One of the main points of Marxism, Exploitation , is directly related to the idea that an entity that does not take part in production decides how to spend the profits of Production. The same problem arises in Failed Democracies. The only solution is to decentralize Economic and Political Power so that such failures can be overcome.
Let us look at a centralized version of Communism. In this case, the state decides the amount and type of production that occurs. It gives redeemable coupons to workers which they can give to stores to buy products in exchange for the work that the state has assigned them to do.
Let us look at two scenarios. In the first case, the state takes decisions democratically. The population is given the ability to decide about the Economy. This can be done with local assemblies or with the internet. The decisions are then processed and the result is then passed to the individual sectors of the economy.
Keep in mind that there is a bureaucracy that handles the democratic procedure , produces a solution and sends the signals back.
The second case is the same as before but there is a problem in the democratic procedure. It does not have to be a big problem. Simply the state starts to decide on things that it shouldn't. Some actors have a disproportionate ability to influence Production. It is at this moment that the concept of exploitation that Marx used to describe Capitalism starts to also apply to this scenario, to degenerate Communism.
Can we recover from such a scenario? It is very difficult. The reason for that is that all the processes that organize society are controlled by a single entity. The only solution is a Revolution by the whole of Society. It requires the subversion of big parts of the economy/Society in a scale big enough to be sustainable and to cripple the previous economic system. Small scale uprisings will simply fail unless they inspire others to follow.
There are many Revolutionary parties who want to create a Communist Society. None of them realize that such a Society can be very easily subverted into an Exploitative one.
There is a reason why most Communist Visions are centralized. The rejection of private property in production requires someone to take care and expand the means of production. And this requires that Society decides on the economy as a whole, since the means of production belong to all. Since the public property belongs to all, they all need to contribute in its production. This , thus, requires a centralized way to extract value from Society that is to be spent on the public property.
Another solution is to provide local rules that prohibit exploitation , maintain the means of production as a public property and at the same time have a decentralized way to invest in Capital goods. In this case, there isn't a centralized control of residue value / profits. In fact there are no profits. All the value is returned to the workers / producers. It is then up to them to invest in capital goods. The capital goods are used by Society and customers only need to give back the cost of investment. The investors have no claim on the product of production and they have no control of production at all. Investments are simply a store of value.
In this case, there can still be and should be democratic structures , both local and centralized. Since the method of value accounting is decentralized, if a centralized democratic structure becomes undemocratic, part of the network could simply split from the rest. The social productive relations depend on this decentralized method of accounting to continue functioning.
The ability to invest will continue to exist since it is local peers that perform it.
As long as economic power is decentralized , the democratic structures that are built on top will need to abide to Society's will.
For the same reason, the Capitalist states need to obey to the economic actors that control the productive forces of the economy. Firms have full control over their production, over the accounting of their revenue, and over the investment opportunities that they could pursue. Capitalist democracies can either obey to the economic actors or be overthrown.
If one needs to create a Society where there is no money, then there is a generalization to the previous solution. You need to build a Society where Societal Power is decentralized. Previously, power was based on money or credit. In a moneyless Society, the democatic structures need to be decentralized and self-healing. If one fails, the other can continue to work and eventually overpower the failed one. This does not mean that Centralized Structures should not exist but that they are powerless without the support of the decentralized Social structure.
Assuming that you believe in a reformist transformation of Society, you need to check that you maintain the political power locally at your political organization, or your trade union. If you allow a secondary party to hold the political power, then that party can do what it wants, and it will most probably succumb to the Economic pressure of the Capitalist class.
Let us look at a centralized version of Communism. In this case, the state decides the amount and type of production that occurs. It gives redeemable coupons to workers which they can give to stores to buy products in exchange for the work that the state has assigned them to do.
Let us look at two scenarios. In the first case, the state takes decisions democratically. The population is given the ability to decide about the Economy. This can be done with local assemblies or with the internet. The decisions are then processed and the result is then passed to the individual sectors of the economy.
Keep in mind that there is a bureaucracy that handles the democratic procedure , produces a solution and sends the signals back.
The second case is the same as before but there is a problem in the democratic procedure. It does not have to be a big problem. Simply the state starts to decide on things that it shouldn't. Some actors have a disproportionate ability to influence Production. It is at this moment that the concept of exploitation that Marx used to describe Capitalism starts to also apply to this scenario, to degenerate Communism.
Can we recover from such a scenario? It is very difficult. The reason for that is that all the processes that organize society are controlled by a single entity. The only solution is a Revolution by the whole of Society. It requires the subversion of big parts of the economy/Society in a scale big enough to be sustainable and to cripple the previous economic system. Small scale uprisings will simply fail unless they inspire others to follow.
There are many Revolutionary parties who want to create a Communist Society. None of them realize that such a Society can be very easily subverted into an Exploitative one.
There is a reason why most Communist Visions are centralized. The rejection of private property in production requires someone to take care and expand the means of production. And this requires that Society decides on the economy as a whole, since the means of production belong to all. Since the public property belongs to all, they all need to contribute in its production. This , thus, requires a centralized way to extract value from Society that is to be spent on the public property.
Another solution is to provide local rules that prohibit exploitation , maintain the means of production as a public property and at the same time have a decentralized way to invest in Capital goods. In this case, there isn't a centralized control of residue value / profits. In fact there are no profits. All the value is returned to the workers / producers. It is then up to them to invest in capital goods. The capital goods are used by Society and customers only need to give back the cost of investment. The investors have no claim on the product of production and they have no control of production at all. Investments are simply a store of value.
In this case, there can still be and should be democratic structures , both local and centralized. Since the method of value accounting is decentralized, if a centralized democratic structure becomes undemocratic, part of the network could simply split from the rest. The social productive relations depend on this decentralized method of accounting to continue functioning.
The ability to invest will continue to exist since it is local peers that perform it.
As long as economic power is decentralized , the democratic structures that are built on top will need to abide to Society's will.
For the same reason, the Capitalist states need to obey to the economic actors that control the productive forces of the economy. Firms have full control over their production, over the accounting of their revenue, and over the investment opportunities that they could pursue. Capitalist democracies can either obey to the economic actors or be overthrown.
If one needs to create a Society where there is no money, then there is a generalization to the previous solution. You need to build a Society where Societal Power is decentralized. Previously, power was based on money or credit. In a moneyless Society, the democatic structures need to be decentralized and self-healing. If one fails, the other can continue to work and eventually overpower the failed one. This does not mean that Centralized Structures should not exist but that they are powerless without the support of the decentralized Social structure.
Assuming that you believe in a reformist transformation of Society, you need to check that you maintain the political power locally at your political organization, or your trade union. If you allow a secondary party to hold the political power, then that party can do what it wants, and it will most probably succumb to the Economic pressure of the Capitalist class.
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