Society 2.0

(image credit)

I was recently going through old blog drafts and came across this one from nearly 8 years ago.

It was basically just brainstorming about how to improve society in general.

I'm proud to say that in the meantime, I've done my best to move the needle ever so slightly, becoming more involved in politics, including running for office at the provincial level and organizing my thoughts further in a wiki.

I also now work for a charity that helps bring free education to those who need it most.

My most recent efforts include promoting proportional representation and helping organize a Green regional association.

Who's ready to join in and help? :)

Here's my original brainstorming notes from June 2010:

Communist? Capitalist? Democratic? Socialist? Does anyone really know what these terms actually mean anymore?

 Hybrid system. Use best aspects of existing societal structures.

 Freely available to all citizens of the world:
- Basic education and communication (shared facilities)
- Basic health care (preventive care, emergency treatment, etc.)
- Emergency relief (accidents, disasters, etc.)
- Justice, arbitration, and protective services
- Clean drinking water (per person allocation)
- Healthy food (local vegetables, whole grains, etc. - per person allocation)
- Basic shelter (elemental protection, minimal heating/cooling, bed, bathroom facilities)

 Commercial system:
- Non-essential food and water
- Enhanced or larger shelter
- Enhanced health care (treatment of highly preventable diseases, cosmetic, elective, etc.)
- Entertainment (of all forms)

 Flat taxes on Commercial system fund free system.

 As society advances and becomes more efficient, the level of "basic/essential" services can be brought up.

 Problems to get there:
- Greed
- Corruption
- Laziness
- Status quo
- Fear

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Manulife CoverMe insurance isn't worth it

Image
As a small business owner, I have no dental or extended health coverage. So a while ago, I decided to sign up for a Manulife CoverMe policy. Their policies appear to be priced well. The website is nicely done, and the sign up process is entirely online. It gives you the feeling that they really have their stuff together. The problem is that as soon as they get your money, the experience goes sharply downhill. It looks like they invest all of their funds and effort into marketing and getting people to sign up, but as soon as you need service, you're SOL. Their claims process is straight out of the 1980's, requiring you to snail mail or fax a sheet you need to fill out by hand.  You would think they could have managed some sort of electronic method. I was able to easily set up automatic payments from my credit card online, but when I needed to cancel these payments, I had to phone twice, send two different faxes, and they still deducted two extra payments after canc
Read more

Why do people vote Conservative / Republican?

Image
Add another one to my "things that confuse me" list... Why do average, ordinary people vote for Conservative / Republican / (insert your right-wing party here) politicians? I can see voting for them IF: Your household income is more than $500,000/year You are a majority shareholder in a corporation that employs more than 500 people You are a senior management in a major corporation You have the majority of your net worth invested in energy and "defense" stocks But honestly, unless one or more of the above applies to you, it just doesn't make sense. For the average Joe, voting for Conservative politicians is basically the equivalent to shooting yourself in the foot -- over and over again. Their modis operandi is to systematically underfund and dismantle public institutions, and replace them with private corporations they can profit from. The result is an ever increasing divide between rich and poor, creating a cheap labor force at the bottom (more
Read more

Are you actually hungry?

Image
You hear it all the time. "I'm soooo hungry!"  "I'm starving !" But stop and think for a moment. Are you truly and actually hungry ? Here's one way to tell: Pick a food you really don't like , but something healthy. Like spinach. Or broccoli. Or turnips. It'll be different for everyone. Now pretend that's the only food available. Still want some? If it sounds appetizing and you could see yourself eating it, you're probably hungry. If not, you're not hungry . You're likely upset, bored, or otherwise distracted. In this case, try getting up and doing some sort of physical exercise. You'll probably forget about food altogether and start doing something productive instead!
Read more