[W]e must recognize, and loudly proclaim, that everyone, whatever his grade in the old society, whether strong or weak, capable or incapable, has, before everything, the right to live, and that society is bound to share among all, without exception, the means of existence it has at its disposal.

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Cake day: May 3rd, 2025
  • Dialectical Idealist@lemmygrad.mltoMemes@lemmy.ml•The tragedy of the commons
    4·
    10 days ago

    At that point you need a government to set rules, and law enforcement to enforce those rules.

    In a communist society where we have abolished wages and everyone has their needs guaranteed, why would anyone harm the community by flouting norms regarding the commons? This paints us as naturally immoral creatures that will always need Father Government to protect us from ourselves. Arguably, people are such social creatures that strong norms and taboos would keep most (all?) of us in check (again, in the context of a communist society).

  • Dialectical Idealist@lemmygrad.mltoMemes@lemmy.ml•The tragedy of the commons
    7·
    10 days ago

    Well said. To give some more examples of communal societies:

    • The Mbuti hunter-gatherers of the Ituri Forest in central Africa.

    • The gift-giving economy of the Semai in Malaya.

    • Numerous indigenous societies in NA that practice communal land ownership (Lakota/Dakota/the Cherokee, etc.).

    • Millions who shared resources in the villages of Europe:

      • Arable land was often divided into plots for local families to farm (e.g., the English open field system, - Scandinavian Solskifte [“Sun Division”] system, the Irish “Rundale” system, etc.).
      • Grazing lands and forests were often shared by the community (e.g., in Scandinavia, Spain, France).

    People who argue that we need capitalism to save us from ourselves don’t understand human nature.