Forum Post: Cybersteading Occupations: A Strategy Proposal

Cybersteading Occupations: A Strategy Proposal By Iktomi

Table of Contents Introduction: Outline of background. Economic Dominance: How the state and corporation collude. Suicide of the Oligarchs: How a pyramidal structure destroys itself. The New Feudalism: What arises in a hollow state. Online Commonwealth: An alternative political model, and how different branches are involved. Resilient Communities: The benefits of local organization and global connection. Strategy Summary: The short version of protest and political strategies. Proposed Social Contract: A new social contract for such a model. Recommended Reading: Additional resources to read.

Introduction Political, religious, and economic institutions are human inventions, and as with all inventions, they are prone to eventual failure. Some institutional models have emerged above others due to adopting certain patterns. Since the Peace of Westphalia, the nation-state has emerged as the dominant model of polity in the world. The financial and economic system of these states has developed from the mercantilism of the colonial period, through the industrial age, and into the corporate socialism of the present. In the modern business ecosystem, the financial firm has become the apex predator. Like other predators, it seeks to protect its dominance of nation-states through legal, political, and militant means. The purpose of this essay is to detail an alternative strategy to the megacorporate-state structure.

Economic Dominance

Even the legal and political constraints against such economic dominance have become neutralized in many countries. Game theory and history demonstrate that large financial institutions hijack political power for their own gain. If a financial company fails, it merely relies upon its political allies (often bribed or often former members of its own board of executives) for assistance. The result is that the financial titans can take massive bailouts, and the taxpayers are left deeper in debt. Eventually, a financial institution may convince government officials to privatize various infrastructure and natural resources, selling them to the business for small amounts relative to the net worth of the asset. The afflicted smaller communities may attempt lawfare or a legal challenge, but the overwhelming power of a business and lack of transparency with co-opted legal and political structures can negate their efforts. During scarcities of resources and funds, austerity measures implemented by governments often harm communities in the form of reduced funding of vital infrastructure and social services. The austerity measures are often conducted at the advice of the financial firms, and firms may attempt to cut off commerce with the community unless their remaining assets are “privatized” (often to the firms exclusively). The result is those who once took state functions for granted are left weakened. The infrastructure necessary for healthy commerce degrades. The middle class, the vital backbone of a healthy economy, shrinks as the gap between the wealthy and the poor grows. Society, outside of a small group involved with the financial institutions and governments, is weakened. The firms can thus acquire assets with little loss, and gain income from doing so. Each financial firm maintains economic incentive to continue their business model, acquiring assets by means of debt entrapment, buying political influence, reducing the transparency of their market, and gaining government assets by a variety of means. There is also strong economic incentive on firms to have local governments pass laws discouraging competition by setting higher barriers to enter the market.