Libcom, parecon, calculation, planning, computers, meetings

[Mathew Forstater]

In what in lbo-time was millions of years ago, I suggested reserving the
term "anarchist" for the left and "libertarian" for the right, because up
until a few decades ago (I thought) people calling themselves anarchists
were not simply anti-statist, but also anti-capitalist and wanted to
abolish private property (crudely and generally speaking, as I always do).
Someone threw a wrench in by raising, I believe Max Scheler? Anyway,
certainly everyone has heard of anarcho-communism, so that is not the
issue.  Pete Boettke wrote an article "Why are there no Austrian
Socialists?" where "Austrian" means followers of the economics of Hayek
and/or von Mises. Depending on how you define each of the terms, there
are. Ted Burczak and Dave Prychitko are two that kind of fit the bill.
Anyone who recalls Robin Blackburn's criticism of the austrians in his
revisiting of the socialist calculation debates may remember he threw out
that the Austrian re-intepretation of the debate in terms of the
"knowledge problem" can provide the basis for an argument for worker
ownership of the means of production. (Don't forget also that, as doug
pointed out, some Misesians believe Hayek to be too pink!) So I agree the
term is problematic.

With regard to the socialist calculation debate, raised in another post,
that debate (i.e. Hayek and Mises vs. Lange/Lerner, etc.), was not about
capitalism vs. socialism but about whether neoclassical economics could be
used as the basis for running a socialist economy.  I agree that it
cannot.  It doesn't explain capitalism or anything else either, IMO.

Which gets to Albert and Hahnel.  Lange or Fred Taylor or one of the
others revisiting the "calculation" debate years later said now that we
have computers, we win again!  Wrong. And for the reasons Wojtek gave,
etc.  But computers can be a tool of course. And planning isn't out, just
rational (essentialist) planning.

Meetings. If we want less meetings and we don't want "market
coordination," then we better start paying attention to social norms,
habit-change, norm creation, socialization, education, and issues of
"freedom and order."

Mat