Re: Question for the Lefties -- II (Max's market question)

["Charles Brown" <CharlesB@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

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>>> charles1848@xxxxxxxxx 12/18/00 02:21PM >>>
Yes, I espouse market economics -- without the profit motive,
either capitalist or market socialist. Society can retain sites
of activity (firms) that are a source of initiative. They must
face the test of selling their products and services -- a market.
Society can involve firms in overall planning at the same time.

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CB: Most want to retain a division of labor, specialization. This implies exchange, production for exchange, not entirely for direct use by the producer. Marx and Engels did not propose doing away with the omnipresent division of labor or socialization of production developed by modern capitalism. Division of labor this big demands exchange among the divisions.

Prior to capitalism, the market , the arena of exchange,  was not into everything or even most production.  With capitalism it is. Socialism does not aim to change the predominance of exchange in production. So, socialism would differ from precapitalism in that exchange of use-values would dominate over production for direct use by the producer.

However, the predominant production for exchange would not be by privately owned enterprises. Ownership of the basic means of production would be publically owned.