Comments on: A Comment on Brian Berkey’s Essay: Capitalism, Utopianism, and Democracy http://www.lawsocietyblog.com/archives/244 Notes from the intersection of law, society, technology, economics, and culture Tue, 06 Jan 2009 03:22:27 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2 By: Malvin http://www.lawsocietyblog.com/archives/244#comment-8821 Malvin Sat, 01 Sep 2007 12:55:24 +0000 http://www.lawsocietyblog.com/archives/244#comment-8821 Great discussion, but there is no reason to think that free markets could not work within a socialist framework. Markets merely set price points; that is all. The mechanism for setting up a system of buyers and sellers is not important; many models exist, from the NYSE to eBay. Production is also easily calculated; virtually every major corporation makes projections into the future as a routine course of doing business. What is missing is a framework for matching production to socially-desirable needs. That is a project for a radical form of democracy where human (including future generations), non-human, and environmental/ecosystem rights are recognized. Great discussion, but there is no reason to think that free markets could not work within a socialist framework. Markets merely set price points; that is all.

The mechanism for setting up a system of buyers and sellers is not important; many models exist, from the NYSE to eBay. Production is also easily calculated; virtually every major corporation makes projections into the future as a routine course of doing business.

What is missing is a framework for matching production to socially-desirable needs. That is a project for a radical form of democracy where human (including future generations), non-human, and environmental/ecosystem rights are recognized.

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