> Also, it sort of implausible that the market _can_ solve
>the same problems that planning cannot. This is a mystification/deification
>of the market, ignores that "the market" is people.
The market is merely an incentive system, it is not a substitute for planning. Markets versus planning is a false dichotomy.
What people really mean when they argue that markets are necessary, or more efficient, is that such an incentive system is necessary, or more efficient, as part of a social economy. Basically it seems to boil down to assumptions about human nature, that people are venal and unable to co-operate unselfishly.
Its understandable that people living in a capitalist society might make this assumption. Cause and effect can easily be confused.
Bill Bartlett Bracknell Tas