "a union between two consenting adults".
What consenting adults do in the privacy of their homes or private establishments is their own business. It is not the business of the state to establish laws preventing people from doing things concerning only themselves and no others, and it is also not the business of the state to establish morality laws of any kind. Anti-sex laws are to be abolished.
The Economics of Democratic Socialism
Unionization
While capitalism is regarded as a corruptive element, it should not be discouraged, as it would be vital to an economy which is restarting and reforming. After that it is then up to the constituency to implement whatever plans they have for their economy. The formations of corporations, conglomerates, and monopolies have done, historically, more harm than good. It would not be wise to form these, but to promote unionization of industry. Agricultural cooperatives should only be formed voluntarily, as organized collectives have historically shown to be a failure.
All corporations of industry over a specific size (larger than a small business) should be run by their workers as a unionized corporation. The board of directors would be abolished, replaced by the union. Workers would be assigned, or propose, to handle matters of advertisement, quotas, etc, necessary for the function of a factory, business, or corporation. One founder would serve as a union Councilman. Each union would be composed of all the workers of the business, and would vote annually upon assigned duties discussed previously, and for a total of ten Councilmen (including the businesses’ founders if they wish to be a part) which would operate much the same way Councilmen of an Assembly operate. They would organize the union and keep order in a democratic fashion.
In our system, unions control companies. Take this example: Company A has 100 workers and 3 founders. One founder would be chosen to lead the Union's Council of 10, while the other 9 would be elected democratically amongst the workers. A reasonable minimum of expertise would be set for the qualifications of a Councilman. The Council of 10 would be elected annually to decide policy and keep order within the union. Wages will be equalized between all members of the union, so there will be no disparity in income between members of society.
One or more FCA representatives shall be assigned to each respective trade union/company to regulate each and to ensure lack of corruption, following established rules, and lack of power centralization.
Federal Commerce Authority
There will be established within the system of Democratic Socialism a Federal Commerce Authority to regulate all businesses. The FCA will have the power to set quotas in time of emergency, and transform factories and places of industry into the greater war machine in times of war. All companies would give a percentage of their profits to the FCA to support the FCA’s subsidization of companies that economically fail, and to bolster the national budget. The sovereignty of company unions will be respected. The operations of the FCA will be made public, and all meetings will be held in public chambers.
The FCA shall be comprised of one representative from each trade union/company. This way, democratic economic initiatives are ensured, and overall fairness is ensured because of collateral damage caused by bad proposals would affect all in general.
The FCA will have the power to organize domestic factories to replace offshore factories in order to establish a self-sustaining economy.
Election to the FCA’s Council of 10 will be internal; ten of the FCA trade union/company representatives shall be chosen to lead the Council. The term of a FCA councilman will be four years.
Monetary Policy
If we no longer need to worry about a national debt, income taxes, banking institutions issuing money for our countries at a profit, and fractional reserve banking, we are a step closer to becoming a less exploitive, capital centered society.
Introduction - What is a monetary policy? What is the Federal Reserve System?
Monetary policy, associated with credit and currency, regards how a government or central bank (in most situations it's the central bank) plans on managing the money supply of a nation; the printing and issuing of units of currency, inflation and deflation, adjusting interest rates, attaining economic growth, and maintaining an exchange rate [1]. Current monetary policy in the capitalist realm is known for relying on the fractional reserve system which is enforced by central banking institutions: the Bank of England in the U.K., the European Central Bank of the E.U., and the Federal Reserve System in the U.S.A. Fractional reserve banking refers to the banking system in place where a financial establishment gives out more bank notes than it has reserves in gold, or whatever the current backing of bank notes is at that time. It is not uncommon for banks in present day society to lend out many times the amount of reserves they hold [2].
