AHC: Libertarian Socialist country

GeographyDude

As far as the opposition, even limited to just low-level economic warfare, which a non-corporate government of any stripe runs into . . .

Maybe a leader has a morning dream and decides leading his or her country to destruction just is not a reasonable option, you have to tail back to more limited expectations and so be it.

For example . . .

Angolan tail wagging the Portuguese dog

https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=319993

Okay, as far as industry and natural resources in Angola, the Portuguese are going to pay lip service that they are quite willing and ready to promote Angolan engineers and managers 'as soon as they are ready.' So let's take a flight of fancy . . . the woman who's the leader of Angola in the 1920s realizes this is the key, and she skillfully and patiently takes Portugal up on the offer and matter-of-factly maneuvers the situation so that the Portuguese pretty much have to follow through. She also realizes the shelf life for a leader is about ten years, and so she works on the most important decision of her career which is getting a good successor. Plus, plenty of her ministers and deputy ministers are committed to the goal of Angolans running their own industries.

And then next . . . (and you write this part :))
Click to expand...
progress.gif
 
Last edited:
Sabot Cat

Sabot Cat

Banned
Dorozhand said:
There's a timeline on Youtube called "Spartacus Across the Rhine" that details a Spartacist victory in Germany. It even describes how the economy works.
Click to expand...

Checking it out. :)

Part I

  • This PoD is ill-defined, unfortunately. How does the KPD help the Spartacists to organize more than they did in OTL?

  • 0:37 What compels the Reichswehr to defect? It's not impossible, but this rather sparse.

  • 0:49 Why. did. the. Reichswehr. defect? Urgh.

  • 1:15 The "Socialist Republic of the Germans" is admittedly a better name than the "Free Socialist Republic of Germany" because it doesn't entail the supremacy of the nation as much, but that this just a socialist republic which happens to be composed of German people, but I'm wondering if the author is aware of the OTL name.

  • 2:18 "Liebknecht and Luxemburg appoint him General of the People's Legions..." This is in contravention of the Spartacus's stated policies and nomenclature:

    "Arming of the entire adult male proletarian population as a workers’ militia. Creation of a Red Guard of proletarians as an active part of the militia for the constant protection of the Revolution against counter-revolutionary attacks and subversions.

    Abolition of the command authority of officers and noncommissioned officers. Replacement of the military cadaverdiscipline by voluntary discipline of the soldiers. Election of all officers by their units, with right of immediate recall at any time."

    There would be no 'appointment', 'General', or 'People's Legions'.

  • 2:40 "Instead of killing the Weimar rulers and embarking on a reign of terror, [...], [they] insist upon a compassionate approach, and tolerate no civilian killings"

    This holds up to this statement in their platform, "The proletarian revolution requires no terror for its aims; it hates and despises killing."

  • 2:47: The SRD apparently does have the military structure I delineated above, but that raises into question the previous appointment

  • 3:00:This checks out, although I'm not sure if Luxemburg would use the "economic bill of rights" nomenclature. Although I'm kind of wondering who they're trading with if the Soviet Union is going all 'more commie than thou' on them.

I don't think I'm going to watch the rest of the series because the PoD is waaay too ill-defined; I have no idea what circumstances precipitated their success in this timeline.

Nonetheless, thanks for the recommendation. :)

Brady Kj said:
I suppose Germany comes closest.
Click to expand...

Germany needs more than themselves to survive, unfortunately; Soviet support would do the trick, although they'd have to prevent themselves from becoming a puppet.

Also, GeographyDude, I'm interested in your Angola suggestion, although again, capitalist intervention is always the risk there.
 
Last edited:

GeographyDude

With the example of Angola and Portugal . . .

if Angola can negotiate and maneuver towards greater and great autonomy without a rupture, then Portugal kind of acts as their protector. Obviously, things shouldn't be this way, but to some extent, kind of are.
 

GeographyDude

Italy . . .

13) Democracies can make mistakes, too. In 2006, the Italian Parliament decides they may have granted too much power to state security agencies to combat terrorism. Beginning the end of the year, agencies may only spy on person's Internet usage who are connected to a suspicious person or activity, and may only keep the information for six months.

14) In 2009, Italy substantially increases its Earned Income Credit (EIC) to persons without dependent children. Lower-income persons can claim a refundable tax credit of 40% of earned income, up to a plateau where the credit is at a maximum, and then a long range in which the credit phases out at 20%.

EIC is a tax policy which Italy initially borrowed from the United States. Over the years, Italy has taken a lot of cues from U.S. tax policy, including the older principle regarding "fun" deductions such work tools or professional membership dues that your taxes can be as simple or as complicated as you choose to make them.

A seasoned Deputy Attorney General expects storefront tax places like H&R Block and Liberty tax to make another foray into the Italian market, which is fine as long as they follow good standard business practices. It's actually a good teaching case, and she gets a younger member of the staff interested in it. She shows him some U.S. material in which these companies have used their bank and loan products as opportunities to engage in third-party debt collection. This would squarely run afoul of Italian case law on adhesion contracts. This younger attorney files for a restraining order, and it's actually a pretty routine case.

15) Beginning in 2011, there is some discussion of a flat-out guaranteed minimum income even for persons who are not working. Perhaps one third of Italian representatives favor this. On the one hand, it is the case that modern economies, even libertarian socialist ones, genuinely do not produce enough jobs for everyone who wants one, much less enough good jobs. On the other hand, this will discourage at least some people from seeking work and it really does seem to bring forth the primate cheat-detector mechanism. Even if it achieves a bare majority, this is not a measure which will be wildly popular. Even people who acknowledge the problem of modern unemployment are looking in other directions for a solution or solutions plural.

And this discussion seems to be have been started and lead first and foremost by citizen discussion websites. Interesting. :)
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top
Top