Oddbean

Yes, scale is really important. I think a lot of the opportunities for resource distribution and coordination of public goods/services are at the local level. At the scale of the municipality, or even the neighborhood. I think the question to ask is: what are the requirements for a decent standard of living and how can a society be structured so that everyone has at least a minimum level from which to thrive. I would say some key elements for wellbeing include access to housing (shelter, water, sanitation, electricity etc), safety, education and healthcare.

At the local level, with everyone having full access to the decision making (and ability to adjust course as needed), that sounds lovely. How do you define safety, education and healthcare? Those in particular have changed meaning substantially over the last 100 years, so you'd need to get very clear on them if a community is going to agree to support them. E.g. for me access to healthcare means good food, water, and sunshine with a nearby emergency room in case of an accident, but in this age of corporate control over what is generally called public health, "healthcare" usually means access to pharmaceuticals.

yes it does 😊 i think these things are understood and defined differently in different contexts, and any collective decision-making requires trade-offs and compromise. i like the idea of expanding our notion of what these "rights" comprise and totally agree that corporate control over healthcare is a massive problem. moving away from this will actually mean healthier and happier societies.