Tiberius Thought

Braun Spencer Thought is the economically centrist and culturally left ideology of the blogger Braun Spencer. He occupies a moderate position between the authoritarian left and authoritarian right quadrants.

[[File:Idealist.png]] Subjective Idealism [[File:Idealval.png]]
Braun Spencer Thought follows subjective idealist. He believes that, insofar as we can only verify the existence of our souls and consciousness relative to the physical realm, everything is relative to individual perception. In other words, literally everything is relative. Objectivity does not exist outside of what the individual categorizes within the physical realm.

[[File:Nihil.png]] Morality [[File:Hedonism-cloud.png]]
Per his subjective idealism, Braun Spencer Thought believes morals are a matter of personal preference since they too rely on individual perception. He sees the world as a struggle between competiting moral systems; those who prove victorious get to impose their moral beliefs onto others. Critics of his ideology feel this boils down to "Might makes right."

His personal moral preference is hedonistic  conquentialism. He sees pleasure—spiritual, psychological welfare (happiness)—as the end-goal of his ideology, and sees towards that end whatever means at society's disposal would be justifably employed.

[[File:Fed.png]] Federalism [[File:Fed.png]]
W.I.P.

[[File:Welf.png]] Welfare State [[File:WelfLib.png]]
Braun Spencer Thought supports a welfare state for two reasons:
 * 1) Ignoring the anti-human consequences of the system, such as homelessness and joblessness, fuels [[File:Pop.png]] populist and [[File:Soc.png]] socialist sentiment. For example: mass unemployment caused by automation in 19th century [[File:Cball-UK.png]] Britain led to [[File:Ludd.png]] Luddite [[File:Terrorist.png]] terrorism.
 * 2) Consumption is a primary source of econoimc growth, as producers respond to demand. (As the [[File:Keynes.png]] Keynesian axiom goes: "Demand creates its own supply.") So a welfare state which subsidizes leisure, even if it allows the naturally unproductive to lead "parasitic lifestyles," is a net positive.

[[File:Yang2020.png]] Universal Basic Income (UBI) [[File:SocCred.png]]
Braun Spencer Thought supports a Universal Basic Income (UBI). It would be high enough to ensure every citizen has adequate access to food, clothing, and shelter. Were he dictator for a day, it would be funded through a flat consumption so the program constantly pays for itself. But he is also sympathetic to Social Credit where the UBI fluctuates based on the country's productivity. There are five reasons behind why he supports such a policy.
 * 1) In the absence of [[File:SyndieSam.png]] trade unions, a UBI would enhance individual bargaining power. If an aspiring employee deems a job as worth less than the state-backed revenue stream, he can simply refuse it. (Perhaps the job pays less than the UBI and not worth the emotional or time investment.) This would force firms—especially ones with monopsony power which rely on paying employees low wages—to finally compete for the best wages and benefits.
 * 2) Following up from the first point, a UBI would accelerate [[File:Falgsc.png]] automation. [[File:Cap.png]] Businesses which find it too costly to improve pay or working conditions will find machinery a worthwhile investment. This reduces prices for consumers long-term—countering the potential short-term inflationary impact of UBI—while reducing working hours.
 * 3) Both [[File:Ancom.png]] David Graeber and [[File:SocCred.png]] C.H. Douglas would argue much of the work created under capitalism fall into "bullshit jobs." Jobs which exist under the context of growth for growth's sake, and the social consequences of abolishing them would be negligible or positive. By strengthening individual bargaining power and incentivizing automation, most of these bullshit jobs would cease to exist.
 * 4) A UBI would boost productivity in key industries as it supplements a working income while eradicating poverty. Keep in mind a UBI would supplement working incomes in a similar yet more generous manner to the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), the most effective anti-poverty program to date. You also will not lose benefits for neither working nor abandoning ship.
 * 5) And finally, it would render most [[File:Welf.png]] safety nets—most of which are ineffective at addressing poverty or are unsustainable long-term, maintained through expensive, sometimes straight-up corrupt bureaucracies—unnecessary.

