The serious need for nationwide modernization of our voting systems led me to contemplate ideas for design of the required equipment. Further contemplation led to development of this hypothetical model, which explores the potential beneficial applications of such a system.
The United States of America rose to greatness by devising and implementing new forms of governmental structure, political process, and economic interaction attuned to the knowledge, technology, and society of the times. These innovations have been amazingly successful, but we are now in a phase in this development where the "computer age" has precipitated a quantum leap in the reorganization and correlation of knowledge, technology, methodology, commerce, and lifestyles. Opportunity has concurrently arrived to facilitate a modern renaissance via recognition and rational reapplication of the key components of our historic success.
If we should alter our politico-economic mechanism so only rational functions remain to be performed, and so rewards only result from adequate performance of those rational functions, we will have only ceased to be foolish.
Who would be hurt?
The Neo-Democracy concept presented here embodies all the principles and beliefs upon which our nation was founded and rose to greatness. It extends, refines, and combines them as our "Basic Philosophy."
The Neo-Capitalism concept refrains from resorting to the "redistribution of income" as currently defined. It instead allocates earnings in proportion to the enhanced value engendered products by human time and effort, pays the earnings to the earner, and returns to the earner those values which may be inadvertently extracted over and above the reasonable "profit" from business investment and operation. It provides for the availability of, and equal opportunity to make use of, capital without it coming into the ownership of those who have not earned the value. And, while allowing for sentimental considerations, it returns to society the value accumulated by each generation so it may be passed equitably to succeeding generations without also carrying with it advantages or disadvantages. It maintains incentive and equal opportunity throughout by adherence to the principles and spirit of our "Basic Philosophy."
In the process of combining these ideas a new "Value Concept" (or paradigm) emerges.
Neo-Democracy/Neo-Capitalism does not advocate isolationism; conversely, it postulates a hypothetical model of a politico-socio-economic paradigm that, if emulated elsewhere, could coalesce as a Whole-world system free of the imperialism inherent in The System's "New World Order."
Complex as the model may at first appear, it is nevertheless immeasurably simpler than the present morass of incongruities. No doubt, many improvements and extensions can be made, so this sketch is offered as a skeletal model from which ideas may be further developed.
The author is a Certified Journeyman Tool and Diemaker by trade, but over the years he has also been a farmhand, military musician, dishwasher, gas station attendant, bookkeeper/purchasing agent/salesman for a wholesale electrical firm, job-shop machinist, die and plastic mold designer for a major automobile manufacturer, hardware store manager, life insurance agent, painting contractor, carpenter, milkman, aircraft engine component machinist, inventor, commercial artist, and long-haul truck driver.
Cursed with a lifelong fascination with the obvious incongruities between and among Constitutional principles, "common sense," business, socio-economics and politics, he is now retired and resides mainly in New Mexico.
The Neo-Democratic Axiom
Government should exist only to the extent necessary to provide a vehicle for intercommunication of opinion and co-ordination of efforts to accomplish matters of benefit to Society which cannot be achieved by other means.
--Somewhat like a cat whose tail is caught that keeps pulling and howling in pain, we keep trying to find a new direction to pull which will produce less pain.
Rationality would be to release our own tail.
. . . people, human beings, "own." Non-human entities are incapable of "owning."
. . . the economic system hypothesized here would expand in proportion to the needs and desires of the populace, but could "ungrow" without harmful effects --while still retaining the desirable characteristics of Capitalism.
. . . we can plan on an eventual cut-back of the average work week to twenty-four hours or less . . . The same or higher income and standard of living would result. The effort per man-hour need not increase. How can that be?
. . . the Human Value Interface (HVI) could become the reference point to which all other values come to be judged.
. . . the only value now backing our currency is our "faith" in our government. However, we possess a large store of value that could be utilized as the value guarantee . . . without removing that value from its intended function. This value is in tangible form, and is clearly ours to claim.
. . . but perhaps we'll all find our roles more productive and satisfying if we aren't spending all our time working just to obtain the money for mortgage payments!
. . . To educate is to induce development of the ability to question, examine, comprehend and correlate; to cultivate, groom, and hone curiosity; --and to avoid subliminal or semantic perversions of the process.
. . . an economic system that would eliminate inflation might also rescue our Social Security programs from the insolvent fate now predicted.
. . . "junk" foods would become less profitable to market, average nutritional content of foodstuffs consumed would be upgraded, and our general health would be improved. We would save on medical expenses, packaging and trash disposal costs, and waste fewer natural resources.
. . . Such considerations should cause a rational Society to limit the usage of natural resources to reasonable percentages of known world supplies.
. . . (Such) a rational Society, operating a rational economic system, could avail reasonable profit to individuals and rational motivation for technological progress while still requiring rational usage of natural resources; --i.e., without raping and killing Mother Nature.