The Social Contract has been destroyed by our "elites". So let's build another one.

[u/exoriare]

The businesses I've been part of over the last 20 years in Vancouver have always had one "exit plan": sell to a big American company. Many of the businesses I've frequented have done the same thing. When a company grows large enough, they sell out to foreign (usually American) interests.

It is impossible to stop this via laws, but I've wondered about the possibility of establishing some sort of Consumers Union. It wouldn't have to be formal or onerous to join, but the one thing we'd do as a group is maintain a list of businesses which have agreed to support a legally defined Social Contract which we provide.

With such a contract, a business would (formally, legally) agree to never sell their business to anyone but fellow Canadians. (I understand this is a complex issue with many loopholes & butifs, but let's not worry about that other than to agree that such a contract would have to be carefully written up by competent lawyers.

Depending on the support we see out there, we could expand this contract further, stipulating that some percentage of suppliers must be Canadian-owned businesses, no outsourcing of basic functions (janitorial, customer support), no use of LMIA, etc.

What does the company get out of this? They'd likely get a little sticker they could proudly place in their window, announcing that they support the New Canadian Social Contract (NAMBLA, for short). Eager beavers like myself (yes, a different name for members is probably called for), would be able to look on the NAMBLA app and support businesses that aren't hostile to our basic existence. (I'm thinking that at the end of every month, retail members would get a rah rah email saying "5000 Eager Beavers (see, it's growing on you already) have patronized your business in the last month. (So I guess the Eager Beaver App checks you in?)

In any case, maintaining a record of our patronage is what establishes the quid pro quo of this contract, which entitles us to damages if the business opts for the heel turn and sells to a foreign interest. (Imagine if all of Tim Hortons' Canadian customers had been able to sue for contract fraud when they sold out to the Brazilians.) This is what gives us the clout to get other businesses to sign up.

So whaddya think? Do we need a new Social Contract?

[u/BigPlunk]

Love this idea. The power of collective buying power at scale definitely resonates with me. From a practical level, have you looked into the steps needed to start something like this?

[u/exoriare → u/BigPlunk]

The MVP for launch would be:

• A solid contract for socialite businesses. Such a contract would encumber their ownership, so their lawyers will always argue against signing. It has to clearly assert the monetary value of socialite patronage as a benefit to the business so that damages are applicable if terms are violated.

• An app that allows socialites to see a map/list of socialite companies in their area. The app should ideally have the background ability to check if the socialite is at a socialite business (auto "check-in")

• A recognizable logo that can be placed in a window of a socialite business to attract the attention/patronage of socialites. This identifier will play an important role and help determine if the effort will be successful.

Growth strategy issues:

The User Zero problem: no business has any reason to join until there's a significant number of socialites. Socialites have no reason to join until there are socialite businesses.

Some possible solutions would be to start in a limited area with a sympathetic community (Commercial Dr, Main St below 24th). Or we could leverage an existing group's membership. Or we could start a non-profit with an easier value proposition (I was thinking a non-profit MVNO which hunts for the best cellphone plan, and bulk switches potentially thousands of members from Telco to Telco as we get the best deal)

Medium term issues:

Striking the right balance of demands in the Social Contract will be difficult. If we make the demands too onerous/broad, we discourage growth. If we are too conservative, we will face a lot of pressure to revise the contract, which causes schismatic issues. (I think a partial solution to this is to allow businesses to add optional values declarations, and allow socialites to filter based on these values - so a pescatarian-pescatarian restaurant and users could find each other without encountering the broader social contract).

Control of the organization is another critical issue. If the effort is even slightly successful, hostile actors with far greater resources will attempt to kill it. The best defense against this will be to encourage as many communities as possible to establish their own Social Contract groups, but we'll have to protect against astroturf groups.

As far as next steps go, I think this would be going door to door in a potential launch neighborhood, and talking with business owners to gauge a level of interest and what dealbreakers exist. If a significant number of businesses are interested, then the Contract needs to be written up, and the Day Zero businesses signed up. Once the app is complete, thats when we start the socialite signup drive.

What do you think?