Good welfare state
The term "welfare state" usually has a negative connotation. But this page is about how societies could implement "welfare state" principles in a way that actually benefits people.
Aims
To put it simply and controversially:
The average person is currently overworked. 40 hours/week is far too much for most people. There is plenty of scientific evidence that it's unhealthy to sit, stand, or stare at a screen for 8 hours/day. Most jobs are monotonous and take a toll on physical & mental health.
Note that this happens both in countries that call themselves "capitalist" (such as USA), and in countries that call themselves "communist" (such as China).
- Working less: We want people to be lazy. We want people to work less and have more time for friends, family, hobbies, or anything else that people would rather do instead of working. Now obviously there still has to be some work from people (for example if no one planted & harvested food crops, people would starve). We have to strike a balance.
- Guaranteed basic needs: No one should be at risk of homelessness or hunger, no matter how broke or unemployed they are. Food and housing should be basic entitlements. However, we can't just have a full communist system where everything is handed to people by the government. It takes labor to make all those things, and we don't want people to be overworked.
Minimum guaranteed housing
What everyone should be allowed to have for free: [?]For the purpose of this page, the word "free" is shorthand for "paid for by taxes". If you believe in the "no such thing as a free lunch" philosophy, then go ahead and replace the word "free" with "fully government-subsidized". I try to avoid making the page too wordy.
- One bedroom per person
- Building is maintained enough to be liveable
(...)( Don't expect floors and countertops to be replaced just because they have stains on them. Don't expect someone to wash your windows for you. But do expect the structure, plumbing and wiring to be kept in good order (any problems to be fixed right away). ) [new page needed] - Privacy and freedom
If you want something more than this, you gotta pay.
Implementation using existing housing stock
This section has not been filled in yet.
Minimum guaranteed food
Not all food has to be free, but the free food available should be able to meet all nutritional needs.[new page needed] To minimize the costs of feeding everyone, we have to reduce food waste, among other things.[ELABORATION needed] TODO: talk about the nature of the 'free food', who prepares it etc
Economics
No one should ever have to be coerced into working. This isn't "communist slavery", but it also isn't "work-or-die capitalism".
How much labor does it take to sustain the guaranteed goods?
Educated guess: Less than 5 hours/week per capita.[ELABORATION needed] Taxes would pay for people to do this essential labor.[ELABORATION needed]
Free market for everything else
The whole economy of "non-essential" things would thrive from people having plenty of time to innovate etc (all without the pressure of constantly having to survive). Taxes from this economy would pay for the essential goods.
Balanced budget example
This section has not been filled in yet.
Geopolitics
A welfare state probably shouldn't depend on other countries for the material wealth it guarantees to its citizens.
- Reason: We don't want "first-world welfare states" that depend on the overworking of people in the global south, for example. That would just be another form of colonialism
(...)( and at its extreme would be a Viking-style system (stealing from other countries and sharing it with one's own people only) ) . So the aim of "less work" has to account for all the labor that goes into the guaranteed goods (including the labor in other countries). - Exception: If a country has so little farmland per capita that there's no way for it to produce enough food for its people (and might cause deforestation if it tried). In such a case, a welfare state system would need to involve some sort of union with countries that have more farmland per capita.
(...)( By the way, this is also why a "city state" wouldn't work so well; urban areas are relatively small and depend on outside farmland for food. )