In year 9 my kid's science class was just sitting in the library because the school didn't have a science teacher. Meanwhile the private school down the road with a carpark full of BMWs with P plates builds a new auditorium or indoor pool every school holidays. And kids at both schools get equal amounts of government funding.
Reminds me of a lot of the prepping videos my algo suggests to me that are titled something like "5 essential prepping tips" so I click on it and it starts off with "here's what we're doing on our 700 acre homestead...". Super helpful...
You're right, apologies, I fucked up there. Changed it to democratic socialism (still not an expert!).
At the most basic level, employees at a workplace would elect their management, rather than management being chosen by the business owner/s.
I posted this link to another comment, it's from a guy who runs a really good youtube channel that's definitely worth checking out. I know being asked to watch a video sucks, but he explains it a million times better than I can.
As I said, I'm not an expert, but this guy has some really good ideas and his channel is definitely worth a look. A good starting point would be to look at the Nordic countries (Sweden, Norway, Denmark), as they are the closest in practice to this kind of system and consistently have the best quality of life and happiness among their citizens.
Lots of reasons. Democratic socialism doesn't eliminate private ownership the way communism does, people can still get rich, own companies, and buy jet skis, but they can't take a successful company that hundreds of people have helped build and centred their lives around and hand control of it to their unqualified, arrogant, spoiled children to run into the ground, among other things. Here's a decent basic summary:
*Democratic socialism combines political democracy with public, cooperative or state ownership of key industries while maintaining elections, civil liberties and pluralism. It seeks to reduce inequality and ensure that wealth and power serve the public good through taxation, regulation and social programs.
Communism, rooted in Marxist theory, envisions a classless, stateless society where all property is collectively owned. In practice, communist states have often used centralized, one-party government control to pursue those aims.* (edit: don't know why italics isn't working)
Democratic socialism. I know it sounds a little bit ridiculous because the names are so similar, but the key difference is social democrats are fundamentally capitalists, while democratic socialists believe that capitalism will inevitably always lead to what we've got now. We know we have the resources to house everyone, clothe everyone, feed and educate everyone on earth. The only reason we don't is because it's not profitable for a handful of billionaires. Democratic socialists believe that everyone born on earth has the same rights to what the earth has to offer, and that we could give all of us a reasonable quality of life if resources were managed in a way that benefits the most people and not just the shareholders.
Obviously there's a lot more to it, and I'm fully expecting a reply to this that starts with Well actually... but that's the 10 second version from someone who doesn't claim to be an expert.
We're in Australia. The idea of home ownership is completely off the table, and the prospect of retirement is laughable, but we have some really bloody nice beaches!
I moved my American wife and our US-born daughters back to my home country in November 2015. Ultimately the decision turned out to be financially devastating for us, but I haven't had an ounce of regret since November 2024, I'd rather live in poverty here than any kind of life in the US, especially with teenage daughters. My wife says she'll never set foot in the US again and would also happily remounce her citizenship.
This is understandable when you accept that your options in Australia (and many parts of the world) these days are either generational wealth or lifelong poverty. Not saying it's ok, just to be expected.
It's one thing to go off-grid when your country has a functioning infrastructure and supply lines. It's more than a little different when pretty much everything has collapsed, people are starving and desperate, and disease is running rampant due to lack of clean water and sanitation. I really don't think many people in Cuba right now are thinking thank GOD I have my electric scooter!
Must be nice to come from a family so wealthy that several generations combined could afford a modest house.