this post was submitted on 17 May 2024
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No, the buckets would be communally owned, and those who were luckier - perhaps they got to the good houses earlier - would be made to give some of their surplus to Jimmy, who fell ill just that morning and couldn't go trick-or-treating to not infect others. They'd still have enough, but Jimmy wouldn't be left out just because he was unlucky.
So how does that work for real life? You going to cut off a bedroom and give it to jimmy? Or give him one of your cars?
I don't even have a car, because I can't afford one, nor do I have a spare bedroom because I live in a small apartment, paying a chunk of my monthly earnings to a person whose only contribution is having a piece of paper that says they're allowed to charge for the fundament necessity of having a place to live.
My neighbour has a big house, three cars in their driveway and most of the time, at least two of them are standing around unused. He probably could afford to share. That's the meaning of "everyone, according to their needs" - that guy most likely doesn't need as much as he has, so it won't hurt him to give some away to people that do need it.
But the issue isn't him having something nice. He can have his house for all I care. I want him to have a nice house. I want Jimmy to have a nice house, and you too! I want all of us to have nice things, because a bit of luxury isn't the problem, and covering a symptom won't cure the disease. And the disease is the belief that property rights matter more than human welfare.
You wouldn't achieve anything by taking a little from those that have a little more than the rest. You'd have to take away the systems that constrain us.
There's an empty flat? Great, let's give it to Jimmy! What do you mean, if he can afford the rent? Man needs a place to live, for fuck's sake. Jimmy needs medical care? Get him to a doctor. The community carries the cost, because we all would want the same if we needed care.
How do we reach that? That's a tough one. Eventually, a concerted effort to uproot that system will have to take place. I'm not positive that'll succeed on ballots alone and as has become increasingly evident, peaceful protests tend to meet violence all the same.
But whether through coordinated civil action like protests and disobedience or through outright revolution, awareness is the first step. Informing people of the injustice done to us all, that it doesn't have to be this way, and that together, we're strong enough to change it.
The only people that don't profit from it are the ruthlessly selfish ones that think "I'd rather have a second car than let someone else have one" is a reasonable sentiment.
Because yes, if I had a car I didn't need, and Jimmy needed it, I'd let him use it. What good would it do standing around?