I joined Threads a little while ago and have enjoyed yapping my thoughts into the void.
There’s a big and rather lovely neurodivergent community that I adore conversing with. However, I also often share about the intersection of ableism and capitalism. And people frequently have feelings.
Not necessarily from other neurodivergents. But you always risk kicking the hornet’s nest when you mention the C word.
If you’ve spent any time in anti-capitalist or liberation spaces, you’ll know the pushback coming the second you critique oppressive systems.
Tricia Hersey was right when she said capitalism steals our imagination.
Many folks genuinely believe capitalism is the best we can do. Sure, they admit, it has some problems. But it’s far better than any other system we’ve created.
People have trouble believing that alternatives are possible.
And I aggressively disagree.
When I say the word capitalism, I mean the current global socio-economic political model we all live under.
Capitalism is not a benign system of trade. It isn’t work. It’s not business. It’s not even a synonym for an economy.
It is a hierarchical system of power. A way of organising all of society around a profit motive.
And I do NOT believe it’s the best we can do.
So this is my humble attempt at imagining a more humane future.
A future that works for all of us - including and especially neurodivergent and disabled people.
Instead of a society based on precarity, artificial scarcity and poverty, while a small handful of people hoard unfathomable amounts of wealth? I want to envision an inclusive society based on dignity and comfort for everyone.
None of the ideas laid out below are my own. They are gathered from many other people, far smarter than me, who have crafted genuine alternatives to our current society.
But the vision is mine. A way to synthesise my passion for disability justice and a more restful world.
It is a small attempt to imagine how we might build one. It may be incomplete. Clumsy. Naive even.
But it feels important to me to try. Shall we?
In A Restful World Education Is Reimagined
Imagine a world where education was flexible.
Instead of being forced to learn whatever the government decides is important, you get to follow your interests.
Instead of making ‘school’ your job where you ‘work’ all day learning, you get to attend when you can. According to your capacity.
You can rest when you need and learn as much as you like when you like. You get to play and move and experiment.
You would never be punished for ‘not sitting still’ or being bad at math. You could leverage your strengths and follow your curiosities.
And when you graduate, you could choose a fulfilling career in a topic you love and have become an expert in.
But how will you find work?
In A Restful World Labour Is Reimagined
Imagine a world where instead of being an employee, you are part of a worker-owned cooperative?
Instead of being dictated to the type of work you do, you get to make decisions about how to best do your job.
You contribute ideas to the team and vote on how to run the business together.
But most importantly, YOU get to keep the full value of the product or service you create.
Because under capitalism you don’t “make” $20 per hour. You are paid $20 per hour.
But you might make thousands of dollars worth of product. Or contribute to tens of thousands of dollars in services. And the difference between the value you create and the salary you are paid is called profit.
But you don’t get paid any of that profit. That goes to the business owner and shareholders. They get to keep it, even if they haven’t done any of the work.
In a restful world, the workers are the shareholders. They collectively hold the risk, create the goods & services and distribute the profits.
Salary theft… bullshit jobs… unlivable wages… all a thing of the past.
You love your job. It’s in an industry you are passionate about and you’re paid very well to do it.
And because you keep the value of the things you create, you have more money.
And because you get to decide collectively how to do the work, you all elect to work fewer hours and have more leisure time.
Win-win.
But who will clean the toilets?
In A Restful World Priorities Are Reimagined
Imagine a world where jobs that are ‘icky’ but necessary are highly prized as essential work. And therefore generously compensated.
Perhaps you decide you don’t want to become an expert in something, you just want to earn money. Or perhaps you enjoy physical labour and don’t want to sit behind a computer all day.
We still need icky jobs done, so you join a worker-owned cleaning collective that is paid handsomely.
Perhaps your work is so important, and the public toilets you clean are so beautiful that someone makes a documentary about you.
In a restful world, labour is allocated not to create profit, but instead to fulfil human needs.
We need cleaners, cooks, caretakers, craftspeople and cultivators.
We recognise that these are some of the most important jobs in the world. So paying people for their service is an important part of the economy.
When we organise society around human needs,
we incentivise meeting those needs
But what if you can’t work? What if you are chronically ill or disabled?
In A Restful World, Human Survival Is Reimagined
Imagine a world where every single person, regardless of their productive capacity, lived in comfort and dignity.
Right now, disabled people live in deep and abiding poverty by design.
It is a tool used by capitalists to warn the working class “look what will happen to you if you don’t work!”
But what if everyone received a liveable stipend every single month? One that paid for comfortable shelter, enough food, water, electricity and wifi?
This stipend (usually called Universal Basic Income) would cover people in the case of illness, disability, caretaking or even just wanting to take a break from work.
