Things That Need Socialising
Posted on 18 April 2016
ALL education: daycare, pre-school, primary, secondary, tertiary, re-education, apprenticeships, etc.
An educated public can vote more intelligently. An educated public has more knowledge, skills, and experience to draw from in order to create solutions to major problems. Intentionally keeping things like daycare and tertiary education out of reach of any but the wealthiest is a way to maintain a stratified society. If you can’t afford to put your children in the most expensive schools, if they still manage to succeed but you can’t afford tertiary, then only the weathiest can achieve the education it takes to secure the highest paying jobs.
The justice system.
It’s not justice if only the wealthy can afford having decisions made in their favour. I was once editor-in-chief for a magazine that had a hostile take over by a large company without payment. Our lawyers said we would win the case and recover the magazine, only if we could afford a lengthy legal process. The tactics regularly used by the company was to put a large team of lawyers on the case and just keep the case tied up in court for so long that it would ruin the other party. The founder of the magazine had to let all his work and investment go without a fight. This is minor compared to the innocent lives that have been ruined through imprisonment because their skin is the wrong colour and they can’t afford a legal team.
Everyone should have advocates assigned to them. No one should be able to buy the best representation.
Elections.
If a society wishes to be genuinely democratic with a government by the people and for the people, then we need to make sure that running for office is within anyone’s reach. No one should be able to buy an office through a sort of electoral auction that goes to the highest bidder.
Yes, this may mean the odd joke party will raise their heads, but they are a sign of a healthy system where people have the luxury of laughing and thinking about their political process. Everyone should have equal time allocated for advertising on television and elsewhere. Everyone should have an equal budget allocated to them for campaigning. Everyone should be required transparency in their campaigns. Truth in advertising should apply to public statements made by parties and they should be held accountable for their campaign promises.
Personally, I also believe some seats in all elected bodies should be made for citizens who are randomly selected for several weeks of parliamentary duty, similar to jury duty. This would help ground these bodies in everyday realities and ensure a means by which a two-party deadlock can be overcome.
Pharmaceuticals.
When pharmaceuticals are made solely for the profit they will garner investors, then people are rightfully dubious of the value of those medications. We need people’s confidence when it comes to public vaccination. We also need to ensure that all human life is treated with equal respect. Ensuring everyone has access to the medicines they need without financial ruin is of great importance. Cynically jacking up the price of a cure for AIDS or cancer should not only be illegal, but not even possible since something of this nature should be in public hands in the same way that doctors and hospitals should be in public hands.
Peace and kindness,
Katherine
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