"I don't think being attentive to the existence of the coordinator class distinguishes parecon from the heritage of anarchism, which, I think, is actually the source of the earliest ideas of this same sort. I do think, however, it distinguishes parecon from the heritage of Marxism-Leninism, because in my view, historically Marxism- Leninism is not being the ideology of the working class, as it claims, but, is instead, in practice, and even against the aspirations of most of its advocates, the ideology of the coordinator class."
I was quite surprised as a student of what was self-regarded as quite a radical program (Film and Photography at Napier University, Edinburgh) just how reactionary both the staff, liberal intellectuals (many Marxists or sympathetic to Marxist theory), and the content of the articles assigned were. I think that in practice intellectuals, like doctors and engineers, fall on the wrong side of the fulcrum to be of much use with respect to truly democratic political/economic reforms. They may not be as privileged as the infamous capitalist, but they do belong to a relatively privileged class and would have to give that privilege up if they were sincere--at the end of the day, Norman Finkelstein exempted, the vast majority aren't willing to do that. (I think this fact goes about 90% of the way of explaining why academic discourse is tends to be so in incomprehensible--most of it is an apology for a) not taking political responsibility and b) for unjustified class-status. This is true especially of so called post- modern theory.)
*I don't think that academics quite fall under the term coordinator class as Albert uses it; but believe the role of academics is analogous in relevant respects. It's true they don't usually have direct subordinates in the sense that a nurse is a direct subordinate of a doctor. But they do arrogate themselves as experts or referees of cultural and political issues (if they are successful, by sussing out what those who really have power think and desire and providing a philosophy to rationalize it--i.e., by acting as what Chomsky calls a "secular priesthood") and they do enjoy the fruits of exploited labor--someone else cleaned out the lecture theater before class, to site one of many concrete example.
Peter Ward Contrarian Brooklyn, NY