{"id":304,"date":"2019-01-16T22:12:20","date_gmt":"2019-01-16T22:12:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wsm.prolerat.org\/?page_id=304"},"modified":"2019-01-16T22:12:20","modified_gmt":"2019-01-16T22:12:20","slug":"labour-vouchers","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.worldsocialism.org\/wsm\/labour-vouchers\/","title":{"rendered":"Labour Vouchers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What are labour vouchers?\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Labour vouchers (or labour cheques, labour certificates, \nlabour-time vouchers) are a device suggested to govern demand for goods \nin &#8220;socialism&#8221;, much as money does today under capitalism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Originally proposed by Robert Owen in 1820, they were later taken up \nby Marx in 1875, to deal with the immediate and temporary shortages \nremaining from capitalism, if socialism had been established at that \ntime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The World Socialist Movement opposes labour vouchers entirely, because they will not be needed or desirable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those who support labour vouchers have several different approaches \nor definitions of them. We try here to clarify what labour vouchers are,\n and why we oppose them. In the rest of this section we use the words \n&#8220;paid&#8221;, &#8220;earned&#8221;, &#8220;purchase&#8221; and similar words to mean actions in \n&#8220;labour voucher socialism&#8221; that would be similar to what those words \nmean today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Labour voucher supporters hold the following general beliefs:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Most labour voucher supporters agree that:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>\nLabour vouchers are paid for hours of labour performed.\n<\/li><li>\nLabour vouchers are not money.\n<\/li><li>\nLabour vouchers are used to purchase goods and services.\n<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>But they disagree with each other:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>\nHow are labour vouchers apportioned?\n<ol type=\"a\"><li>\nEach worker gets the same quantity for each hour worked. If the \nagreed upon rate is 100 labour vouchers for 1 hour, everyone who works \nfor one hour gets 100 labour vouchers.\n<\/li><li>\nThe number of labour vouchers paid per hour depends upon the difficulty or desirability of the work performed.\n<\/li><\/ol>\n<\/li><li>\nTemporary or Permanent?\n<ol type=\"a\"><li>\nLabour vouchers are a temporary measure. The general feeling here \nseems to be that people are used to money now and need time to wean \nthemselves from it.\n<\/li><li>\nLabour vouchers will be permanent. These advocates say that society \nneeds some method to restrict access to goods, and\/or that without them \nthere is no way to determine what items should be produced in what \nquantity when there are conflicting desires for goods.\n<\/li><\/ol>\n<\/li><li>\nWhat about those who do not or cannot work?\n<ol type=\"a\"><li>\nBasic necessities should be free to all.\n<\/li><li>\nEnough labour vouchers should be given out to those who do not work \n(or don&#8217;t work enough) to ensure that they can afford basic necessities \n(and perhaps more).\n<\/li><li>\nEnough labour vouchers should be given out to those determined (by \nsomeone or some group) to be needy, or justifiably unable to work, to \nensure that they can afford basic necessities (and perhaps more).\n<\/li><\/ol>\n<\/li><li>\nWhat about non-traditional work, or work not paid today? (housework, art, etc.)\n<ol type=\"a\"><li>\nPay for housework, art etc. on an hourly basis like any other work. (possibly including difficulty factors, etc.)\n<\/li><li>\nPay for art based upon desirability: how many people go to see it or some such measure.\n<\/li><li>\nStraight exchange: art is purchased with labour vouchers for whatever the buyer and seller agree upon.\n<\/li><\/ol>\n<\/li><li>\nCan labour vouchers circulate?\n<ol type=\"a\"><li>\nNo. Once a purchase is made the labour vouchers are either destroyed, or must be re-earned through labour.\n<\/li><li>\nYes. It appears that there are few who believe that labour vouchers \nshould circulate like money, but there are those who believe that they \ncan be &#8220;invested&#8221; (although not for profit, proponents assure), or that \nwhen something is purchased, the seller could use them for their own \npurchases.\n<\/li><\/ol>\n<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While supporters of labour vouchers have different approaches or ways\n of stating their beliefs, this broad-brush approach does give a good \ngeneral feel for the range of ideas of those supporting labour vouchers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Socialism means free access to the goods and services produced by \nsociety without any exchange, barter, trading, labour vouchers, or \nmoney. Instead of arguing specifics socialists argue against the whole \nconcept of labour vouchers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a>Why the World Socialist Movement opposes Labour Vouchers<\/a>Labour vouchers are not necessary\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>\nThe technical ability exists today to produce, in an ecologically \nresponsible manner, more than enough to satisfy the self-defined needs \nof the world&#8217;s population. <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20151012063523\/http:\/\/www.worldsocialism.org\/articles\/labour_vouchers.php#NOSHORT\">There will not be a shortage of goods<\/a> and therefore, artificial access limitations\u2014labour vouchers\u2014will not be required.\n<\/li><li>\nIt is obvious that if everyone decided that they needed everything, \nfree access could not work. If people want socialism to work, they must \ndecide that they will not work to destroy it. Common sense will prevent \noutrageous overconsumption.