It’s Universal so everyone gets it. No one misses out.
You don’t have to jump through hoops or prove your worth to receive it. And it isn’t means tested, doing away with costly bureaucratic oversight and policing.
It’s Basic which means it gives people a baseline level of dignity, that they didn’t have to earn. You never have to fight for care or worry that it will be taken away from you.
When you get sick, you can still survive with dignity.
If you are/become disabled, you can still survive with dignity.
If you are a stay-at-home parent, you can still survive with dignity.
But who will pay for it?
In A Restful World Tax Is Reimagined
Remember those worker-owned collectives that many people work for? What if they paid a share of their revenue as tax to the government?
Personal tax would be eliminated. Government revenue could be raised through a combination of company tax and surplus from state-owned enterprises, such as nationalised electricity.
Now it’s no longer possible for teachers & nurses to pay 30% in tax while corporations pay nothing.
Loopholes and tax havens are done away with. Tax returns are simpler and less complicated while still raising enough revenue for the things we need.
Tax is used for UBI, free education and free healthcare.
It’s used to make communities more liveable with green spaces, clean air and water, comfortable reliable public transport, and proper infrastructure.
But how will we ensure the government is efficient?
In A Restful World Government Is Reimagined
Imagine a world where the government is actually run by the people for the people.
In Australia, the starting salaries of Victorian MPs put them in the top 4% of earners.
This is why so many people feel as though politicians are ‘out of touch’. Because they are.
Under capitalism, wealthy politicians make decisions in their own best interest, rather than in the interest of the people.
But instead of funding endless wars, benefitting from insider trading, and siphoning up properties in a housing crisis? The government could be held accountable to its electorate.
We know that lobbying and political donations fundamentally corrupt democracy. So these activities would no longer be allowed.
In a restful world, all politicians use the systems they govern.
When they travel, they use public transport. When they get sick, they go to public hospitals. Their children go to public schools. Their tax-paid salaries are capped to median wages.
When we speak, politicians listen.
They are beholden to us. Their laws are our laws. They are part of our communities.
How Do We Build a Restful World?
So how can we build a more restful world? What does it require? How can we get from here to there?
I believe we need a fundamental shift in perspective.
We need to decouple people’s worth from labour potential.
Humans have worked and cared for one another for millennia without a profit incentive.
So what could life be like if we changed that?
Instead of withholding people’s fundamental needs and then using coercion to earn those needs… what if we gave people their needs first?
Here are some answers to common objections that might help change your mind…
Q: If we give people their needs, no one will work
One of the greatest fears about UBI is that it will disincentivise work. People will just sit around idle.
During a survey about UBI, people were asked about what they would do if their material needs were met.
Most people responded that they would keep working. In fact, about 5 per cent said they'd spend more time working.
People wanted to work, volunteer and do something worthwhile with their time.
And they would be happy to do it even if they were no longer anxious about how to pay for rent and food.
Q: So you just want to give some people a free ride while everyone else has to work?
That’s literally what happens now under capitalism.
The working class create surplus value (profit) which is then used and hoarded by the owning class (investors, business owners etc) to live without having to labour.
In a restful world, people will be able to live with basic dignity. Then if you can/want to, you can earn more money by working.
And if you work at a worker-owned cooperative? You’d get to keep the value of the things you produce.
Q: So you want to pay people to do nothing?
Yes.
People don’t need to earn their dignity. We have enough resources, knowledge and wealth to make this happen.
Q: What else needs to happen?
Productivity is at the highest it’s ever been in history. We have technological advancements and automation that drastically reduce the need for regular work.
Yet we waste billions of tonnes of food. Clothes are made that go straight into landfill. Planned obsolescence and toxic products are the norm. All in the name of profit.
To build a restful world, we also need:
resilient community relationships based on trust
modular design & repair (no more planned obsolescence)
locally produced food & farmers’ markets
diverting food waste from landfill
There are so many small and useful ways we can start right now. We don’t have to wait to have it all figured out perfectly before we start building a restful world today
More resources
As I said at the beginning of this piece, none of these ideas are mine alone. I have learned from so many sources but here are a few of my favourites.
Books
Rest is Resistance by Tricia Hersey
Capitalist Realism by Mark Fisher
Less Is More by Jason Hickel
Capitalism Survival Guide by Laura Oldanie
Emergent Strategy by Adrienne Maree Brown
All About Love by Bell Hooks
YouTube/Podcasts/Substack
Cosmic Anarchy by Dr Ayesha Khan
I believe a restful world starts with us. The Restful app is a library of meditones® to help you feel calm and restful without having to do a thing. Made by & for neurodivergents!
This is so well said! 👏🏻🙏🎉. Have you checked out the work of The Othering and Belonging Institute?