I don’t really see how that’s a problem for Communism. People go without megamansions all the time in Capitalism, and it isn’t just those who can afford them that want them. Satisfying a much larger quantity of needs is a good thing.
Comrade Cowbee already followed with great responses but I want to add that we usually forget to factor in why would someone want more?
That’s easy to answer currently because we live in a capitalistic world where individualism and greed are taught to us since we are little and are constantly hammered into our heads. We must consume, we must have more, etc.
That will not be the case in a communist society. At that stage of development, these capitalistic ideals would not be alive in the collective consciousness of people. So, while today we can ask why wouldn’t someone want more, someone from that future might ask why would I want more if I already have everything I need?
I don’t think the idea of Communism that exists in your head is the same understanding of Communism that Marxists have, if that’s the question you’re asking. Could you explain how you think someone would go about “trying to aquire more wealth than they need” in a Communist system to begin with, and why it would be an issue?
I’m trying to understand where the differences are in our understanding so I can better get across what I’m talking about, I’m not trying to insult your intelligence or anything.
Sure, so I’m completely unfamiliar with the whole Commune structure and am wondering how wealth would be acquired and distributed. Are people rewarded for their labor and how does ownership work?
Depends on the level of development of Communism, and we won’t know what is applicable to when until we get there. Communism isn’t a Utopia invented by Marx, but a prediction for the future based on analysis of politics and economics throughout history and the present, ergo we have to develop into it and see where it actually takes us.
In general, though, with a fully publicly owned and planned economy, people would be rewarded for their labor, yes, but it might take the form of labor vouchers, a different form of currency, etc designed to not be transferable to others in the economy individually, but with the social fund as a whole. This system of varying “prices” can be solved for using various feedback loops called “cybernetiks.”
I recommend reading Prices in a Planned Economy, it’s a useful intro to how to think about abolishing the commodity form.
I don’t really see how that’s a problem for Communism. People go without megamansions all the time in Capitalism, and it isn’t just those who can afford them that want them. Satisfying a much larger quantity of needs is a good thing.
Sure but how can Communism prevent someone from trying to acquire more wealth than they need?
Comrade Cowbee already followed with great responses but I want to add that we usually forget to factor in why would someone want more?
That’s easy to answer currently because we live in a capitalistic world where individualism and greed are taught to us since we are little and are constantly hammered into our heads. We must consume, we must have more, etc.
That will not be the case in a communist society. At that stage of development, these capitalistic ideals would not be alive in the collective consciousness of people. So, while today we can ask why wouldn’t someone want more, someone from that future might ask why would I want more if I already have everything I need?
I don’t think the idea of Communism that exists in your head is the same understanding of Communism that Marxists have, if that’s the question you’re asking. Could you explain how you think someone would go about “trying to aquire more wealth than they need” in a Communist system to begin with, and why it would be an issue?
I’m trying to understand where the differences are in our understanding so I can better get across what I’m talking about, I’m not trying to insult your intelligence or anything.
Sure, so I’m completely unfamiliar with the whole Commune structure and am wondering how wealth would be acquired and distributed. Are people rewarded for their labor and how does ownership work?
Depends on the level of development of Communism, and we won’t know what is applicable to when until we get there. Communism isn’t a Utopia invented by Marx, but a prediction for the future based on analysis of politics and economics throughout history and the present, ergo we have to develop into it and see where it actually takes us.
In general, though, with a fully publicly owned and planned economy, people would be rewarded for their labor, yes, but it might take the form of labor vouchers, a different form of currency, etc designed to not be transferable to others in the economy individually, but with the social fund as a whole. This system of varying “prices” can be solved for using various feedback loops called “cybernetiks.”
I recommend reading Prices in a Planned Economy, it’s a useful intro to how to think about abolishing the commodity form.