A Federalist Alternative To Investment as a Claim To Property

Capitalism uses investment as a the crux of the claim of property or ownership of a collective. Collectives are a reality. The company you work for is a collective. To be liberated we must end the claim of property over the productive association of the workers. Workers must stand up and claim the product of their labor which is stolen by the capitalist.

Those who oppose this often respond by pointing to the investment made to claim dominion over the workers. This assumes we are still functioning in a system of capitalism where the investment is made by an individual and this gives them dominion over the worker. The worker submits to the dominion of the capitalist out of necessity because of scarcity that capitalism creates. Surplus is simply what the capitalist calls the stolen product of the workers labor. This is the right of increase Proudhon spoke of.

By eliminating the right of increase workers owning the means of association organized and distributed necessities and products through a federation instead of through a market monetary system we find that resources can be obtained through the federation of freely associated workers. Federations of mutually beneficial exchanges and access to services will be able to provide to enable the worker to begin a new venture in production or service.

Through the federation the people will have direct power over their economies and needs. Without a diversity of federations we shall have tyranny of democracy. Free association of a diversity of federations is a necessity.

Those who oppose this and claim investment as the crux of ownership of property ignore the reality that it takes privilege of wealth to produce. It maintains the current rule and maintains a class divide. To produce you must already have a claim to the ownership of the means of production, in a capitalist society this is money or wealth. Wealth is found through dominion over the labor of others. Wealth had been maintained by the exploitation of workers, slaves, genders, races and other class divides. This claim to property is enforced through the state or in some cases wage labor and privatized versions of the state. This power is maintained by ones claim to resources and the power this gives them over others. To have access to basic necessities one must submit to the proprietor to have access to the resources the proprietor claims dominion over.

Investment by a proprietor as a basis for production must be abolished. Resources must be liberated from the capitalist rulers and delivered to the people so that we can be liberated.