On Wednesday 26 August 2009, Rene Churchill wrote: > Rion D'Luz wrote: > > I wonder, since my wife asked same ? last night, what the resistance would > > be in moving to a more Egalatarian society; where everyone's time spent was > > worth the same, on par. rationalizing that exchanging services requires > > balancing a need for tools (the dentist), or highly specialized knowledge > > (accounting, computers, etc..), and would be measured differently than > > someone giving/offering say produce (food), or proof-reading, or something > > less skilled. > > I felt sad though for saying, and believing it. > > > While the socialist ideal of "From each according to their ability. To > each according to their needs" would result in a more Utopian ideal, it > just doesn't match up against reality. There needs to be some kind of > reward system to encourage folks to greater effort than just the minimum. Please explain how "From each.......To each......" produces a race to the bottom (just the minimum)?
>
> Ask any group of 1st graders. If the reward is the same for taking out
> the trash vs lugging a cord of wood, they'll all choose to take out the
> trash. They're generally good hearted and will all chip in to lug wood
> for the kid with a broken leg. However if one child always takes out
> the trash and another always carts wood, they'll sqawk about it being
> unfair pretty quickly.
If the time it takes to get out the trash is the same as moving cordwood
(assume one bag == 3 pieces of wood) then the tasks are equal, work-wise.
You're example assumes that taking out the trash is a 2-minute job and
moving the wood takes substantially longer, which is an unfair comparison.
>
> I looked into the Onion River Exchange and decided not to join. I just
> didn't see any chance of being able to leverage my efforts to make a
> time profit.
> If I could swap a couple hours of programming for a couple
> of hours of plumbing or carpentry then I'd be interested. Doing that
> plumbing or carpentry myself would take me much longer than a skilled
> pro, so by bartering for the skills I'd potentially free up time to
> spend with my wife & kids. Swapping consulting time for gardening or
> lawn mowing just doesn't gain my anything.
If the day ever comes (which some assert is just a matter of time) and food
security
boils down to growing one's own or getting it locally because oil costs drove
up
transport costs to unaffordable prices, if it's even available at all, then
you and many other of us professionals who don't know the 1st thing about stoop
labor and growing/hunting/foraging
may be standing in line to join:)
I say this only because I find it ironic, considering the North/South,
City/Rural, debate going on nationally
over health; in which those 'rednecks' libertarians who are (mostly) resisting
urban-dwellers' impositions
are going to be the ones best equipped to survive the downfall of surburbia
and, like many in VT, will be
asked to provide for those white-collar specialists so far removed from the
land-base that they would
have a hard time knowing a weed from a vegetable. But that's another thread
entirely:)
>
> Rene
>
Rion
--
3010 Rte 109
Waterville, VT 05492
email: rion_at_dluz.com
web: http://dluz.com/Rion/
AIM/Jabber/Google: riondluz
Phone: 802.644.2255
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/6/126/769
I fear grandstanding and manipulative politicians with an agenda
that has nothing to do with what they are currently lying about.
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