Finishing the debate

[Michael Perelman <michael@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Let me see if I understand you correctly, Justin.

I got the following assertions distilled from year earlier notes.
Planning works for an underdeveloped country.  The Soviet Union did not
fail because of planning, but it could not have kept up with the West.

I mentioned earlier that I believed that the Soviet Union grew faster
than the United States in all years except when it was being invaded.

Jim Devine has been repeating what many of us believe that the planning
in the Soviet Union, to the extent that it was deficient, failed because
of an absence of democratic input into the plan.

You argue that the problem was planning per se.

You have no evidence to refute what Jim said.  He has none that can
refute your perspective.  What we have are just different
interpretations of the same phenomenon.

Merely to repeat that the Soviet Union failed because of planning
doesn't get us anywhere.  Just because nobody to my knowledge has become
convinced by your argument doesn't mean that they weren't listening,
anymore than your adherence to your own views proves that you weren't
listening.

Some people who have not responded to things that you wrote, just as you
haven't responded adequately to those people who brought up the
informational problems that Hayek ignored.

Please, unless we can cover some new ground let's drop the subject.

--
Michael Perelman
Economics Department
California State University
Chico, CA 95929

Tel. 530-898-5321
E-Mail michael@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx