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> whom they propose to give that power of appropriation, and why they trust them to use it wisely. Existing state structures, through taxes/subsidies/governme
by abdullahkhalids 3y ago
> whom they propose to give that power of appropriation, and why they trust them to use it wisely.
Existing state structures, through taxes/subsidies/government expenditure/laws/regulations, already redistribute wealth from some socioeconomic classes to others. These structures are to certain extent decided by elected officials and somewhat by other big players (eg. bank regulations on overdrafting).
Degrowthers are asking that society elect officials who make the economic changes they want, which they are legally empowered to do. Since, the overall system is not being changed, I am not quite sure what your concern is.
> Did those forms of socialism create just societies or enact massive violence against humans and nature?
Please understand the difference between democractic socialism and Marxism (and its failed implementations in the USSR). Various forms of democratic socialism are practiced across Europe and Canada and they are not particularly known for massive violence against their own citizens.
- RandomLensman 3y agoEuropean democratic socialism very much has a growth focus, very unclear what a degrowth variant would look like.
- hcks 3y agoWhat do you mean? Europe has been pretty much degrowing since 2008
- RandomLensman 3y agoNot on purpose...
- yorwba 3y agoEU GDP has grown by 15.3% from 2008 to 2022 https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD?locations=EU&start=2008 https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD?location... Is that really what degrowth looks like?
- RandomLensman 3y agoGetting close to at about 1% per year.
- semi-extrinsic 3y agoIt's less that European democratic socialism has a growth focus, and more that the entire global financial system is built on the fundamental assumption of continuous growth. In the presence of degrowth, what would a reasonable inflation target be for the central bank? What should the interest rate be? Should the government issue more debt? Under what circumstances should individuals or companies be eligible for incurring debt? AFAIK, all of these questions don't have good answers so far, whether you are a capitalistic or a socialistic nation.
- RandomLensman 3y agoAs a policy it has its origins in improvement of sorts for large sections of the population - definitely it never advocated degrowth in its origins which predate the current financial system.