Ilan - Thanks for that article. Mapping out the future direction of society is in my opinion essential to the socialist project, and any way of making it more accessible is worthwhile. It is especially important to hear this from someone who has first hand experience of Kibbutzim.
Yours is very close to the system of Libertarian Municipalism proposed by Murray Bookchin. In fact I think there is just one point of difference – in your Glimpses, there is money: but it is only for luxuries; and everyone is given the same quota of that money (like a citizens wage); and it is only used for the retail purchases of individuals, not for settling accounts between workplaces and communities. So I think (or hope) that that would be seen as an acceptable modification to Libertarian Municpalism and communism in general - but other libcom readers might want to confirm or deny that for themselves.
Where you develop further than the vision of Murray Bookchin is to start to explain how the inter-community system of production, exchange, and supply is operated. I think that is essential to understand. And I like it that you do not under-estimate the scale and complexity of that task, which others have sometimes done.
But I have some concerns over the proposed ‘Regional Coordinators of the general supply system’. Working out difficult issues over detail is one of the reasons for publishing plans for future society, so I hope you are open to probing on this.
This excerpt is where my issue lies:
Glimpse 17 - Ti recruiting as coordinator to the central distribution systemSet told Ti she was a member of the Regional Mandating committee, and as the world economy is passing a significant shift after the energy supply became abundant, there is need for more coordinators in the general supply system. The shift in the world economy will need a lot of intervention to adjust supply to demand, including the production of materials and parts of wide spectrum of products. Set told her that the members of the regional mandating committee are busy with search for appropriate candidates for training to become regional coordinators. They search people who have already the basic knowledge needed, and willing to commit themselves for a long training, and willing to accept a long mandate in various levels of the supply system.
The task of the coordinator of each level was nearly the same - depending on which products one was responsible to coordinate. Most of the products were of mass production with many who needed them. There supply was relatively simple. Each level of distribution center had its long time suppliers and reserves. The fluctuation in supply and demand did not need more than request for a bit increase or decrease in production from producers or transfer of products from the reserve of a neighbouring region/city/district.
Some products - like fruits and vegetables which had natural fluctuations in them and long periods of production. They were coordinated by both cold storage and flexibility in the allocation of products to industrial processing. It was also accepted norm that some times, when demand exceed supply, the distribution will be according to quotas.
The more complicated tasks were to adjust supply to demand wherever there was a change in technology - like with the medical equipment produced by Ti grass root community. In such cases, the relevant level production committee was invited to involve itself.
As Set told Ti, the wide spread change in demand due to the lifting of restriction in energy consumption, was expected to bring about lot of changes in demand. This will put pressure on the production factories and even on raw materials. At time like that there is a special need for coordinators with involvement in advanced technology like Ti.
1) Now it seems obvious that the ‘regional coordinators of the general supply system’ will be influential people, just note the selected phrases I marked in bold from the above: 'appropriate candidates …. long training …. long mandate …. quotas …. complicated tasks …. adjust supply to demand …. involvement in advanced technology'. That sounds a lot like a potential party vanguard, an expert elite, handing their orders down to the proletarian masses below.
So the question is, what will prevent them (the 'regional coordinators of the general supply system') becoming a new ruling elite, a 'coordinator class' (to use Parecon language), a duplicate of the apparatchiks of the Soviet bureaucracy? They would appear to have the opportunity to wield enormous power, which, given the complexity of the coordination tasks, no amount of direct democracy supervision could ever hope to control in detail.
We don't want to re-invent the USSR economy: how do your Glimpses stop that happening?
2) A second question arises from this: Will direct exchange relationships between different grassroots communities and workplaces be prevented? And if so, how?
I'm assuming the 'regional coordinators of the general supply system' won't be happy people if grassroots communities and workplaces simply ignore their instructions and start exchanging goods with one another on an un-coordinated basis. Especially if such exchanges are done on a barter basis, or otherwise where supply is not matched to need.
You could simply turn a blind eye to such infractions of the regional coordinations, and permit the formation of a grey market, believing perhaps that it would be of such minor extent as not to threaten the general direction of society. Or that, in any event, it's suppression by police means would be counterproductive or unacceptable or both.
Or you could have strict prevention of black markets - as Parecon calls for - regardless of the implications for policing and civil liberties.
Some further explanation on those areas would be helpful. Although I appreciate you can't work everything out from your Glimpses immediately and that more collaboration and debate may be needed first.
Andrew.
Can comment on articles and discussions
I'm thinking more along the lines of Tampa Bay. Florida's, if not America's, bukkake capital.