Current monetary policy in the United States, as stated above, is handled by the Federal Reserve which is composed of a Board of Governors (appointed by the president), the Federal Open Market Committee (formed by twelve voting members: the seven members of the Federal Reserve Board, and five of twelve Federal Reserve Bank presidents), 12 localized Federal Reserve Banks in major U.S. cities whose directors are chosen by member banks, and finally an innumerable amount of private member banks who own stock in the local Federal Reserve Banks [3]. The Federal Open Market Committee is where monetary policy primarily flows from. The Federal Reserve is openly detached from the executive branch's oversight, as well as Congressional oversight; it's decisions do not need to be ratified by either branch of the government, it needs no annual federal appropriations (financing itself), and conducts its policy creation in secret. According to some governmental officials and political scientists, "money is too important to be left to democratic officials" (Dye & Zeigler, 2006: pp. 307-8). Apparently too important, as well, to at least be monitored by a democratic system, legislative officials, or the public. In 1913, it was generally agreed and decided that bankers should control the monetary policy of the U.S. and the government's power over money should be transferred over to the bankers in full, thus the Federal Reserve Act was created.
A final note on the current monetary system is the Fed's governance, which, "ensures its isolation from democratic politics." The seven governors on the board of the Fed, each appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, each serve a full term of fourteen years; appointments are such that one expires every even-numbered year. To ensure a new president cannot oust the current chairman and install a new one when he first enters office, the chairman of the board serves a four year term (Dye & Zeigler, 2006: pp. 308).
Proposed Democratic Socialist Monetary Policy & Contentions with Current Monetary Policies & Institutions
Because monetary policy usually isn't formulated by most parties before hand (in the United States they are not really needed to, because of the Federal Reserve), it may seem strange that we would create one. However, this policy is meant as a reform of the current monetary system (of America specifically, but in general) which has been needed for quite some time, in order to put more control in the public's hands. Democratic Socialism’s monetary policy aims to do many things. It should be noted that much of these suggestions originate from the Monetary Reform Act posited by Patrick S. J. Carmack, the creator of the documentary film "The Money Masters", and in no way did I originally conceive of the monetary reforms suggested by him. This act is primarily based on the United States' model of government, but can be applied to most nations. Other reforms originate from our criticism of the power monopoly that private bankers have obtained over many nations' monetary decisions. The Democratic Socialist monetary policy aims to reform/correct current monetary policy by:
• Restoring confidence in and governmental control over money and credit, as well as much farther-reaching democratic oversight
• Establishing true full reserve banking, at the same time prohibit fractional reserve banking
• Ending open market operations such as raising and lowering the reserve requirement
• Retiring the national debt
• Withdrawing from international banking establishments
• Restoring political accountability for monetary policy
• Removing the true causes of economic depressions
It must be noted that in no way do we advocate the complete removal of a central bank or other private banking institutions, but we do push for radical reforms to how banks work/act and how they present themselves to the public.
We support the transfer of issuance of currency from banks to the government to avoid having to depend on banks, and to avoid the interest that comes with the transfer of money from banks to the government for issuance.
We propose that the Democratic Socialist monetary policy be based on the content of the Monetary Reform Act which, in comparison to that of the fractional reserve system used by private banks to manipulate the current fiat currency, is far more democratic and appealing to a free society. Although a fiat currency has the potential to be beneficial at times, such as the issuing of 'greenbacks' (Demand Notes) by Abraham Lincoln during and after the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 to fund the war effort, we believe the idea of "irredeemable paper money with no intrinsic value" as well as not being backed by a standard weight and measure (like silver, gold, etc.) is wrong and contributes to or causes the problems of many nations. A silver standard would be much more preferable to even the gold standard, as less silver is concentrated in the top 10% of society than gold due to differences in rarity. Invoking an act such as Executive Order 11110 would be a priority in a Democratic Socialist monetary policy, in order to help facilitate the coming reforms. Such reforms are as follows, summarized from the Monetary Reform Act and are to be implemented over a 1 to 2 year period after amending acts such as the Federal Reserve Act and setting in motion the constitutional right of the U.S. Congress to print money:
• 100% Reserve Requirement: All financial institutions are to raise their reserve requirement to 100% over the transitional period in equal monthly increments of 8.5%. Because not all ratio's are at a similar level, no reserve requirements will be lowered, but will be increase as the overall reserve requirement surpasses them (Sec. 4, Monetary Reform Act).
