Subsistencism
Social and Environmental Capitalism
“A right to life implies a right to the necessary means of life; and that justice, which forbids the taking away the life of an innocent man, forbids no less the taking from him the necessary means of life.”
- P.J. Proudhon (quoting Reid), 1840
Subsistencism is a political and economic theory based on the belief that because no living being chose to be born, every living being has an absolute right to subsistence for its own life. A good government, therefore, has the absolute right and an obligation to seek and give subsistence to each of its citizens.
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Subsistencism proposes that, with the use of modern technology, the basic subsistence of all people can be accomplished by the work of a small percentage of the population, who will get paid for their work. Subsistencism utilizes Capitalist markets to incentivize production and innovation while seeking the Socialist and Communist goals of providing subsistence for all people. It accomplishes these goals through the abolition of inheritance, the imposition of consumption tax, the use of a blockchain as a public ledger for the ownership of all assets, the imposition of a global carbon credits system, and a reduction in the incarceration of citizens for crimes. Subsistencism advocates for the non-violent progress of all governments towards Subsistencist goals.
The arguments can be summarized as follows:
- Life is the most important thing in the universe. Any good government will prioritize the lives of its citizens, and do as little harm to the lives of all creatures outside of its circle.
- When the most important goal of any government is to preserve the life of its citizens and life on the planet, there is no reason that each government of any developed nation in our modern world should not provide a basic subsistence for all of its citizens, regardless of their individual contribution or work.
- All people can acquire assets beyond a basic subsistence through their own work and innovation in free markets.
- The abolishment of inheritance and general escheatment to the state of all assets at the time of death will provide greater churn in the marketplace and allow all citizens of each country a chance to purchase and enjoy more during their lifetimes. It will also help fund a basic subsistence for all citizens
- A simple consumption tax, imposed at one point in time, can also help pay for the general subsistence of all citizens of a government.
- Putting all assets of intrinsic value on a public blockchain ledger will reduce attempts to get around the abolishment of inheritance, reduce attempts to engage in corrupt behavior, and reduce crime.
- The imposition of a system of global carbon credits on the blockchain, given to each citizen of the world, can significantly reduce carbon emissions and save our chances as a species to survive and thrive, and it would help lift the poorest in the world out of poverty and starvation.
- Reducing which crimes are punishable by incarceration, and reducing incarceration substantially will also serve the goals of saving life in the universe.
Buy the full Subsistencist Manifesto on Amazon for $0.99 as a Kindle e-Book.
Download the full Subsistencist Manifesto for free in .pdf format.