[[File:PlannedCap.png]] State Commericalism[[File:Nordmodel.png]]
Braun Spencer Thought is a strong supporter of social wealth funds (SWFs) and public holding companies (PHCs). Such investment vechiles aim to maximize profits for the state. The former would invest in natural resources and non-commodity goods (e.g., oil); the latter would buy shares in successful copanies like  and  Facebook. SWFs/PHCs can also appoint representatives to the boards of these enterprises to influence management. This would have numerous benefits: To quote Matt Bruenig's commentary on Norway's oil-based SWF:
 * 1) SWFs/PHCs can substantially reduce private sector taxation (which is a win for [[File:Libertarian.png]] librtarian types).
 * 2) SWFs/PHCs allow the state to optimize management and regulatory structures.
 * 3) They would reduce [[File:Plutocrat.png]] economic inequality as many of the profits which drive it go into state.
 * 4) Profits could go towards [[File:Construction.png]] infrastructure and [[File:Welf.png]] safety nets.

[[File:Right-Distributism.png]] Employee Ownership [[File:Market_Socialist_ball.png]]
One often overlooked aspect of Braun Spencer Thought is his support for employee ownership. He feels that one of capitalism's biggest flaws is that by depriving people of a sense of property in their workplace, they feel disconnected from their efforts. They clock into work everyday yet barely get a fraction of the wealth they produce by virtue being denied meaningful ownership. Such alienation fuels populist and  socialist tendencies. But he also sees the meritocratic structure inherent to  companies as necessary for extracting Schumpeterian rents (creative destruction) and taking on short-term risks for long-term gain. A compromise is necessary.

He feels Employee-Owned Companies (EOCs) or Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) are the best compromise. Preserving the traditional hierarchies necessary for fuelling progress, they give workers a sense of ownership in their workplaces. As with regular shareholders they will receive a dividend which fluctuates based on profits, making them invested in the company's success. And in some situations ownership enables some level of democratic compromise with management. Were Braun Spencer Thought implemented, it would be required by law that all firms with more than 100 employees give workers 25% minimum ownership over shares.

[[File:Ancapf.png]] Education [[File:Edu.png]]
Inspired by the anarcho-capitalist Bryan Caplan and his book "The Case Against Education", Braun Spencer Thought favors reforming the education system along the lines of "pseudo-privatization." The positive externalities of public education and subsidized college is vastly overstated, as most students do not retain the information they learn. This is why most Americans, despite learning civics and history for nearly two decades, cannot recall the three branches of the federal government. (As Caplan also showed in his book, similar results results are replicated in European countries.) In fact, public education and the messy private college system both harm the  working poor through credential inflation, a negative externality where people must compete for jobs which obviously should not necessitate any level of education. Braun Spencer Thought also finds that most students simply want to get the skills necessary to survive, and only a minority of them actually go into academia (and an even greater minority succeed in doing so).

The priority for the state in the eyes of Braun Spencer Thought should be getting children who show promise access to higher education, while ensuring job training is freely accessible so anybody who wants a job can get the skills they need. To save valuable resources, he advocates for:
 * Replacing most government-run schools with charter schools (which, contrary to popular belief, are not private).
 * Ending compulsory classroom attendance, full-stop, which he feels are inhumane.
 * Nationalizing the college education system; which most likely would mean only those who excell academically would attend.
 * Implementing [[File:Construction.png]] universal trade school so anybody who wants to learn an in-demand skill can do so.

[[File:AmericanNat.png]] American Nationalism [[File:Natprog.png]][[File:Civnat.png]]
Braun Spencer Thought is an American nationalist. He sees America as a nation with a unique history and shared destiny, and values its welfare. He also sees patriotism as necessary to spur progress within his country's borders. Such civic nationalism drives many of his beliefs, including his  economic nationalism,  neo-imperialism, and  anti-racism.

[[File:Gay.png]] LGBT Rights [[File:Trans.png]]
W.I.P.

[[File:Libhawk.png]] Global Hegemony [[File:Neoimp.png]]
W.I.P.

Relations
W.I.P. W.I.P.
 * -|Ideology Relations=
 * -|Self-Insert Relations=