Post #17154
July 27, 2014, 05:29:20 PM
A meritocratic socialist.
I believe in a strong welfare net, a government takeover of key services and industries such as post, health care (including the pharma complex) and environmentally or socially dangerous industries such as banking or oil, as I do not think they can be run in a manner that will benefit the people by stereotypically greedy capitalists, especially if society is arranged in such a manner that means it's the public sector that has to clean up after the money-thirsty mongrels when they screw up (case in point : cleaning up Lac-Mégantic in Quebec after a train went off-rails, basically blew up the town and contaminated the soil with oil - the company refuses to pay and the bailout of banks after the 2008 economic crisis.) I don't see what's the point of a free market if oligarchs are going to come cry, bitch and moan to the government to give them money to save them after they screw up when they ask the common people to tighten their belt and accept having less and less government services. I thought a free market was basically sink or swim. We might as well cut the intermediary, redistribute the (enormous) profits of these industries to the population and accept our fate when the government screws up instead of bailing out disgustingly rich people.
The meritocratic part comes in because of my belief that not just anyone should run for public office and work in government. I would sumbit anyone with an inkling of responsibility and accountability due to his/her post in the government to an intelligence test and a psychological evaluation. People showing signs of narcissism, socio or psychopathy or any other condition that affects empathy and would cause a person to work for his/her interests more than the common interest would be barred from political life. Dumbasses would likewise be barred from public office, and anyone, even elected, would have to have academic or practical experience in the field that they will be assigned to. Basically I want to get smart saints into office. I'd scrap lobbyists and negative campaigning and have extremely tough anti-corruption laws to drive the point home. I would even be in favour to ban lies (Bachmann or Tea Party style lies, "Obama is a Muslim/communist/Kenyan" or "ACA is a government takeover" or "supply-side economics and trickle-down economics work") and empty promises in political campaigns, and since the government's financial state would be in the public domain and common knowledge, politicians would really have no excuse if they're caught using populist, impossible drivel. If people can't even govern themselves with the dignity expected of a public servant, might as well force them to if they value their goods, money and freedom.
I could also do away with democracy as the fundamental flaw in this system is that one's knowledge is worth just as much as one's brainwashed ignorance. Either restrict the vote based on an education criteria or do away with it altogether and bring in Plato's Republic, I don't care much.
The eventual goal would be to order society in such a way that makes true communism possible.
