Reply #5: OK

[DrGonzoLives]

- Should the Cartel be liberal or conservative on personal issues such as sex and abortion?

It depends - is there a dollar to be made? With sex and abortion, I would think so; abortion is a service to be provided, and condoms/birth control/whatever can be sold. Besides, by leaving things like that up to the consumer, they can create the illusion that the consumer is free.

- Should air be private or still public?

By air - you mean the stuff we breathe or the airwaves? If by oxygen, yeah, it should probably be free, as the mechanism to monitor it would be more expenisve than the income.

- Should there be any libertarian think-tanks (Ayn Rand Institute, Cato, whatever) providing ideological justification for the Cartel?

If there are only fifteen companies, then who needs an outside entity to justify them? No one has any choice anymore. Might as well just have these companies release a steady stream of propaganda to everyone, telling them that the system is OK and everyone is fine.

- Should there still be any art?

There will be some corporate-approved art, after all, the wealthy want baubles to put up in their mansions, and corporate honchos want expensive sculptures for their buildings. It's similar to the Middle Ages when the Church built huge, magnificent cathedrals in order to cow the peasants their into obedience.

- What length should be the usual workweek - 60 hours? 70? 80? Anything else?

70 hours for most people, no overtime, no paid vacation or holidays, can be fired for any reason...et cetera.

- Is it important to have all 15 Cartel corporations identified in name and industry (i.e. software, construction, automobiles, etc.)? If so, then what should they be?

Don't use real company names - you would find so many lawsuits in your mailbox that you would faint from shock. But, having a monopoly in each major industry is a good idea (reduce choice, enforce power). I would even go so far as to have them compete in minor matters, like laundromats or something, to give people the illusion of capitalist competition.

- Should the police/army be private (i.e. one corporation), or jointly owned by all 15 corporations?

I would have each company have their own police forces and army.

- Should there finally be a revolution against the Cartel? If so, then what should it create - a democracy? a communist tyranny? a second Cartel?

If you mean in one book, no. A revolution like that would take years, if not generations. Besides, think of the factions involved in the overthrow; I imagine it would like the leftist forces in the Spanish Civil War (read Orwell's Homage to Catalonia).

- Should the Cartel use 1984 and Animal Farm as anti-communist propaganda?

Might as well, that's how they're used anyway.