das ganze Leben - Grundlagen der kulturellen Situation  -  das ganze Leben
the entire life - grass roots of the cultural situation  -  the entire life
la vie entière - les bases de la situation culturelle  -  la vie entière

August 2012
The Community Life 6

The ownership

The joy on a wonderful work and the opportunity for self-affirmation and recognition by others are powerful motivators. They can encourage individuals to do important efforts for the society. The chance for earnings, profits and wealth are also important incentives. Ownership allows individuals to accumulate goods. This can help to realize ideas and projects. But ownership also means exclusion of others. Property is a kind of bulwark against others and against the general public. But if a society does not recognize private property, the motivation for extraordinary acts will be small. Such a society may develop slowly. Perhaps it will be absorbed by a society organized otherwise.

Property, rights and obligation in an affluent society

We are participants on a high performance society. But we still live in the mindsets, habits and laws of growing societies. Our social and legislative incentives are no longer a help in current situations. This is one reason why things we do to solve problems do not work satisfactorily. We need new ideas, new concepts and new incentives which correspond to the realities of today.

The land

Human did not create the earth. We can not produce new soil in order to legalize a parceling of the earth and a privatization of soil. The same applies to the water and all the natural resources. On earth, we are guests. We use the earth. We should do it only adequate and with care. It is in our interest. The idea to give the land of the earth in private ownership leads to unimaginable consequences. Ultimately, there would be owners and their employees who exploit the land according to their will and at the other side would be the illegals, which should leave the world.

Rights of use

Virgin forests, virgin soils, the primeval ocean, biological cycles and biological diversity are important fundamentals for life. If we can protect these treasures, then we have a solid basis for life, if not, then we play with the branch on which we sit. There are a lot of fundamental goods. We need water, air, soil and the biological richness o the nature. These goods should not be overused and therefore they should remain in public hands. Private rights to use them may be possible. Regulations and strict controls are however necessary. If we have a good agriculture, we think in equilibria and cycles. A careful and effective use of soil may work better in private hands than in the hands of an administration where no one is really responsible. If private obtain rights to basic things, a counterweight to the private sector is necessary. We need a public control to assure that the rules are followed adequately.

The legacies of our culture

The culture provides the current knowledge and skills. Everything new is based on them. This is to consider as counterbalance to the private right of ownership. Those who accomplish extraordinary achievements should get something that they are motivated and rewarded for their performance. Scientific and cultural works and performances make the providers of them seldom rich. Therefore, the public must invest generously, because it should not be such that the creators and bearers of our culture have an acute shortage of working materials, that they are cold, hungry and afraid of the oncoming age. On the other side, the public should also participate and benefit by the achievements of culture and science. It should be possible to protect special performances by copyrights and patents. A patent issued on time should be an incentive for research, investment and also create a situation of competition. The patent protection should never go that far, that she crushes the competition, instead of promoting it. Private inheritance has to be very limited. Inheritance is a legacy of power and wealth. It is a discrimination against anyone who does not inherit. Knowledge and power should not degenerate into monopoly by private and the public should not loose its culture.

Services

There are essential services without alternatives. Examples are public administration, firefighters, police, schools, health care and public transport. These institutions should not pass into private hands. Restrictive contracts with the private sector could be possible. But companies producing goods or additional services, do their work more efficiently and more imaginatively, if they are in private hands.