Takes issue with Ernest Mandel's 'Defence of socialist planning' (NLR, 159), insisting that the argument over market and planning cannot be resolved by the experience of the existing post-capitalist societies. The characteristic tensions between central allocation and enterprise autonomy, material and non-material incentives, general and partial interests, admit of no lateral resolution in a world in which abundance remains a distant prospect. (AM)
It is argued that in rent-seeking societies, incentives to engage in distributional struggles are strong, while those to engage in productive work are weak; thus, stagnation & some unemployment should be expected. Long-lasting democracies with unchanged borders create a permissive environment for rent seeking. The provision of rents is dependent on the government, since the stronger the government's involvement in the economy, the higher is social security spending, with the government likely to generate more rents. Therefore, creeping socialism, whether ideologically backed or not, understood as increased government control of the economy, should reinforce the rent-seeking society & the corresponding negative effects on growth & employment. Based on cross-sectional & cross-national analyses of data collected during the 1960s & 1970s from a 19-nation sample of industrial democracies, the rent-seeking approach is found to be fairly successful in explaining national differences in economic growth rates, but receives only ambiguous support in explaining unemployment. M. Olsen's proposition (see The Rise and Decline of Nations: Economic Growth, Stagflation and Social Rigidities, New Haven: Yale U Press, 1982) about the negative impact of long-lasting democracy within unchanged borders on economic growth is much better supported than are the growth-retarding effects of government revenues or social security spending. 1 Appendix, 30 References. Modified HA
Examines the relationship between feminism & socialism. It is argued that neither socialism nor liberalism is consistently associated with gender equity, although socialism is more likely to be critical of the private sphere &, thus, the domestic division of labor. In recent years, the interference of socialism in the private sphere has become less extreme due to socialist concessions to liberalism. The result has been a strengthening of the association between socialism & the women's movement. It is posited that the best prospects for promoting sexual equity may be to combine socialist & liberal elements. It is concluded that full, nonpartial, sexual equality is mandatory & requires a new balance between paid & unpaid work combined with socialized care provision. M. Nichols-Wagner
This ebook devotes itself to the issue of 'Surviving Post-Socialism', with a particular geographical focus on countries located in the former Soviet Union (FSU) and in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). This ebook seeks to contribute to the existing body of literature on surviving post-socialism in general and in particular, across all the papers included, pays particular attention to the role of informal economic relations and practices, as fundamental parts of wider economic relations across the FSU and CEE regions. Whilst the papers included demonstrate the richness of empirical data, which
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Argues for a system of comprehensive socialism. Several possible socialist models are described, & it is claimed that any adequate conception of socialism requires a full understanding of both capitalism & the East European & Soviet experiences with postcapitalist construction in the twentieth century. Focus is on socioeconomic systems at an abstract level. The problem of the coordination of wills & activities is posed as a central concern to any conceptions of economic systems in the present-day context. The systems of coordination are distinguished from that of incentives. In the late twentieth century, autonomously acting individuality as expressed through both civil society & politics will be the necessary precondition for socioeconomic progress. An attempt is made to articulate a socialist theory that can address intentionality & democracy. A synthesis of the socialist models is suggested. 1 Figure, 16 References. D. Lou
