> particulars will be decided by democratic politics in socialist society
(whereas they
> are determined by private decisions of individuals disciplined by
> competition, fear of unemployment [for workers], fear of bankruptcy
> [for petty producers], and dislike of low profit rates, anxiety of
> uncertainty, etc. [for investors] under capitalism).
This is the same point that should be made about Doug's earlier question, "Will there be restaurants? What about airplanes?" in an anarchist society. Anarchism, like Marxism, isn't an out-of-the-box world system that can be fit over society, ready-made, like a fresh change of clothes. They're both ensembles of critical theory - a methodology, not a hard, Utopian blueprint.
The question "Will there be airplanes?" can't be answered definitively with "yes" or "no." Airplanes as they exist now are predicated upon different constellations of social relations that may or may not be coercive, authoritarian, unjust, etc. If airplanes are completely dependent upon social coercion to exist - that is, if fate is so merciless
that airplanes may only exist if people are oppressed in some manner - then I think people, especially those bearing the brunt of whatever coercion is involved, should be able to decide if they want to have any part in making them. If they don't, then the airplanes won't get made. Theorists shouldn't decide it in advance of the actual society; the decision should be a particpatory one made by those most affected by the production and its effects.
Brian