\nThe WSM has always said that socialism cannot be established by 51% \nof the working class. The conscious support for socialism by the vast \nmajority is key to the success of socialism. If only 51% of the working \nclass support socialism and they haven&#8217;t thought it out, then failure is\n certain. If the vast majority of the working class understands and \nsupports the ramifications of socialism, then success is guaranteed.\n<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Labour vouchers, given that they are unnecessary, are undesirable\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>\nLabour vouchers would tend to maintain the idea that our human worth \nis determined by how much or how many goods we can own (or produce).\n<\/li><li>\nLabour vouchers require administration. People must spend time \nadministering the labour vouchers themselves\u2014who gets them (and how \nmany), how they are reused or destroyed, etc.\n<\/li><li>\nLabour vouchers imply that someone must police who takes the goods \nproduced by society. In other words there must be people who spend their\n time ensuring that other people do not take things without paying for \nthem. That is normal in a profit oriented society, but a waste of human \nlabour in socialism.\n<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Labour vouchers, as suggested by some, are money\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>\nIf &#8220;labour vouchers&#8221; circulate, they are money, no different from \ntoday and should be called money. Labour vouchers cannot circulate.\n<\/li><li>\nIf used as originally intended, to account for hours worked, and \ngoods taken, they are not money as meant in the broader capitalist \nsense. Although for workers the everyday use of labour vouchers would be\n very similar, labour vouchers could not be used to accumulate the means\n of producing wealth, which is a very important difference. Their only \npurpose would be to limit consumption and enforce work. Note that \nenforcing work was not the initial idea, but has become, to some, an \nimportant feature.\n<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>In any case, socialism will be a society of free access and voluntary labour. There will be no need for labour vouchers.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a>Shortages will not be a problem<\/a>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>\nIn socialism, perhaps 50% or more of the work done under capitalism \nwill not be needed. The people currently doing that work will then be \navailable to perform useful work. This will allow for a significant \nreduction in the average work day.\n<\/li><li>\nInstead of the profit motive standing in the way of production and \nresponsible production techniques, production will be able to meet \npeople&#8217;s needs.\n<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">People will make rational consumption choices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>\nToday, goods are produced to make a profit. It is therefore important\n to sell them, and in order to do that people must be convinced to buy \nthe goods. It does not matter that the goods may have little or no real \nutility, the important consideration is selling them. With this in mind,\n advertising <em>creates needs<\/em>. Goods which never existed before, suddenly become absolute requirements\u2014then they sit in closets, unused.\nA large section of the genre of time-saving appliances is geared to a\n market that must be convinced that taking 5 seconds to chop a carrot \n(or whatever) for supper is too long: it can supposedly be done in 1 \nsecond if only the consumer purchases the latest, greatest appliance. \nThat is wasteful of the earth&#8217;s resources and of the labour required to \nproduce those appliances. Without a huge advertising industry pushing \nthe <em>consume, consume, consume<\/em> ethic at us, most people will not object to spending an extra few seconds doing household chores.\n<\/li><li>\nMany consumer goods are used rarely. Perhaps sharing them in a \nneighbourhood will replace the idea that everyone needs one of \neverything. This will reduce the number of these items required. That \nmeans reduced production and reduced scarcity (and therefore no need to \nlimit access to these goods).\nSome simple examples:\n<ul><li>\nLawn mowers: Maybe five or ten per block will supply the needs of \neveryone on the block. And maybe some avid gardeners, because they enjoy\n it, will do the yards of other neighbours.\n<\/li><li>\nAutomobiles: Most cars sit idle for most of the day, some are used \nonly a few times a month. Combined with intelligent changes in how we \nwork, an appropriate transit system in most towns and cities can easily \neliminate the need for many cars, without significantly increasing \ninconvenience to people who, today, drive to work. There is no reason \nthat <em>every<\/em> family will want to own one or more cars (as is almost an accepted norm in countries such as the United States and Canada).\n<\/li><\/ul>\n<\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What are labour vouchers? Labour vouchers (or labour cheques, labour certificates, labour-time vouchers) are a device suggested to govern demand for goods in &#8220;socialism&#8221;, much as money does today under capitalism. Originally proposed by Robert Owen in 1820, they were later taken up by Marx in 1875, to deal with the immediate and temporary shortages&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"magazine_newspaper_sidebar_layout":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-304","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldsocialism.org\/wsm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldsocialism.org\/wsm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldsocialism.org\/wsm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldsocialism.org\/wsm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldsocialism.org\/wsm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=304"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldsocialism.org\/wsm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/304\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldsocialism.org\/wsm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}