Redistributive Economy
A Distributive Economy may be contrasted with a re-distributive economy. We're familiar with redistribution: earning money, paying taxes, government programs that aim to address ills and provide services; or accumulating capital to give it away later via foundations etc. Why not provide services, distribute wealth, and provide prosperity in the first place? Concepts such as the open source economy combined with the Open Sector could address this. The goal is simple: guaranteeing that everyone can have basic needs met, so they are not vulnerable to threat of survival - and can thus pursue their true purpose in life. Much more free from political and economic manipulation by peoole with more power.
The redistributive economy suffers in the independence aspect discussed at The Moral Philosophy of Financial Independence
The re-distributive economy is the dominant global model (2021). Mainstream economics tend to collect revenue (taxes) or amass wealth (billionaires) so that resources can be re-distributed as an afterthought. Redistribution is inefficient compared to the potential of distribution in the first place.
We believe not so much in re-distribution - but in distribution in the first place. Distribution in the first place can happen by a transition to open source economics - thereby eliminating the various mechanisms of power concentration that constitute structural evil. Such a transfer of wealth from the few to the many is one of the critical unsolved issues of human economic systems, and is one of the outcomes of collaborative design.
The current status quo promotes stealing from the rich to give to the poor. [1] says Taxation and income transfers to the poorest segment of society are the most direct way to keep inequality in check and reduce poverty in the short term. Note that this short term thinking is part of the problem. It pisses off the rich, and drops only breadcrumbs to the poor - not a robust solution.
Universal Basic Income (UBI) is another form of redistribution. One can design a governance under which UBI is distributive, not redistributive. This is by replacing UBI with UBA - Universal Basic Assets that are provided in an abundance-based economic paradigm. Not the scarcity-based economics of redistributive paradigms.
Thus, it is useful to note that OSE's economic development paradigm is not redistributive. It is distributive in the first place: absolute creative economic empowerment for Mutually Assured Abundance via Collaborative Design for a transparent and inclusive economy of abundance. Ie, delivering The Promise of Open Hardware - ending artificial scarcity of material resources. In
A mindset of re-distribution is undesirable - in our opinion - because it does not address the creation of disparities - in the first place. From an integrated perspective, humanity should work on upgrading its operating system for how access and opportunity are created - which is the core aim of Open Source Ecology. By unleashing productive potential locally via global cooperation on open source economics - we can eradicate artificial scarcity and Competitive Waste, and create more fulfilled lives consistent with Self-Determination and Economic Freedom.
In practice, we will probably not eliminate the entrenched welfare state overnight - though the decision for how quick this transition takes is completely up to us. The welfare state serves a useful, if inefficient, function. But over the long term, we should upgrade the economic paradigm to addressing inequality and wealth distribution in our economic thinking up front, not as an afterthought, as we transition to a Collaborative Singularity.
Notes
- Mutual aid vs redistributive aid - [2]
Critique
- IMF critique of redist - [3]
Links
- Universal Basic Assets - Marina Gorbis - [4] in 2017 [5]
- Universal basic capital is found on Wikipedia [6] - but UBA is not.
- Financial Independence
- Commerce Is War
