Then your a libertarian, government socialism has nothing to do with it. Government is not involved in your free will co-op.
The co-op is the socialism bit: workers owning the means of production. And, yes, government has little to do with it.
In the term, 'socialism' is the core and 'libertarian' the adjective that describes its particular type: the libertarianism is set within a strong socialist ethos and the socialism has its authoritarian and centralised state elements greatly reduced. For a more detailed introduction, if anyone is interested, the Wikipedia entry is a fairly short read. I'll quote from it re DrPrepper's government question, though:
'It asserts that a society based on freedom and justice can be achieved through abolishing authoritarian institutions that control certain means of production and subordinate the majority to an owning class or political and economic elite.[*] Libertarian socialists advocate for decentralized structures based on direct democracy and federal or confederal associations such as libertarian municipalism, citizens' assemblies, trade unions, and workers' councils.'
I've marked [*] because I think that this is simply one strand of establishing a better society, and that other elements are needed. Tacitus wrote '
Corruptissima re publica plurimae leges.' (The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws;
Annals 3:27). People who have a care for kindness, honesty, fairness, tolerance, etc., and the thinking and emotional skills to negotiate, need few laws but tgere will always be conflicts of interest. I suspect that people who are selfish, brutal, callous, controlling, hate-filled and aggressive
want few laws, and only those that won't be used to curb them. A utopia of loveliness is impossible and, as Maverick and I agree, would probably be extremely dull.
I'm very new to taking an active interest in politics, and have only recently identified the economic/political philosophy most suited to my personal thoughts and practice. As a result, my understanding of libertarian socialism is also very new.
As I said above, LS doesn't - can't - hold all the answers, nor can any single philosophy. I can do my best to disengage from and help to dismantle practices that I find exploitative, damaging and driven by hate and fear and which I think will, if left unchecked, lead to catastrophic environmental and socio-economic collapse. By working to dismantle them and by striving to live a more socially engaged, humane, co-operative and joyous life, I improve the chances of a better life for individuals, society, and the world as a whole. I prep both for the catastrophe and in order to make it less likely.
I may not be able to take this immediate discussion much further, as I'm rather at the limits of my current understanding and ability to explain it, but thank you for the opportunity to explore and clarify my thoughts. This has been really useful, and will help me to make more progress.
Phew, I've had five hours' sleep and
really need breakfast
