Re: Beyond Communism and Capitalism?

[dhenwood@xxxxxxxxx (Doug Henwood)]

At 2:33 PM 1/17/96, Louis N Proyect wrote:

>I think that Lenin's claim is as true as ever if it is modified in the
>following manner: "Capitalism has simplified the work of accounting
>and control, has reduced it to a comparatively simple system of
>bookkeeping, that any literate person can do with a computer."

While I share lots of Lou's enthusiasm for the effects of computing on the
possibility of planning, I think this goes a bit too far. Capitalism using
accounting as a form of social reconciliation & control because its
universal language is money. Accounting translates commodities and social
relations into entries on income and capital statements. This is not
compatible with socialism, which must deal in far more detail with
qualitative matters. While computers would faciliate a high-level degree of
planning - allocation of x tons of y to the g sector - there are lots of
details that have to be filled in at a much lower social level than a whole
macroeconomy. It's unfortunate that "markets" have become synonymous with
the kinds of spontaneous relations that develop at that micro level
(household-firm, firm-firm relations), but those things are unplannable.

Doug

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Doug Henwood
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