• Retiring The National Debt: To retire the national debt in America, the government is authorized and directed to buy all outstanding federal debt from the public, with United States Notes and not Federal Reserve Notes (Sec. 5, Monetary Reform Act).
• Full Reserve Banks: Beginning after the transitional period, all financial establishments using "bank" in their title will no longer be allowed to engage in lending, but may charge fees for their services and shall only invest deposits in Treasury Department Deposit accounts. These banks must be labeled as being full reserve (100%), deposit, check or narrow banks, and must treat all deposits received as trust-funds of money being held for depositors. By the end of the transition period, these banks must have a dollar in United States Notes, on hand or invested in the above deposit accounts, for every dollar that is deposited in their institution. Banks are free to pay any rate of interest on demand accounts, which banks deposits will be placed in (Sec. 9, Monetary Reform Act).
• Lending Institutions: Banks, or any individual, may establish separate associations not to be titled banks (such as investment trusts, mutual funds, lending houses) to sell stock, to receive, borrow, lend or invest money at interest. By the end of the transitional period, this must be done only with existing funds (i.e. United States Notes and Treasury Deposits). Rules for full reserve bank deposits apply to lending institutions as well (Sec. 12, Monetary Reform Act).
• Repeal of Conflicting Acts: The National Banking Act of 1864 and amendments, and the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 and amendments, are hereby repealed, effective at the end of the transition period. All Federal Reserve System monetary authority and Federal Reserve Deposits shall be transferred to the Treasury Department. The Federal Reserve System and its District Banks shall not engage in open market transactions, nor change the Federal Funds Discount Rate, nor alter any Reserve Requirements, transfer, dispose of, nor move any gold or silver in either their physical or legal possession. The government is directed to replace gradually all outstanding Federal Reserve Notes with United States Notes, as soon as is practicable. Outstanding Federal Reserve Notes shall remain legal tender for all debts, public and private (Sec. 13, Monetary Reform Act).
• Penalties: After the transition period, no person may loan, create credit or liabilities payable on demand or transferable by check, credit card or electronic transfer, without having one hundred percent (100%) reserves of United States Notes, dollar for dollar, for any such amounts. Violation of this provision will subject the violator to civil penalties for fraud, and to criminal penalties (Sec. 14, Monetary Reform Act).
The remaining reforms suggested within the Monetary Reform Act would be implemented and acted on, but the summarized version of these sections (above) must be noted to be of paramount concern. Once again, do not credit me for these reforms, as I have only brought them to the attention of Democratic Socialism and its followers; the Monetary Reform Act is not my creation, but the creation of Patrick S. J. Carmack. We believe the correct monetary policy should follow the provisions listed within it, that a reformed monetary system would benefit all people in all nations, and that the monetary system, while under control of the government and not private banks, should be under strict supervision by the public. This is a first step.
The Use of Supply Side Policy
Why Supply Side Policy?
I have been observing the inflation rates of USA and my country, Singapore, and found a vast difference between the two. USA, with a staggering inflation rate of roughly 2.5% while Singapore's around 0.4 - 0.7%. College tuition fees was inflated up to 286% in 2006, I read in one article! It was a cause for concern. Inspired by how supply side policy worked for Singapore, I gave thought to whether it will apply to USA, and in the end, Comrade Mephistopheles and I decided it's a positive and thus adding it to the Democratic Socialism manifeso.
Supply side Policy's Target
In supply side policy, it is used primarily used to tackle inflation that arises from the production side of the economy. To name afew examples of how inflation in that sense comes about, the firms might use their market power to make more profit by pushing up their prices.
Following from inflation, the level of output or productivity of the country will fall. Then, logically, the standard of living for the citizens would drop.
