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Blogs are a familiar feature on the internet - where users post content in an accumulating manner, with comments, and search options, etc. They facilitate expression and exploration, and via attached comments, also debate and synthesis.


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Blogs

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Mark Evans's Blog

Web Address: http://www.zcommunications.org/zspace/markevans
Bio: These things probably tell you something about me - I got my initial education in social justice listening to Bob Marley and the Wailers as a teenager, then in my late 20's reading Chomsky w... (More)

All Evans Blogs

PPS-UK: National Campaign / Initial Demands?

By Mark Evans at May 25, 2011


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What might be the initial set of demands for a PPS-UK National campaign?

In preparation for the forth coming new international organisation - of which PPS-UK will be a National branch (perhaps renamed OPS-UK)  - I would like to make the following proposal in answer to the above question -

>    Full employment.  
>    Redesign jobs for equality of empowerment and desirability.  
>    Shorter working week.
>    Prioritise socially valuable work.  

Basically the proposal is arguing that the quantity of work should be shared out equally and the quality of work should be shared out equally.  Plus by prioritising socially valuable work we get to work less whilst rebuilding our public services.  An additional consequence of the proposal is that, as we moved towards full employment and redesigned jobs, we would also see a transition towards more equal remuneration. 

I think the above is quite difficult to argue against without sounding unfair and could prove very popular with the general public.  

However there is a serious economic bias to this proposal.  To help overcome this bias we would also need to develop a set of initial demands for the other areas of society that complement each other. 

So to initiate a debate in the run up to the launch of the new international organisation I would like to hear -

>    what people think of the above proposal?

>    what alternative proposals people have for initial demands for the economy?

>    what suggestions for initial demands people have for other areas of society - politics, community, kinship, international relations, ecology?

>    what takers of the Z Poll in other parts of the world have in mind? 

I look forward to hearing your comments.
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Worthy reforms

By H, Joe at Jul 08, 2011 17:41 PM

Hi Mark. I guess it depends what timescale we are talking about, how ambitious you want to be, and how the demands will affect our actions. At the present time the main economic demand must surely be ending austerity and things necessary to achieve that, I would say. These should include tax justice (for some ideas see the Tax Research UK blog), and stimulus rather than cuts and fees, which would no doubt include your call for socially valuable spending in one form or another. We would go on to demand other things like shorter working hours too. For other issues, what about unions going back to demanding greater worker's control in the workplace rather than simply better pay and conditions by other means? That was once an important practical issue for unions back in their more admirable days. Besides that it really speaks to our vision and is not out of the ballpark as a policy here and now. Maybe this is a first step towards your demand of taking some steps to share empowering labour. Who knows what might come of some real decision making power in the workplace. If we hopefully look forward to a time when there is a powerful movement with some chance of achieving some of our demands, I'm thinking that some things are more difficult than others and some are more likely to bring greater conflict and attempts to undermine progress by elites. For instance we cannot hope to balance jobs completely without something drastic happening. For gender issues I guess we could read and talk to other groups like Global Women's Strike and see what they have thought up.

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Person

Tax Companies Properly

By Jamal, Samir at May 25, 2011 16:30 PM

  I think the first thing that should happen is big businesses should be forced to pay full UK taxes.  Anybody that threatens to leave the UK should be ignored.  The all public services should be restored.  Then the UK should halt all military operations.  Then a massive public investment program should be instituted.

  Better schools/universities.  Better jobs.  Better housing & healthcare.  Better citizens.

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