JKS refers to > the well worn territory of how markets are BAD<

actually, my understanding is that (except for Mike B), the main trend of the 
anti-"market socialism" side was not  that markets are "BAD." (Could you name someone 
who says that markets are evil?) Rather, it was that real-world markets do not 
correspond to the textbook ideal of markets, which doesn't exist in reality, while 
real-world markets have a large number of imperfections that prevent them from serving 
socialist-democratic goals. It's the pro-"market socialism" side that puts forth that 
markets are good, or at least better than central planning, which is BAD. Frankly, I 
think that the whole plan vs. market discussion misses the point (i.e., the need for 
democracy as part of the abolition of class and to avoid the inequality-generating 
characteristics of both markets and central plans).

Rather than discussing "market socialism," I think it would be worth pen-l's while to 
discuss Charlie Andrews' proposal for competing not-for-profit enterprises (in his 
FROM CAPITALISM TO EQUALITY). Maybe Charlie could be dragooned into participating.

Jim

 

 

 


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