3.1.2.9             Collective Consumption


Each society organizes a service that meets the collective needs on a certain territory. Collective services need cash assets for the collective consumption. Such assets are in any society provided by the tax policy arising from the sale of commodities, enterprise profit and workers' income.

The authority on the territory where it has sovereignty determines tax policy. In the present-day democratic social orders the people choose their representatives in power and they should represent the interests of their voters. In practice, the chosen representatives in power are, as a general rule, more inclined to follow their own interests or to represent interests of the privileged society members having a strong power of influence.  

The society does not have direct nor significant impact on the setting of taxes or on the purposes for which the tax money will be used. In this connection, no matter how much the authorities objectively meet the social needs by their tax policy, the tax policy is alienated from the members of the society and they cannot accept it as their own. The society is forced to accept the tax policy created by the authorities and, therefore, it experiences it as an act of violence on its own needs. The outcome of such circumstances is the dissatisfaction with the tax payment and insufficiently built attitude toward collective ownership, which results in losses for the society as a whole.  

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The newly proposed system needs a tax policy. However, it would substantially differ from the tax policy in the classical sense. The commune’s population will directly tailor the new tax policy.  

Once the sale of goods is completed, the realized cash gain of each enterprise is registered in the administrative centre of the commune in order to establish the productivity of each enterprise, and then is pooled. Pooled cash allows the population to distribute rapidly, simply and efficiently the collective money and to direct in this way the collective acting.  

From this mass of money a quantity of resources intended for collective consumption would be set-aside in the amount determined directly by the commune's population. The distribution takes place within possible value ranges determined by the commune's leadership, and approved by its assembly or council. An inhabitant who will assess that collective commodity consumption will require setting aside an amount of money larger than for other forms of consumption will opt for a larger appropriation. A larger quantity of money intended for collective consumption will satisfy to a greater extent the collective social needs, but will diminish the quantity of money intended for individual consumption and economic development. On the other hand, an inhabitant assessing that a larger amount of money is needed for other forms of consumption will reduce the amount of money intended for collective consumption. The sum of the values opted for by all inhabitants in the function of their voting power will represent a proportion of the distribution of the revenue of commune.  

It is worth mentioning that the assets intended for collective commodity consumption serve exclusively for this form of consumption, because all incomes of inhabitants are paid directly from the fund of individual incomes. In this way, the possibility for manipulation with cash assets intended for the specific purpose in favour of privileged workers is eliminated.   

The population will by its vote registered on computer cards or applications determine the purpose of cash assets for collective consumption and thus achieve a maximum satisfaction of the collective needs. The commune's population could vote whenever it will wish to and the votes would be valid as long as the changes take place and thus make the new votes valid. The basic distribution of money intended for collective consumption is divided into assets intended for the maintenance and for the construction of the commune's collective facilities. 

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Monetary assets intended for the maintenance will need to be further segregated among the commune's administration, management, judiciary, social protection, health-care, education, science, culture, sports and recreation, the environment arrangement, for the needs of infrastructure, transport, social alimentary needs and other forms of consumption.  

Leadership of the commune would set possible value ranges for the distribution of money onto certain groups. The leadership of the commune is bound to set the limits for minimal resources that certain groups within collective consumption have to ensure for their own functioning, as well as the optimal and maximal possible quantity of money for certain forms of consumption.  

An inhabitant assessing that a specific form of collective consumption requires to set aside a larger amount of money, in order to meet to a greater extent his own and collective needs of society, will appropriate a larger amount of money at the expense of the consumption form that in his view is less necessary. The statements of all the inhabitants of commune are then processed in the commune's administrative centre. The sum of all values stated per groups in the function of the voting power of the population would represent the ratio of cash assets distribution.  

The known amounts intended for the collective consumption groups will create a certain standard of certain groups. Inhabitants will on the basis of practice get to know whether it will be necessary to increase or decrease cash assets for the needs of certain groups. Such practice allows the population to get to know the needs of its commune. Each collective consumption group has a vast number of minor and major costs and a limited amount of money at its disposal. Inhabitants as a whole do not need to be necessarily interested in making further money distribution. However, the distribution may be carried out by interested individuals as long as they will have interest in doing so.  

