Democracy And Economic Planning: The Political Economy Of A Self-governing Society

This book is a wide-ranging analysis of the nature of economic planning in both capitalist and state socialist societies. It seeks to establish an alternative to market forces as a means of co-ordinating decentralized economic decisions. The author begins with an analysis of the theory and practice of capitalist planning, central planning and market socialism. He argues that, while market socialism is currently favoured by many economists who reject both capitalism and the command planning of Eastern Europe, it cannot fulfil the promises held out for it. In the remainder of the book the author elaborates an alternative model based on the novel idea of negotiated co-ordination. The model combines system-wide with decentralized decision-making, recognizes the existence of differences of interest and incorporates a transformatory dynamic in which individuals modify their attitudes in the light of the positions of others. The model offers a detailed account of how economic activity could be organized in a self-governing society. This work should be of interest to students of economics, politics and sociology, as well as to a more general audience concerned with the nature of, and prospects for, socialism and democracy.