Proposed Supply Side Policy's measures.
In order to reduce the inflation rate and to alleviate the lowered productivity of the country's workforce, the supply side policy involves around the following methods:
[li] Cuts in social and welfare programme to discourage people from remaining idle and to encourage them to rejoin the labour force.
[li] Reduction in personal income taxes so as to increase the incentives to work and to save, thereby increasing the supply of labour.
[li] Reduction in corporate taxes to increase incentives to invest.
[li] Reduction in government regulation of private enterprise. Government regulation of private enterprise tends to have adverse effects on productivity and costs because regulated firms are protected from compeition. A reduction in government regulation can result in greater efficiency.
[li] Increase labour productivity by encouraging education and training through subsides and establishment of more training centres and courses.
[li] Encourage research and development in product development and technique production.
Plus and minus points of Supply side
In the long run, these policies are the best solution since it does not stifle growth. In general, it improves empolyment, wages and standard of living, thus economic growth in whole.
However, the success of these policies cannot be ascertained because many factors need to be considered to bring about desired changes. With the increased governmental spending on subsides and grants for research, will it bring about a inbalance government spending and earnings? Though this loss could be recovered again from the same set of policies, making this quite infalliable. The required time to implement and observe the actual results might be long, this is the only visible downside of the policy.
Since Democratic Socialism focuses on the betterment of her people, I think with a better educated, competent workforce and population, it will be helping the people to better themselves already, as the famous saying goes, "Give a man a fish, he will notbe hungry for a day. Teach him to fish, he will not be hungry for life."
Minimum Wage
An increase in minimum wage for each Assembly should be considered once every five years.
Welfare
A system of socialized welfare should be sought for if we want citizens of our country to benefit the most from life and government programs, as well as benefiting from being a citizen of our nation.
A government system of socialized health care should be put into place. Waiting time would be longer in such a large nation as America (except in cases of extreme urgency), and a small co-pay should be required, and perhaps a hypothetical percentage of 75% should be subsidized by the government from the co-pay, but expenditures for medical care should plummet, and those dollars would mean increased buying power for the average citizen, and thus their standard of living should slightly increase. If people don't want to handle longer waiting times, they can always choose to opt for a traditional insurance-based medical care system, like the system we currently have. Both options should be easier for people to cope with. This health care plan should cover dental care.
I propose that the handicapped, the elderly, the people unable to work or apply themselves would deserve government benefits (i.e. welfare), and would receive it, because no one who is incapable of earning the benefits of labor deserves to be left behind. I abhor national systems in which we in effect abandon those who are in dire need of government aid. I feel that those who are without jobs shouldn't have to rely on handouts, but they shouldn't be written off as expendable. Welfare programs geared towards those who are without a job should help them acquire a new job, or in the case of unskilled unemployed workers, provide them with the skills they need to be able to work efficiently and productively in order to maximize our society's prosperity. There should also be benefits for the unemployed while they look for work.
However, this plan of reform does not mean it replaces Social Security. Social Security seems here to stay, at least for now, as a welfare institution.
Outsourcing Tax
In much of this world, economics is defined by some form of capitalist market; China is obviously one example, although its market is oligarchial. Obviously throughout history, society organizes itself into social classes because of the distribution of wealth. However, this organization and collectivization of power and wealth is what has plagued humanity since the dawn of time, and it is only now that the Machine can be geared towards the socialization of society, and eventually, equalization of wealth and power.
We propose a progressive outsourcing tax for corporations. Larger percentages of foreign-based labor for American companies would result in higher taxes for said companies. Lower percentages would lower the tax. In this way, companies are encouraged to employ Americans, rather than fire thousands, as has been happening for years, and outsourcing overseas.
The rate begins at 10% of the labor pool being outsourced, with the tax beginning at 50% of the percentage of workers being outsourced. For example:
10% outsourcing = 5% outsourcing tax;
25% outsourcing = 12.5% outsourcing tax;
50% outsourcing = 25% outsourcing tax;
75% outsourcing = 37.5% outsourcing tax.
