276
13 Democratic Capitalism
– The benefit for producers would be that there would be stable and predictable
consumption patterns, while mass unemployment would mean serious recessions
and bankruptcies of many companies.
– The benefit for workers would be that they would have their backs free to re-orient
and educate themselves for the new jobs of the digital age.
– The benefit for politicians would be that the social situation would be stable, while
mass unemployment would trigger protests and unrests, perhaps even a revolution.
Of course, a flat income structure would be somewhat like communism, which is
known to work badly for people. For an innovative and thriving economy, incentive
systems are needed. Hence, while the universal basic income would be just enough
to cover food, shelter, and basic needs, a job would add income for a comfortable life.
For sure, there would be well-paid jobs for specialists, but ordinary people would
like to contribute to society as well. So, how can this be organized?
13.5 From Participatory Budgeting to Crowd Funding
for All
For some time already, various cities have been experimenting with participatory
budgeting,
28 which apparently was a response to the financial crisis. In these cities,
citizens take part in the decision process how to spend tax payers’ money. The
most well-known example is perhaps the city of Barcelona.
29 Over there, with more
than 600 citizen-based proposals, experiences with participatory budgeting have
been quite positive. Accordingly, other cities have started to copy this approach.
The innovative measure has increased collective action, the effectiveness of public
spending, transparency, and trust. It helps people to perceive the city to be “their
city”, which comes with identity, care, and commitment.
However, we could even go a step further, by allowing citizens to run their own
projects. This would have at least two benefits: First of all, citizens could locally
contribute to the improvement of their city quarter and living conditions, in places,
which political attention and economic investments did not reach. Second, citizens
could earn some money for the projects they are running and engaging in.
It is important to realize that the capacity of any centralized structure is limited.
Neither politics nor bosses of companies nor the military knows the exact local
living conditions everywhere—and even less so can they take locally fitting action
28 See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Participatory_budgeting.
29 Over six hundred proposals from citizens for the participatory budgets, Info Barcelona (March
1, 2020) https://www.barcelona.cat/infobarcelona/en/tema/participation/over-six-hundred-pro
posals-from-citizens-for-the-participatory-budgets_923661.html; Democratic Innovation, The
experience of participatory budgeting in the province of Barcelona, Universitat Autonoma de
Barcelona, https://ajuntament.barcelona.cat/innovaciodemocratica/en/projects; http://cpa.uab.cat/
index.php/en/research-results-blog/92-the-experience-of-participatory-budgeting-in-the-provinceof-barcelona.
13 Democratic Capitalism
– The benefit for producers would be that there would be stable and predictable
consumption patterns, while mass unemployment would mean serious recessions
and bankruptcies of many companies.
– The benefit for workers would be that they would have their backs free to re-orient
and educate themselves for the new jobs of the digital age.
– The benefit for politicians would be that the social situation would be stable, while
mass unemployment would trigger protests and unrests, perhaps even a revolution.
Of course, a flat income structure would be somewhat like communism, which is
known to work badly for people. For an innovative and thriving economy, incentive
systems are needed. Hence, while the universal basic income would be just enough
to cover food, shelter, and basic needs, a job would add income for a comfortable life.
For sure, there would be well-paid jobs for specialists, but ordinary people would
like to contribute to society as well. So, how can this be organized?
13.5 From Participatory Budgeting to Crowd Funding
for All
For some time already, various cities have been experimenting with participatory
budgeting,
28 which apparently was a response to the financial crisis. In these cities,
citizens take part in the decision process how to spend tax payers’ money. The
most well-known example is perhaps the city of Barcelona.
29 Over there, with more
than 600 citizen-based proposals, experiences with participatory budgeting have
been quite positive. Accordingly, other cities have started to copy this approach.
The innovative measure has increased collective action, the effectiveness of public
spending, transparency, and trust. It helps people to perceive the city to be “their
city”, which comes with identity, care, and commitment.
However, we could even go a step further, by allowing citizens to run their own
projects. This would have at least two benefits: First of all, citizens could locally
contribute to the improvement of their city quarter and living conditions, in places,
which political attention and economic investments did not reach. Second, citizens
could earn some money for the projects they are running and engaging in.
It is important to realize that the capacity of any centralized structure is limited.
Neither politics nor bosses of companies nor the military knows the exact local
living conditions everywhere—and even less so can they take locally fitting action
28 See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Participatory_budgeting.
29 Over six hundred proposals from citizens for the participatory budgets, Info Barcelona (March
1, 2020) https://www.barcelona.cat/infobarcelona/en/tema/participation/over-six-hundred-pro
posals-from-citizens-for-the-participatory-budgets_923661.html; Democratic Innovation, The
experience of participatory budgeting in the province of Barcelona, Universitat Autonoma de
Barcelona, https://ajuntament.barcelona.cat/innovaciodemocratica/en/projects; http://cpa.uab.cat/
index.php/en/research-results-blog/92-the-experience-of-participatory-budgeting-in-the-provinceof-barcelona.