Like pretty much everyone here I think socialism and communism are the only way forward for human society. But I've noticed a lack of theorizing about how things might operate once we reach "real communism." I.e: the stateless, moneyless, classless society Marx described. This might not be the right comm but I think it's relevant bc I'm interested in the structure of society under communism.
Has anyone seen any good, fleshed-out media depictions or descriptions of Full Communism™️? Or, how do you personally think it would look?
The Culture series by Iain M. Banks is Fully Automated Luxury Gay Space Communism, the Series. It's not made explicit but it's an entirely classless, resource abundant society where people change everything about themselves and live for hundreds of years under the rule of benevolent AI where they can pursue basically any whim they can think of. It's awesome.
Bonus points for depictions that don't rely on significant technological advances.
Personally, I find it difficult to imagine Full Communism. I have a hard time imagining how billions of humans can live without anything worth calling a state. I have a hard time imagining how certain occupations -- doctors, for instance -- won't be (justifiably) respected enough (and maybe rewarded enough) to be worth calling a distinct class. I think money is incredibly useful, and I think we can eliminate capitalism and private accumulation of wealth without re-inventing something to replace money (e.g., something like non-fungible labor vouchers). I can't really imagine this stuff, but I dream of the day when some 14-year-old Maoist guillotines me as a conservative.
Here's what I can imagine: A world where the means of living decently -- decent food, housing, education, healthcare -- are guaranteed to everyone by the government. There is broad recognition that the collective wealth of humanity should be owned and managed collectively for the benefit of all. The largest sectors of the economy are 51% publicly owned (with that public ownership perhaps divided among different layers of localized governments), with the remaining ownership shares held by the workers in those sectors. Smaller parts of the economy are collectively owned and managed by workers, with strong public oversight. Private accumulation of wealth is heavily restricted -- e.g., luxury goods/services are managed like a library catalog, you can own and inherit a homestead but not much more -- and people obsessed with maximizing their personal wealth are viewed something like how we currently view people with addiction issues.
The largest sectors of the economy are 51% publicly owned (with that public ownership perhaps divided among different layers of localized governments), with the remaining ownership shares held by the workers in those sectors.
This exactly how I’ve envisioned a realistic transition to socialism. Basically a system of layered ownership through social wealth/worker ownership funds that could provide a pathway to common ownership without reinventing the wheel or disrupting the system to the point of causing shortages/famines. What would this transitional system be called? I’ve seen aspects of this brought up in various places, but I’ve never seen a specific name.
