last updated: 29.Apr.98
Leninism.org

The "popular" (ie: short) version:

The Self-Organizing
Moneyless Economy

A polemic against the defenders of
the Single Point of Control theory.

Featuring brief sketches of the organization
of political, cultural and economic life
in a future where all authority flows from principles
that have been distributed universally
and are part of everyone's internal compass
rather than institutions which are external to the individual
and which use one or another form of carrot or stick.
.
Hi folks,

Until it dissolved itself in November 1993, I was a supporter of the Marxist-Leninist Party, USA. The MLP was a small organization which originated in the anti-war and civil rights struggles of the late 1960's. Our organization took the matter of Marxist theory very seriously.

Unfortunately, in spite of this, we had very serious theoretical weaknesses. These weaknesses led to the collapse of the MLP. But the struggle to overcome the theoretical weaknesses continues, and this struggle--together with the dawning of the revolution in digital communications--has led to the following hypothesis which, as far as I know, constitutes the first scientific speculation on how a communist economy and political system will function in the 21st century.

Ben Seattle (cyberRed)
6.Jun.97 ----//-//

.
What's on this page ? What's on another page ?

What's on this page ?

Crystalized into a single picture:

Capitalism vs. Communism

Two opposing views on the nature of the distinction

Distributed vs. Central direction
(Joseph's theoretical view)
Rule of market vs. consciousness
(Ben's theoretical view)
Capitalism:
Independent producers
making decisions on the
basis of local conditions
Capitalism:
Independent producers united by the
market (ie: the laws of commodity
production, money and capital)
Communism:
Producers directed by a
supreme central authority
Communism:
Interdependent producers cooperating
via the organized intervention of
the conscious actions of the masses
.

What's on this page ?

Crystalized into 4 (long) sentences:

The Pseudopod
vs.
the Hand

-- 1 --

The development of Communism as a modern theory
--capable of leading the revolutionary struggle of the proletariat
against the capitalist system and the rule of the market,
--and guiding the economic, cultural and political
development and evolution of a classless society
-- requires the complete repudiation of
the "
single-point-of-control" theory inherited from Stalin
and comprising the heart of the theory of modern revisionism.

-- 2 --

A future communist economy, based on the principle of
"
from each according to his ability, to each according to his need",
will not be based on money, capital, commodities or wages but
will consist of myriad self-organizing assemblies of economic units
in competition with one another to most efficiently transform
skilled labor
and other resources into forms of social wealth
serving the the material and cultural needs of the masses.

-- 3 --

Human society in the future will take the form of a high-synergy
complex adaptive system -- which will use
"
bottom-up" methods, "distributed intelligence", "parallelity"
and the principle that "
information wants to be free".

-- 4 --

The forms in which the masses
(thru their organization as producers, consumers and shapers
of public opinion -- and the struggles flowing from
and in turn heightening their consciousness)
would effectively control the economy, culture and politics
-- would be as advanced compared to the method
of leaving the real decisions and real authority in the hands
of either the marketplace, elected representatives
or all-powerful central planners
-- as the dexterity and deftness of the human hand
is to the pseudopod of an amoeba.
.

What's on this page ?
The Self-Organizing
Moneyless Economy
(S.O.M.E.) Hypothesis

-- (short "popular" version) --

What you are about to look at represents about 20% of a much longer work. In order to bring the length down I have resorted to some very crude editing--I added nothing and instead simply eliminated the majority of the paragraphs that described the unprincipled manuevers, evasion and opportunism of my opponents. At least 80% of the interesting theoretical material is here and at least 80% of the boring and tedious polemical portion has been cut. A further revision will eventually have to be done but for now--this is it.

-- part 1 --

.
How Would A Communist Economy Actually Work ?
(Excerpted from cRed-76 -- about 6,600 words -- file size: 72k)

Is Communism Possible ? --
"Anarchy of Production" -- "Cooperative Anarchy" --
How the Hand and Brain Work Together --
Example: "Our Children Are Our Future!" -- The Real Respect Accorded a Tribal Elder -- How Would A Communist Economy Actually Work ? -- Every Thought, Word and Action -- Complex Struggles within the Communist Society and Economy -- Who Tells People What to Think ? -- Environmental Clean-up -- A Mockery of the Struggle Against Anarchism

The Tragedy of the Commons
(Excerpted from cRed-80 -- about 6,100 words -- file size: 67k)

Aluminum Jigs vs. Extra Hours -- Output must exceed input -- Capitalism cannot handle externalities -- Concrete vs. Asphalt Driveways -- Fred's question: Diamond Drills vs. Hardened Steel Drills -- The Tragedy of the Commons -- Joseph's central planning -- How a complex adaptive system deals with "the Tragedy of the Commons" -- The merger of work with its measurement
1) The information indices --
Perfect is the enemy of good enough -- Easy access to indices -- Labor time indices -- Environmental indices -- Pollution from hamburgers -- Who assigns the ratings? -- Other kinds of indices -- Indices which indicate what others are doing
2) The self-correcting mechanisms --
Different kinds of out-of-equilibrium conditions -- The Congress of Diamond Drill Producers Confronts the Congress of Diamond Drill Consumers

-- part 2 --

.
How the masses would oppose
a return to capitalism

(More excerpts from cRed-80 -- about 2,100 words -- file size: 23k)

II. Returning to Capitalism -- Competition Amplifies Struggle Against Corruption -- What is the kind of corruption that the masses would oppose ? -- Force "like gravity" would be resisted by actions of the masses -- Production units bound together by unitary needs of the masses --
III. Leninism and single-point control theory
-- "The Vote" is only a single tool in a toolbox

Cooperative Anarchy and Communist Competition
(Excerpted from cRed-72 -- about 3,000 words -- file size: 33k)

How Mark Equates "Cooperative Anarchy" with "Anarchy of Production" -- Assumption # 1: "only capitalism can organize competition" -- EVERYTHING Complex is Made Up of Independent, Conflicting Processes -- Communist Competition -- Competition Under the Dictatorship of the Proletariat -- Cooperative Anarchy --

Will workers face
economic insecurity
under communist competition?

(Excerpted from cRed-82 -- about 1800 words -- file size: 20k)

Single vs. multiple points of control -- Is communism capitalism? -- Are web sites just for the rich? -- Evasion of issues of principle -- Kids in a Treehouse

Information Theory
(More excerpts from cRed-76 -- about 600 words -- file size: 7k)

What is parallelity ? -- Parallelity in Nature --
Parallelity in Computers -- Parallelity in the Party --

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