tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10048538.post8065418849686200983..comments2023-10-26T10:36:08.849+00:00Comments on Socialist Party Election Blog: The Putney DebateUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10048538.post-2302483276133478902012-04-22T16:44:45.177+00:002012-04-22T16:44:45.177+00:00Anon,
as I said, you don't pay per mile with ...Anon,<br /><br />as I said, you don't pay per mile with your road tax. You pay the same tax on a thousand miles as you do on one. You don't buy road time, or (for the most part) pay tolls. Road tax/insurance is not a commodity transaction, but a charge on the vehicle. <br /><br />Likewise, a telly licence is not a charge on watching television, but on the set (compare with subscription channels).<br /><br />And yes, I do use the roads in ways without paying. And I listen to radio, without paying for a telly licence...Billhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16950447156642580143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10048538.post-2143936373412790772012-04-22T13:21:40.992+00:002012-04-22T13:21:40.992+00:00Just try exercising this so-called free access to ...Just try exercising this so-called free access to "our roads" if you're a motorist without having valid road tax and insurance whether to drive or to merely park a vehicle on the 'public highway'. If you do not possess either of these "commodity transactions" you risk a hefty fine or far worse.<br /><br />You're clearly not a motorist; I wouldn't mind betting you're one of these darned cyclists who think THEY own the roads.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10048538.post-39252927998379738352012-04-22T09:54:02.352+00:002012-04-22T09:54:02.352+00:00Morning Anon,
Motorists do not pay to use the roa...Morning Anon,<br /><br />Motorists do not pay to use the roads by mile, the road tax on the car applies if you travel one mile or a thousand. Its as ridiculous as saying since I have to pay for food to give me energy to walk on the road there is a commodity relation.<br /><br />Roads are no more an 'Island of socialism' than the air is, but both are owned and accessed in common without commodity transaction.<br /><br />Likewise it would be just as true to say that relations within a familly resemble socialism without saying that famillies are 'Islands of socialism'<br /><br />I think it is useful to find elements of socialistic tendencies within present society, just as there wre elements of capitalistic society in feudalism.Billhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16950447156642580143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10048538.post-79143688229823458072012-04-21T11:07:11.731+00:002012-04-21T11:07:11.731+00:00Bill said:"Socialism and nationalisation are ...Bill said:"Socialism and nationalisation are not the same thing." <br /><br />Yeah, I think we understand that, but does your candidate when he said at the Putney meeting "I also noted that our roads are socialist, we own them in common and have free access"<br /><br />Oh really? Since when could we have islands of "socialism" within a capitalist economy? Or have I got the wrong Socialist Party?<br /><br />Bill also said:"The key is the commodity relation: roads can be accessed without a commodity transaction."<br /><br />Not true if you're a motorist and if there was a cost-effective way of taxing walking or cycling on the road, or even riding wild horses for that matter, then you can be fairly certain it would be done.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10048538.post-36380284258817352042012-04-21T08:33:32.780+00:002012-04-21T08:33:32.780+00:00Perspicacious,
no, because we didn't not have...Perspicacious,<br /><br />no, because we didn't not have free access to the railways or the banks, they were not a commons: they were a state run business. The railways were owned by British Rail, uultimately run at a profit to pay off the bonds issued to nationalise them.<br /><br />Socialism and nationalisation are not the same thing. The key is the commodity relation: roads can be accessed without a commodity transaction.Billhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16950447156642580143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10048538.post-73915399622031306522012-04-21T07:54:42.318+00:002012-04-21T07:54:42.318+00:00So let me get this right in your reply to Anon. W...So let me get this right in your reply to Anon. We own the roads in the same way as we used to own the railways when they were nationalised and still own some of the banks. Interesting.perspicaciousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10048538.post-8507412354497512662012-04-20T10:04:26.864+00:002012-04-20T10:04:26.864+00:00Anon, the road tax and insurance are a tax on the ...Anon, the road tax and insurance are a tax on the vehicle, not a charge for the road; and, yes, currently you have to pay for a vehicle and its working parts if you want to use one (you have to pay for the bike as well). You don't have to pay to walk on the road, and if you captured and tamed a wild horse you could ride it on the highway without paying. The roads (apart from congestion charge areas) are a commons.Billhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16950447156642580143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10048538.post-1269823529531452292012-04-20T09:35:20.479+00:002012-04-20T09:35:20.479+00:00At the hustings in Herne Hill on Wednesday the Gre...At the hustings in Herne Hill on Wednesday the Green Party candidate there wanted to restrict access even more by imposing road pricing. What next under capitalism. Air pricing?Mondialistehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06840315496347318803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10048538.post-58389649861444731162012-04-20T09:35:00.132+00:002012-04-20T09:35:00.132+00:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Mondialistehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06840315496347318803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10048538.post-90667542752416136152012-04-20T08:55:17.899+00:002012-04-20T08:55:17.899+00:00"I also noted that our roads are socialist, w..."I also noted that our roads are socialist, we own them in common and have free access"<br /><br />What on earth are you talking about? You might have "free access" to "our roads" if you're a cyclist but they're no-go areas in a car if you haven't paid your road tax, got insurance or enough money for the fuel.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com