Introduction

As this is being written, there are states in the United States of America that are actually lowering their minimum wage, even as the cost of living continues to escalate. Forbes magazine is praising this as sound economic policy, using the time-worn dogma that raising wages causes jobs to be eliminated, prices to rise, and businesses to fail. To quote the article from December 2015 which refers to the action of Kentucky governor Bevin who had just signed an executive order cutting the minimum wage from $10.10/hour to $7.25 an hour:

This chapter was written when the Transition was imagined as a single, rapid, coordinated event. Passages from that original plan are kept for transparency in marked boxes; the current approach is gradual, voluntary and democratic (how the approach has evolved).

"Bevin hinted that he would prefer the state have no minimum wage at all: ‘Wage rates ideally would be established by the demands of the labor market instead of being set by the government,’ he said…”

Tim Worstall, author of the article, went on to say: “I agree entirely with that statement, indeed would go further. For wages are entirely set by the market: those who don’t produce enough to be worth $10.10 or $7.15, end up getting nothing as they have no job at all."

This comes at a time when about half of U.S. wage earners were paid under $30,000/year (50.1% in 2015, Social Security Administration, 2015), which is equivalent to around $15/hour in an economic environment where the majority of employees are unable or barely able to meet basic living expenses.

Taking a longer view, since 1970 the cost of living in the U.S. has gone up approximately 500% overall. CEO compensation has gone up approximately 1,000%, while employee pay has risen less than 12%. It is not unusual for the CEO of a company to make as much or more in one day - or in some cases in one hour - than a typical employee of the same company makes in a year.

Americans and many other peoples around the world have been taught for nearly a hundred years that Democracy is the same as Capitalism, which is the same as Freedom, and that this represents the best possible human society. These same people have been taught that any form of Socialism, or indeed anything other than the purest possible Capitalism, is Communism, which is synonymous with Dictatorship and everything bad.

Unfortunately, few students, teachers, or citizens have taken the time to learn what these concepts actually mean and represent. The above beliefs are cited, believed, fought for, encoded into law and unquestioningly enforced and accepted as true without any serious awareness of what they are... and in utter ignorance.

Democracy, simply put, is government of, by, and for the People. There are many different forms and expressions of democracy, most of which are representative – meaning that the People by one process or another elect representatives who will enact laws, make decisions affecting the nation, set policies, govern and conduct international interactions on behalf of those who elected them. There are two-party systems (usually some version of liberal and conservative), multi-party systems; in some countries one votes for the individual and in some one votes for a party which then assigns their leaders to government roles in proportion to the percentage of the vote that they received. A very few are direct democracies in which decision-making is done directly by the People themselves.

Capitalism is not a system of government but rather an economic system in which private parties determine and drive the economy.

Where some form of democratic political system co-exists in the same community or country with a Capitalist economic system, there exist two separate power structures that are more often than not at cross-purposes. As will become clear in this writing, the Capitalist economic system is a strongly stratified pyramidal power structure in the best case scenario. In extreme cases it is more sharply and extremely stratified than even the Pyramidal model would suggest, driven by the microscopically tiny segment of the population that occupies the very top of the pyramid. Ultimately, the Capitalistic power structure subsumes and supercedes the originally democratic governmental mechanism and the people in it. Capitalist economic paradigms inevitably give rise to a strongly non-democratic power structure that very closely parallels the Feudal systems of medieval Europe.

Communism is a socio-economic system that strives to centrally coordinate the economy to optimize and balance production, consumption and employment in a way that creates a democratic economy free of class stratification. Sadly, most implementations of Communism since the early 20th century have suffered from a paucity of political democracy, even though the intention of the paradigm is to achieve a free, democratic, and un-stratified Community. The results in most affected Communities have been a different kind of stratification into two classes: Members of the Communist Party, and the rest of the population. This originally was largely the result of the demagogue and political manipulator Stalin in the U.S.S.R., and replicated throughout much of the “Communist” world.

Yet it would be a dangerous and tragic mistake to try to divide these systems into “good” and “bad.” Each presents its own strengths and weaknesses; each had some inspiring achievements and some frightening failures.

At this moment in history we do not see true or even much of a semblance of democracy in the United States nor in many countries following the same socio-economic paradigms as the United States. Government is driven far more by lobbyists employed by mammoth multinational mega-corporations under direction of the ultra-wealthy elite who comprise less than a hundredth of a percent of the population, than it is by the will or good of the people. A study of 1,779 policy decisions found that economic elites and business groups have substantial independent influence on U.S. policy, while average citizens have little or none (Gilens and Page, 2014). This skews the priorities of government strongly towards the interests of these wealthy individuals and corporations at the expense of the desires and well-being of the People.

