Moderate Libertarian Socialism
I have done a paper on what my interpretation of socialism is. It is an elementary introduction, and I was thinking lately, I could expand on the socialist which I will go to in this paper.
https://medium.com/@derekhudley/what-is-socialism-07faca88bd0c
I have also done a paper on what libertarian socialism is already. However, I didn’t go into as much detail as I could have which was on purpose. It was just an introductory paper.
https://medium.com/@derekhudley/what-is-libertarian-socialism-c52c4a650b59
A brief introduction into the socialist triangle
The triangle of socialism is a concept introduced by Hugo Chavez (again I reject his governance), and expanded upon by Michael Lebowitz, who has been an influential part of my idea of socialism. It is an attempt to explain the idea of socialism which should be the ideal goal of socialism to achieve working class liberation and workplace democracy. These are very integral parts of socialism. Let us go over each part once again.
Social Ownership of the means of production: While this has many different meanings, it generally refers to communal ownership of the means of production. This can happen at a state level, neighborhood, provincial, municipal, or even a cooperative. To put it simply, this is the original definition of socialism when the definition is when the means of production are owned in common. This can also be known as “usufruct” or ownership by use. I am going to do a paper on why private property should be abolished.
Production for social needs and purposes: This is easy to define. Production, instead of being geared towards exchange values like capitalist economics, would instead be geared towards use-values. The people make requests upon what it is they wish to develop, then their desires are fulfilled. Are people getting the adequate needs to advance their potential? Are people equal in their access to said goods and services? This can also be known as “positive freedom”. I have done a paper on why positive freedom should exist which you can read here:
https://medium.com/@derekhudley/why-positive-freedom-e4d325826e78
Social production organized by workers: Under capitalism, we have production which is organized around a private dictator who privately owns the means of said production. They decide what to produce, how to do so, when, and what to do with surplus value generation. Social production wishes to turn that on its head. We want to give every worker who works said means of production an equal voice over their conditions. The workers will democratically decide what to produce, how to do so, when to do so, and what to do with the surplus value generated by the work. This is the historic heart of socialism and can even be called “economic democracy”.
This is an attempt to describe a socialist political economy to non-socialists, particularly non-academics. In an economic sense, this is a very noble goal. A political economy that is oriented around worker freedom and social harmony is a very ideal form of society. But notice here, this is all very much political economy. Production, production, production. Socialism is rooted in economic freedom and economic ideals to be sure but notice here that this still has a lot of 20th century socialism aspects to this.
Michael Lebowitz, who passed away last year (rest in power), expanded upon these concepts to even explain how both the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia fulfilled two respective aspects of the socialist triangle. In Yugoslavia, they fulfilled both the socialist ownership and organizational aspects of the socialist triangle, but not the distribution aspect. Because they didn’t fulfill the distribution aspect, it allowed certain groups to attain power through acquisition and gain favorable policies to them. This is why market socialism, which may be the first socialism, is not enough [3]. I have already done a paper on my critiques of past and present socialism which you can read here:
https://medium.com/@derekhudley/critiques-of-past-and-present-socialism-ed2dc7de9666
Lebowitz was a brilliant economist who was able to observe past socialism and see the contradictions in Marxist-Leninist regimes. He was, in many respects, a classical Marxist. Now because he was a Marxist, he suggested that the capture of the state would be a viable path to socialism. This is based on an interpretation of the state to be a tool, a deadly one that should be abolished, but nonetheless an amiable tool based on its user. The state would one day whither away as it would no longer be needed.
There is however a major error in this philosophy. The state is not a tool but an independent force. The state acts upon its own will and those who finance it. The state is very much compatible with class society and in its wake, especially if it is control of everything, can envelop a new kind of class. The bureaucratic class. This new class defies all liberal reasoning as it emulates the capitalist class in many ways. Even if the state was made to be a representative democracy, history shows that this really hasn’t come to fruition in terms of true representation. Thus, the state is not compatible with a classless society which socialism must establish beforehand if it wishes to succeed in surpassing capitalism and class society.
All being said, we need a center of power to concentrate on which direct democracy can solve, but also, we must recognize that power is not as simple as abolishing the state either (I’ll explain what I mean soon). Anarchists have been naïve to this problem in the past.
It is time to introduce a new symbol to the socialist triangle.
The Socialist Pyramid
This is an inspiration of the socialist triangle. While it does a good job at describing socialist political economy, economy doesn’t always imply political. The state is a description that goes beyond mere economics. While it is important to have a center of power, I have come up with a new symbol which can define socialist political economy and democracy much better. This is inspired by both socialism for the 21st century and social ecology.
The socialist pyramid is an attempt to describe socialist political economy but also, add in political democracy and libertarianism. I thought about doing a polyhedron, but I thought that not everyone knows what that is. So, I decided to make an upside-down pyramid symbol. The pyramid has different faces on it and has a circle around it which I will describe as well.
