Could collectivism in one form or another ever work?

Question

I'm not talking about communism exclusively, but any type of collectivism. Money is clearly evil, and if we could get everyone to work for the greater good, then we'd probably all be better off. Would it require people to be assigned to certain jobs and then legally expected to perform those jobs? Would all salaries need to be federally administered (making everyone equal federal employees)? Could family values be worked into the equation, despite what Karl Marx said? How could we make it work?

Answer 1

Money is not "clearly evil". It is a tool. Like a hammer or an ax, it can be used for evil.

Collectivism works to some degree in every society. Even in capitalist countries, roads and airports are built for the common good.

In China, it works better than in other places. Still, a monetary incentive is needed to provide an incentive for at least some people to do at least some jobs.

Answer 2

Collectivism exists. It exists for sure in Canada, USA, and Mexico. It probably exists all over the globe, it is just that I have not verified it. So the first question is flawed beyond my wish to repair it. Secondly, that you are so sure that money is evil shows that you are either very young and brainwashed, which is excusable, or not young and brainwashed which is not excusable.
Some collectives, some of which I have visited, are very rich.
For the most part this was accomplished by registering as church groups or native groups to become tax exempt.
Salaries are administered by the administrations of these groups. Sometimes it is not important since all their needs are looked after. In some cases every child that is born is automatically the recipient of over one million dollars which is put in a trust fund until they reach the age of majority. None of this has a detrimental effect on their family values. On the contrary. they need not be side-tracked about the basic struggle for survival that most of us get involved with. Usually the elders build in to their system rules which shelter the children from negative experiences.
Remember that yesterday`s truth can be tomorrow`s lie and vice versa. Cheers!

Answer 3

Collectivism can be typified as "horizontal collectivism", wherein equality is emphasized and people engage in sharing and cooperation, or "vertical collectivism", wherein hierarchy is emphasized and people submit to authorities to the point of self-sacrifice.[9] Horizontal collectivism is based on the assumption that each individual is more or less like every other individual, while vertical collectivism assumes that individuals are fundamentally different from each other. Therefore, horizontal collectivists tend to favour democratic decision-making, while vertical collectivists believe in a strict chain of command. Horizontal collectivism stresses common goals, interdependence and sociability. Vertical collectivism stresses the integrity of the in-group (e.g. the family or the nation), expects individuals to sacrifice themselves for the in-group if necessary, and promotes competition between different in-groups. Harry Triandis and Michele Gelfand argue that horizontal collectivist societies are those based on communal living, such as Israeli kibbutzim, while vertical collectivist societies are for example fascist countries or traditional communities with strong patriarchal leaders; vertical collectivism also closely correlates with right-wing authoritarianism

Answer 4

No. In Law it's known as the "Tragedy of the Commons." This means that, given a piece of property, if the entire community owns it, it will fall into ruin as no one takes personal responsibility for it because there is no incentive for them. Even recently, the oldest Kibbutz in Israel has decided to pay people wages for their work because ofter three generations, the Kibbutz was failing.

HOWEVER, the Hutterites (in Canada) and the Amish (in the USA) have made collectivism work. Both of these types of communities are successful. Both are rooted in their German Christian faith and their collectives are their way to work out their faith with integrity. Financially, they are all very well off.

Answer 5

Money is a tool, and therefore is not evil. No, the top-down model of society has never worked and will never work. People work best when they work for themselves in mind. This is true compassion: not insulting people's intelligence by telling them their labor is no better or worse than the next guy's. No one person has the authority to control the private lives of the citizens. It is essentially saying that one person contains the wisdom of several million, which is impossible.