Eventually, as companies and factories are established by the FCA to supplant outsourced factories and enable national self-sufficiency, there would be no need for this tax.
Mechanization of Manual Labor
For the most part, it is in the interests of the general welfare and working class that the implementation of the mechanization of the majority of labor be undertaken - not at a blistering pace, but at a definite speed, to which the people can enjoy the benefits of labor without working eight, ten or twelve-hour days for weeks at a time. This can be achieved by the outfitting of automation of the manufacturing and distribution facilities at present (and first on the list).
Secondly, when this part of the plan is finished, the reduction of hours (not of pay, mind you) can take place. Do note that the more mechanized the factory or farm is, the less people will have to work. There is still maintenance involved, but not so much as in the present time. This is intended to diminish the working class and the aptly-called 'rich people' by a great deal - and this is not a bad thing. Equalizing the classes by sharing the profits as the same as the rest does in essence give a social incentive to everyone.
And by doing this, the equalization of classes, the lessening of intensive labor and replacement by machinery and automation will have a bonus effect - the citizens can not only take their time at work, but also in leisure. The added time will have many benefits when not at 'work' - a lessening of stress, pursuits of academic interest and perhaps many other things which we, in this and other countries - will add to the cultured and well-rounded citizens of the hopeful model that is Democratic Socialism
Afterword
All of these reforms are intended to socialize society. By ensuring the health and education of citizens who wish to apply themselves, we help to maximize the efficiency of our society. Those who couldn't afford education before would be able to, and would be able to do their part as best as they could, in whatever position they are in.
In all, we declare that only in a system in which everyone has the opportunities to contribute and make a life for themselves would be a FAIR society.
It would be inappropriate for us to finish this document with the words "Workers of the world, unite!". This is by no means an ordinary manifesto, nor is it Marxist. This manifesto is the product of cooperation, amongst those who made every intensive effort to finish, fix and work, molding this framework to better suit the needs of the workers in this country and around the world.
We have only these aims to profess and to stand for - the liberation of the worker from wage-slavery, from both concealed and overt displays of tyranny and perfidy scarcely paralleled until now.
We aim to liberate from the dread apathy that has overshadowed many a nation; the puppetry, manipulation and psychological warfare that our governments have engaged upon us, binding us to their inexorable will; the intolerable ties and petty theft to the special servants of clandestine groups, the myriad churches and their demagoguery bombarding our inalienable rights with their personal hellish moralities.
We aim to free the worker from the abuses of the elite corporations against the constituent all-encompassing working class and their families - and to end exploitative global capitalism that aims to undermine the world and the people of every country.
So it is necessary - no, needed! - that we must unite as a single force - the average citizen, farmer, intellectual, and wage-laborer. The social contract by which we operate makes the state the servant of the people, not the controller of the people!
Laborers of all the countries around the world, unite by the Manifesto and cast your chains aside! We have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
To Do
We cannot stress enough that this document is a beginning and a work in progress. All Democratic Socialists should take an active part in helping to write this document. Revisions, additions, and deletions may be made to this document, but it does not mean that it is any less important than it was in its original form. We invite you to add your input.
We want to add members that represent the ideals of direct democracy and civil liberties. This can be done by targeting intellectuals, whether through library solicitation or Internet research. The intellectual elite will not only greatly assist the creation of a coherent and defensible theory, but will also offer the respectability needed by a great movement.
We need organizers, who will generally rise up from the initial general membership so they should be apparent relatively early.
We need the common man or woman. Membership in mass numbers will only come from word of mouth, specifically, our mouths.
Exclusion from Democratic Socialism must constitute some form of bigotry: such as sexism, racism, homophobia, or even people who might believe in fascism or some other form of extreme anti-democratic ideology. These people are people we do not want in our organization.
Labels: Democratic Socialism
posted by Ling Nemesis @ 7:07 PM
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