As you can see on the symbol, there are many different triangles which represent the faces of the pyramid as well as an apex (this last part I will describe last). There is also a circle which is an outlier which I will explain the significance of.
First, I will describe the points in which I have described on the pyramid.
Cooperative: This is the center of socialist political economy, cooperative and common ownership of the means of production. As I described earlier, it is social ownership of the means of production. Cooperative ownership means what it does, production is owned by those who live in the community. Thus, all should be owned by all. However, this can be a premise for statism which if we borrow from the soviet experience, was even worse than the Tsar as Bakunin predicted.
Democratic: This is the organization of both the workplace and the community. This is an extension of social production organized by workers. The workplaces will be democratically organized as one person, one vote. Direct democracy shall be the organization norm of the city as libertarian municipalism shall be the main governing force. The biggest issue is the tyranny of the majority, which I will address soon.
Egalitarian: This is the insertion of positive freedom being given to all. Social production for needs and purposes. Egalitarianism can distribute resources and the opportunity to act on them equally. Everyone will have a basic share of the economic gains.
Libertarianism: This is the anti-statist aspect of the socialist pyramid. This seeks to maximize autonomy and political freedom. This is social liberty for all in the inclusion of socialist political economy.
The reason we include every aspect of this pyramid is because socialism is much more than just economics, it’s about society. Class freedom is a remarkable, necessary goal to achieving freedom. Classlessness, however, doesn’t imply hierarchy less. For example, you can have a classless society, but many hierarchies such as if one has in markets. Also, if one has more access to opportunities than others, then a new form hierarchy can come into fruition. Let us talk about each face of the pyramid.
Black (1): This face is the representation of self-management in both the worker, individual and the communities they live in. To what extent does something affect you? This is where we have a society that is based on liberty of the community and the individual. For example, every municipality is responsible for its own economy. But what happens when one municipality inflicts certain decisions that might affect another? This is where that municipality that is affected can have a say in what goes on around them.
White (2): This face is the representation of interdependence of the communities and individuals that live in them. It is about the closing of the dialectical relationship between positive and negative freedom and instead creating an interdependent economy. We are all individuals who know what is best for us, but also, we work better when we have a collective community. Each community seeks a comparative advantage and with economic planning, it can plan accordingly much more efficiently with better technology.
Red (3): This face is the representation of social ownership of the means of production along democratic lines. Cooperative ownership doesn’t imply democracy, just like democracy is another form of government. When we have a cooperative ownership that works democratically, we can give meaningful participation among all members to communicate effectively. This is the representation of both democracy and fraternity.
Yellow (4): This face is the representation of democratic decision of needs. An extension of positive freedom, it is the focus on the social distribution of goods being made democratic. Democracy and egalitarianism go quite hand in hand with one another. Egalitarianism is essential to a healthy democracy, while democracy ensures that an egalitarian system is in place.
You might notice but the outside is blue, what does this mean? While the circle isn’t part of the pyramid, I put a circle around it to signify the earth. The blue represents the earth that we live on as well as its inhabitants (first nature) and the pyramid represent the institutions that we as humans implement which influence the world. The pyramid is big compared to the rest of the circle because second nature has a profound effect on first nature.
Finally, at the top of the pyramid is the apex which is green. Green represents a green world or an environmentalist world. If we can produce a green second nature, then blue and green can interact and make a beautiful cyan world. Cyan is sometimes represented as clarity and harmony. It brings peace and balance to all things.
Why achieve this goal?
If we have an idea of which we want to achieve, then it will make it much easier for us to reach a cthulucence on earth. The pyramids were remarkable achievements of mankind. We can build a world that is free of exploitation and equal world. As I have said in “why positive freedom?” Our society is so productive that we are capable of sustaining a life that would have been considered utopian to humans a long time ago. And not only that, but we can live within the means of which the Earth can realistically provide.
So why do I call it “moderate” libertarian socialism? Because it acknowledges certain parts of socialism for the 21st century. See, past libertarian socialist strategies have been so focused on immediate action it didn’t see that action in the meantime is a real buildup. Left libertarians have been underachievers because they haven’t recognized that political action and economic reform can lead to better results which leads to a libertarian socialist revolution. Communalism has the best strategy in mind which is focusing on the city as the main catalyst for revolution. From social ecology, the recognition that the city is the mainstay of society on which individuals form their personalities and the idea of what humanity should strive to achieve. From socialism for the 21st century, it is the recognition for a coherent idea of what socialism is and the need for action and reform.
Thanks for reading! If you enjoy what I write, don’t forget to clap, follow, and share so that everyone can read my message! My email is derekhudley@gmail.com
Sources:
[1] Amazon.com : libertarian socialism
[2] Hudley, Derek. “What is socialism”. Medium. Jan 12th, 2024
[3] Lebowitz, Michael. “The Socialist Imperative”.
