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Capitalism has an internal engine that seeks privatization and commodification of everything, in order to turn everything into a consumable product. We usually view consumption and leisure as inseparable. But that concept was unknown for the overwhelming majority of human history. Any socialist future that values human wellbeing will need to return to decommodified leisure and community. Here’s a short list, in no particular order, of play and leisure that can be decommodified in that future world:

Publicly-managed parks with lots of places to sit and socialize (preferably with lots of greenery)

Public entertainment (music, plays, films)

Open-sourced media sites like Netflix or Youtube, made free to use and with constantly expanding libraries (think every movie or TV show that has ever existed, made possible after the abolition of intellectual property law)

Open-sourced technology in general, which would allow people to make innovations and improvements onto designs without the prohibitive bullshit of copyright and enclosure

The conversion of commercial malls and corporate headquarters into public plazas for stuff like learning centers, art exhibits, eating commons, collective housing, and libraries (perhaps with a lot of overlap among those things)

Community festivals (I argue that play-focused gatherings similar to Burning Man or renaissance fairs will become a lot more common under socialism)

Travel made easier and more fulfilling through the dissolving of strict borders and commercial industries that prepackage experiences into hollow bites

(People are also more than welcome to reblog this post and add more things that they envision in this regard!)

It’s often difficult for us to imagine a world of modern amenities without rampant privatization and commodification, but that’s why I believe “utopian” speculation like this is useful. We fight in the class war so we can help bring about that future, and so we absolutely must paint these pictures so people know what we stand for.

Marx argued that once socialism was fully off the ground, people would be able to “hunt in the morning, fish in the afternoon, rear cattle in the evening, and criticize after dinner, without ever becoming hunter, fisher, farmer, or critic.”To be honest his imaginative scope was a tad limited here, but his core point is hugely important. When you combine democratic thinking, labor-saving material conditions, and common ownership of utilities, you wind up with a society where careers and ranks matter substantially less; people would be able to jump around pursuing what they’re passionate about in whatever capacity because their freedom and leisure time have been massively expanded.

And I think you could take this logic into further conclusions too: who’s to say people will even have permanent private residences in a world like this? I absolutely think it should always be an option to have a separated personal residence if one wishes, but in a world of living commons it will probably mean less among much of the population. The nuclear family “ideal” would dissolve and a new interrelational individuality would take its place. This would have big implications for the realm of family, friendships, and romance, hopefully in ways that nurture both the individual and the community.

Culture, art, identity politics, spirituality, cuisine, aesthetics, linguistics, ethical values, probably no social quality will go unaffected in the transition to and through socialism. All of this would need to be consciously built by the people in a new society free from commodification and enclosure, but I think it’ll become easier to conceptualize as more and more people write about these possibilities and the material conditions for capitalism’s downfall continue to ripen.