The money for the collective consumption might also be distributed to non-economic companies that by its use offer the highest satisfaction of society’s needs. That is something similar to the principle of the money distribution for the development of economy. The evaluation of such satisfaction will be performing by arbitration commissions, by evaluation courts, by various associations and directly by inhabitants of commune. In the society where such evaluations of work have direct impact on income or even on distribution of income based points of workers the use of money for the collective consumption needs will be very responsible. 

Authorized managers will determine the final distribution of money assets under each group of consumption. Due to the high level of responsibility the managers will use the money intended for collective consumption in a kind of an agreement with interested population or by way of questionnaires with a view to meeting the social needs to a greater extent. In the new system, managers will be the workers who are no longer able to meet their own needs without prior meeting the social needs. Such principle represents a guarantee that the final distribution even of smallest money assets intended for collective consumption will be earmarked in a fashion allowing the most efficient way for the meeting of social needs.  

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The population also directly impacts the construction of new facilities of social interest. Construction of the social standard-related facilities refers to the building of all kinds of premises, transport routes and infrastructure, as well as acquisition of the equipment that requires large amounts of cash assets. In this connection, the more the population opts for a larger quantity of money intended for collective consumption, including the needs for the necessary construction, the more possibilities will be in place for building a larger number of facilities of collective standard, and vice versa. 

The leadership will on the basis of the amount of money at its disposal and the social needs assessed through the questionnaires and direct statements by the population in cooperation with professional services make plans for the construction of capital and other facilities. It will then define, with the help of and via mass media, the purpose and place of the construction, technical characteristics and the amount of money necessary for such construction, and all beneficial and non-beneficial consequences that such construction or non-construction entail.  

Since any construction requires a large amount of money, requires large quantity of collective work and introduces the changes in the commune's structure on a lasting basis, a referendum needs to be organized in which the population will state their opinion on the subject matter. Each inhabitant will have to give his/her consent to the construction of a capital or expensive project, and may also express his/her view about the construction of any facility in the commune. Capital projects will be built if majority of the commune's population approves the construction by its vote in the function of individual voting power. Other facilities are of less significance, so that only will be needed the majority of votes of the number of inhabitants voting on the construction.  

The proposed system of distribution of the money for collective commodity consumption is subject to a vast and rapid social agreement, which contributes to the constructive orientation of the society. In such social system the population has for the first time the power to directly manage the collective consumption. Such power will contribute to making the population accept the collective consumption as part of its own consumption. In such a system the collective ownership is no longer alienated in any segment, which will contribute to making the population accept its community. It is worth pointing out that the man prefers and likes more what he is more familiar with, where he acts more. In such a community one may expect a responsible attitude of the population toward collective property.  

Possible departures from the constructive orientation of individuals will also be prevented by direct assessment of the society. The population will give bad income-based assessments to irresponsible individuals, which will reduce income and the quantity of past labour income-based points. Arbitration commissions and courts will sanction eventual greater individuals’ irresponsibility.  

Collective commodity consumption is the most rational form of consumption and allows the highest degree in the meeting of social needs. Therefore, it may be expected that over time the population will increase the quantity of money intended for collective consumption, which will contribute to a major well being and prosperity of the society.  

Federal Consumption  

The commune is in terms of the formation of its collective consumption assets fully sovereign. However, in terms of its political affiliation, the commune represents a part of the state community. It regulates the relations with other communes through delegates in the assembly of a broader territorial community. Representatives of all communes on the state territory establish the collective consumption at the state level in the federal parliament.  

Assets for the federal consumption are necessary for the budget of the union of communes in the state. Cash assets are used for the needs of administration, state defence, and for the construction and maintenance of the facilities of state-wide importance. Once the necessary cash assets are determined, they are gathered from the communes by equal burdening the commune proportionately to its revenue. After the sale of commodities is over, such assets are set aside and forwarded to federal administration.  

Distribution of money at the federal level is created by the state leadership, and approved by delegates of the communes in the federal assembly or parliament. In other words, the population of the commune does not have at the federal level a direct impact on the formation and distribution of cash assets for collective consumption. It may be expected that the population accustomed to directly decide about the collective consumption distribution at the level of the commune will seek the right to decision-making at the federal lever, too. Direct decision-making by the population at the federal level is technically easily feasible, as is the decision-making at the level of the commune; however, it requires compatibility of the decision-making systems. In other words, all communes in the state would need to accept such or a similar system.

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