We also do not at this point in history see many examples of real Communism. The People's Republic of China claims to be Communist but in fact practices monopolistic state Capitalism while subjecting many or most of its citizens to unsafe and oppressive working conditions that do not in any way resemble the Communist paradigm, but rather hark back to pre-Revolutionary Feudalism. The same is true of Vietnam. Mao Tse-Tung and any veterans of the Long March would be outraged. Ho Chi Minh would probably vomit in disgust. The post-Stalin Soviet Union, as well, bore less and less resemblance to actual Communism as a caste society formed with Party members enjoying aristocratic privilege while the rest of the population were disenfranchised. The Soviets did, however, provide universal healthcare, public transportation and education, and supported and nourished the arts, sciences and engineering and those who practiced them, though the quality of healthcare stagnated in the Union's later decades. Sadly the Soviet mode of operation was heavy-handed and suppressive of open and free public discourse. Cuba built universal health care with one of the highest ratios of doctors to population in the world (about 9.5 per 1,000 people in 2021, WHO data via the World Bank), and has sent its doctors to serve in many other countries, despite the scarce resources left by a generations-old U.S. embargo that began during the Cold War. That system is now in severe crisis, with shortages of medicines and supplies, long blackouts, and many doctors leaving the country (UN News, May 2026). Cuba also made a place to live a right. The 1960 Urban Reform Law turned tenants into owners: they paid part of their former rent to the state for a set number of years and then owned their homes outright, and today most Cuban homes are privately owned (Peters 2014). Since Decree-Law 288 of 2011, homes may legally be bought and sold (Library of Congress, 2011). In the author's view, that opening of a housing market is better understood as a degradation of the original commitment than as proof that it failed. It was made under the economic pressure of an embargo maintained by every U.S. administration since the early 1960s, much as Israel's kibbutzim were pushed into privatization by a hostile surrounding economy and government policy, though Cuba's own policy choices and its repression of political dissent are part of the story too. It is not the same as China, which kept the communist name while becoming state capitalism.

There are some notable and highly successful examples of social democracy (often called democratic socialism in the United States) which work in practice much better than either Soviet-style attempts at Communism or U.S. style Capitalism. Countries like Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland among others, market economies with strong unions, universal public services and high social trust, achieve a much higher level of individual and community empowerment, synergy, quality of life, dignity and overall well-being than U.S.-style Capitalism or the most common implementations of Communism have delivered. Many of the necessities of life are guaranteed, resources are managed in a large degree by governments answerable to the people who are free and empowered to vote in free elections, express themselves freely, and advocate for their needs. As discussed later, many of these countries may not even need Transitions, or may naturally transition through social evolutionary processes. Yet in these countries, the use of currency still introduces a degree of non-access, of inefficiency, and of unnecessary entropy, albeit orders of magnitude less than is commonplace under Capitalism and Soviet-style Communism.

We do, in contrast, have an abundance of living examples of true Capitalism. The above quote from Forbes is sadly typical of prevailing attitudes among the economic ruling elite. Under the Capitalist paradigm it actually has validity within that framework, from the point of view of those at the “win” end of the win-lose equation. In practice, we see historically that where there are no labor unions and no minimum wage, there has been wholesale exploitation of employees at the complete expense of anything recognizable as a free or thriving Democratic society.

Economists, activists, lawmakers, judges and others incessantly keep tweaking and adjusting Capitalism to try to make it work better, to curb excesses and abuses as they arise. This fits the classical generic definition of insanity: repeating the same actions over and over while expecting a different result. In fact, the psychological reinforcers at the individual and societal levels, and the fundamental principles of operation of Capitalism translate in practice into a system where it is indeed good and practical economic practice to keep wages as low as possible and prices as high as possible. Under Capitalism it is taken as a given that in order for businesses to thrive and the economy to be "healthy", the majority of people must be kept at sub or barely living wage and be permanently disenfranchised. This obviously is incompatible with government of, by, and for The People, with the unalienable rights to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness that the Declaration of Independence proclaims for all. It is incompatible with a healthy, free, thriving democratic society of engaged, empowered individuals making their best contributions to the Community while enjoying fulfilling lives.

If there were a sport in which death and maiming of over half the players and much of the audience was a necessary and inevitable result of the game being played well, then that sport would be banned in any civilized country. Yet many countries that consider themselves civilized and enlightened, not only tolerate but enforce an economic system that essentially does the same thing in a much less obvious and flamboyant manner.

In practice, Capitalism functions as a fundamentally flawed, non-viable pyramid scheme, built on the same structure as the illegal ones: gains flow upward from the many to the few, and the arrangement holds only as long as the many keep feeding it. It is an economic system that inevitably and inexorably devolves into a particularly insidious, oppressive and destructive re-creation of Feudalism. Capitalism is by its very nature inimical to, and at odds with with, a free, Democratic and thriving human society. It negates and overrides the principles of the U.S. Constitution or that of any country possessing similar core principles in its defining documents. To keep trying to make it work is like repeatedly re-inflating a lead balloon and expecting it to float - a dangerous, destructive, wasteful and impractical waste of time, effort, lives, and the only home we humans have to date.

