5 ms·
I'm a big fan of an economic philosophy known as distributism, popularized by G.K. Chesterton and Hillaire Belloc more than a century ago. It basically says th
by jawns 8mo ago
I'm a big fan of an economic philosophy known as distributism, popularized by G.K. Chesterton and Hillaire Belloc more than a century ago.
It basically says that the economy works best when ownership of productive property is as diffuse as possible -- when a high percentage of the population has some ownership, and it's not concentrated in the hands of a relatively few wealthy shareholders (in the case of capitalism) or the government (in the case of communism/socialism).
Under distributist principles, I would say that we should pursue economic policies that allow the ownership of productive AI to be widespread, whether that's in the form of cooperatives, employee ownership, or other means of giving the average person access to that ownership. (I acknowledge that it's currently possible to invest in publicly traded AI companies, but would prefer to see other ownership opportunities as well.)
- ap99 8mo agoThis type of economic philosophy is impossible. There will always be people who are more motivated and capable of consolidating power. That cannot be stopped. Capitalism and democracy (both with guardrails) are meant to harness and contain that energy such that it doesn't instantly destroy a society. Religion goes in there somewhere too. None of these systems of organization are perfect, and they don't seem ideal on the surface. When you see them in practice there are many flaws. But they are feasible. Your 'distributism' system doesn't pass the feasibility test.
- pu_pe 8mo agoThis already happens in Europe and China, today.
- jawns 8mo agoAre you not familiar with the many ways in which distributism is already practiced and has been practiced during the past two centuries? Every federal credit union in the U.S., every worker's cooperative or consumer cooperative -- including biggies like Mondragon in Spain and The Cooperative in U.K. -- is organized in the way that distributism advocates. There is nothing stopping us from electing lawmakers who recognize that society becomes healthier when the ownership of productive property is not concentrated, and who advocate for economic policies that promote more diffuse ownership.
- akramachamarei 8mo agoAt a surface level, an important difference between "distributism" and the supposed examples you provide is that those examples are each (correct me if I'm wrong) consensual, but it's not clear whether this "distributism" would be consensual. It smells like force would be required to keep people in line.
- consumer451 8mo agoI found this list years ago, do all of these companies qualify, or is there another requirement? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_employee-owned_companies https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_employee-owned_compani...
- thrance 8mo agoCapitalism enables the boundless concentration of wealth and power in individuals. I reject the premise that seeking to become a billionaire is a natural behavior, instrinsic to the human experience. I won't pretend to know what should replace capitalism, but I am sure we can do better.
- plastic-enjoyer 8mo ago> This type of economic philosophy is impossible. Well, with that attitude, it will definitely remain impossible.