Socialized Markets, not Market Socialism

Abstract

Socialism has always abounded in visions of a life free from the pressure of capitalist market forces, whether in self-sufficient local communities or in democratically planned economies. However, on the whole those visions have not sufficiently taken into account the limitations of small communities or the problems of democratic planning of whole economies. One response has been to construct blueprints of market socialism, in which property is collectively owned or distributed on an egalitarian basis, but enterprises engage in market transactions pretty much as they do in capitalist economies. Another response is to explore ways in which market transactions can themselves be reshaped, and markets can be socialized, so that people are not confronted with anonymous, uncontrolled, market forces, but can nevertheless enjoy the benefits of decentralization that market transactions can bring. A focus on decentralization is particularly important for envisioning ways in which new forms of community, solidarity and democracy can be international. A series of autarchic local or national economies would constrict and confine people in the development of their capacities. The problem with 'globalization' is not that it is international, but that it is a one-sided internationalism that operates mainly in favour of big business. This paper is a contribution to the exploration of the path between the plan and the market, to envisioning not blueprints for market socialism, but possibilities for socializing markets.