Proponents of Capitalism compare it favorably to Communism because they view the centralized control of production and distribution of goods and services under Communism as dictatorial and prone to abuse by those in controlling positions. Indeed in the Soviet Union we observed this phenomenon. Such proponents hold up Capitalism as a contrasting example of a free society. This comparison is misinformed at best and deliberately misleading at worst. In reality, the results are more similar than different. Under Capitalist paradigms, control of more and more resources, production, distribution, and access inexorably and inevitably concentrates into fewer and fewer hands. Control of nearly all resources from living space to food to medical care is in the hands of corporate boards of directors and the ultra-wealthy at their helm. This is exactly the same socio-economic dynamic as is criticized in many supposedly Communist paradigms. The results are exactly the same but even more dire in many ways under Capitalism. It truly makes no difference whether centralized control is in the hands of a government committee or a corporate board of directors. The abuses are the same and the harm to the people is no less. In fact, the reinforcers are stronger for abuse in the Capitalist paradigm. A committee in the Soviet Union was originally tasked with ensuring sufficient, efficient and equitable distribution of goods and services for the people, but they were disconnected from input from or dialog with the people. Their failure was due to the typical corruption that occurs in any hierarchical social structure as well as the non-democratic political system in operation. Under Capitalist paradigms, there is strong reinforcement for behavior that maximizes profits, market share and stock value, which as we will see nearly always inevitably comes at the expense of the people as surely as the life of a parasite diminishes the life and vitality of its host or victim. There is absolutely nothing democratic about Capitalist paradigms.

If you find yourself thrust into a game where the rule is every person for themselves and the goal of production is to accumulate maximum wealth by maximizing profits and stock prices, you will make very different choices than you will make if you find yourself in a game where the rule is to work together for the greatest good of each and all and the goal of production is to make sure that there is enough of things for everybody at the highest achievable level of quality. The behaviors that are reinforced are what will predominate.

It is time to implement new paradigms crafted wisely in the light of experience of what has been tried in human communities, what has worked and not worked and why/how. It is time for a socio-economic paradigm designed to strongly lean towards and reinforce the mutual co-empowerment and thriving of every human being in a context of a win-win and the best possible human experience for each and all, rather than the win-lose-lose-lose model of Capitalism.

This is NOT a call to arms to displace those in power and punish them for their abuses and misdeeds or to take revenge upon them. Nor is this a call to abandon the rule of law. Humanity is not yet mature enough to be able to function well without some laws carefully designed to support a safe and thriving Community. It is a call to end all or most hierarchical power systems so that none will lord it over or have rights over another.

This will necessarily involve the establishment of psychological reinforcers that strengthen and incentivize working together cooperatively (while recognizing, respecting and empowering each individual and their contribution) for mutual benefit among individuals and groups as well as between the individual and the community, while keeping in mind the importance of preserving and sustaining our planetary home.

As you read these pages, please keep your mind open and set aside any preconceptions you may have about political and economic systems. This is not about Communism versus Capitalism. It is about the deeper fulfillment and more complete implementation of government of, by, and for the People. It is about achieving a thriving, free and vibrant human community/society.

From the perspective of a typical inhabitant of the European Middle Ages, Democracy, Communism and Capitalism would have appeared to be impractical, impossible, and against the natural and Divine order. To inhabitants of 17th century Europe, the very idea of out-manned, out-gunned, out-funded colonists taking on the power of Britain, one of the pre-eminent European superpowers of its day, would have seemed a hopeless fool's errand doomed to failure. To dwellers of early 20th century Russia, the idea of a bunch of uneducated peasants taking on the hereditary power of the Czar would have appeared utterly preposterous and likewise doomed. To observers of late-1940's China, no one would have been likely to bet on the chances of a collection of half-starved, untrained, barefoot, illiterate, severely under-armed peasants prevailing against the U.S. - supported anti-Communist forces who had far superior fire-power, expertise and training. Similarly when India undertook her struggle to become independent of her British occupiers and do so by completely non-violent tactics and when the ANC embarked upon overthrowing the generations-long rule of Apartheid - from many points of view their chosen goals and missions appeared nearly or completely hopeless and contrary to common sense. There was a time when the very concept of a heavier-than-air flying machine was considered a complete waste of time by most serious scientists and yet now we enjoy a plethora of different kinds of flying machines and have even made it to the Moon.

The point of this reminiscence is to remind us that the fact that a new idea or paradigm has not been tried or done yet on this big of a scale, or that it appears daunting and near-impossible, is not a defensible reason not to embark upon it.

To allow things to continue as they are is an almost certain guarantee that the current consolidation of money, power, and resources into the hands of a very few ultra-wealthy individuals, many of them caught in a compulsive drive for ever more money and power, will result, at the rate this process is accelerating, in a situation, in our lifetimes, in which a growing majority of us will be increasingly hungry, homeless and relegated to favelas like those in Brazil. At that point we will be in a much weaker position than now to embark upon this transition.

Similarly, to embark on the transition by violent means would almost certainly give the old guard the advantage and make it easy for them to discredit our Transition.

It is important that we change the paradigm for this process as well. Too many well-founded revolutions have devolved into blood-baths with atrocities committed by the side of the just as well as the unjust. The moment that path is taken, the stage is set and the pump is primed for rage and hatred to out-create reason and compassion, which will most certainly compromise the intention of such a transition beyond recognition. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. It is essential and imperative that we not create power structures that can take on a life of their own, be abused and become a tyrannical end unto themselves.