I’ve thought about this a lot and I think at the root level, there are 2 main problems in our current system. Political and economic overlap is one, and until it is outlawed, nothing will ever change. That means you can’t use political power to buy economic power (IE no congressional trading), and you can’t us economic power to buy political power (IE campaign donations).
The next step after ensuring that is the decommodification of the needs of survival.
What if we took away the ability to manufacture scarcity by providing something of a universal basic needs guarantee? Theoretically, we could invest in some massive public facilities that guaranteed private shelter, food, clean water, and healthcare. Like massive hotels, with medical facilities every 20 or so floors.
The rest of the system could even remain the same but the difference is that now, working for the capitalist is no longer compulsory. You could choose to work in exchange for disposable income. You would no longer have to worry about being homeless or starving if you get fired or quit your job or even get evicted from your house. If a real safety net existed, people would have the power and freedom to actually choose what they want to do.
If people are free to pursue whatever they want, what would happen? There’d obviously be a massive explosion of art, culture, and sciences, but beyond that you’d see improved mental and physical health as people no longer run themselves ragged working 80 hours a week to feed their families. What else?
I’m just dreaming, but sometimes it’s nice to dream every now and then.