QWhat is the Party's Position on Economic Planning? Obviously you support a Planned Economy, but is it required that Party Members support a specific Model of Planning?
I know the USSR used Material-Balance Planning for a while, but there are also Models of Planning based on things like the Input-Output Algorithm, the computer assisted Calculation-in-Kind Planning advocated by Paul Cockshott, and many more. If I were to favor one of these other types of Planning; would I still be able to be a Party Member?
I'd be really interested to hear the Party's Policy in regards to this.
Solidarity.
AWe took up this question at the end of this week's edition of Good Morning Revolution, which you can watch on our YouTube channel. Here's what came out in the discussion.
All economies are planned economies — even in the so-called free market, where private corporations use the wealth our labor generates to exert control over government via lobbyists, corporate funding of elections, propaganda, etc. That gives them a preponderant role in policymaking on taxation, defense spending, federal procurement, intellectual property, criminal justice, the environment, etc. In other words, a capitalist economy is planned — i.e. organized — by the capitalist class to maximize its own ability to seek profits.
We stand for replacing capitalist planning with socialist planning, planning by the working class and in the interest of the working class, based on solidarity and community rather than competition for survival. The intricacies of that planning — how accounts will be kept, how intangible goods will be valued, and so forth — are a scientific question that our working class will have to solve as it builds socialism. We don't have ready-made policies or preconceived answers, just an immense confidence in the ability of workers to rise to the challenge, and a commitment to work with our brothers and sisters all over the world.
As for what party members have to believe or agree with, you'll find it in the Party Program. We don't all agree on every line in it, but every party member commits to uphold it and carry forward a collective struggle on that basis. And even if you don't agree with our program and don't join the party, we hope we can work together on anything we do agree on.
Thanks for your question,
The Good Morning Revolution team
All economies are planned economies — even in the so-called free market, where private corporations use the wealth our labor generates to exert control over government via lobbyists, corporate funding of elections, propaganda, etc. That gives them a preponderant role in policymaking on taxation, defense spending, federal procurement, intellectual property, criminal justice, the environment, etc. In other words, a capitalist economy is planned — i.e. organized — by the capitalist class to maximize its own ability to seek profits.
We stand for replacing capitalist planning with socialist planning, planning by the working class and in the interest of the working class, based on solidarity and community rather than competition for survival. The intricacies of that planning — how accounts will be kept, how intangible goods will be valued, and so forth — are a scientific question that our working class will have to solve as it builds socialism. We don't have ready-made policies or preconceived answers, just an immense confidence in the ability of workers to rise to the challenge, and a commitment to work with our brothers and sisters all over the world.
As for what party members have to believe or agree with, you'll find it in the Party Program. We don't all agree on every line in it, but every party member commits to uphold it and carry forward a collective struggle on that basis. And even if you don't agree with our program and don't join the party, we hope we can work together on anything we do agree on.
Thanks for your question,
The Good Morning Revolution team
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The Communist Party USA is a revolutionary working-class political party founded in 1919 in Chicago, IL.
The Communist Party stands for the interests of the American working class and the American people. It stands for our interests in both the present and the future. Solidarity with workers of other countries is also part of our work. We work in coalition with the labor movement, the peace movement, the student movement, organizations fighting for equality and social justice, the environmental movement, immigrants rights groups and the health care for all campaign.
But to win a better life for working families, we believe that we must go further. We believe that the American people can replace capitalism with a system that puts people before profit — socialism.
We are rooted in our country's revolutionary history and its struggles for democracy. We call for "Bill of Rights" socialism, guaranteeing full individual freedoms.
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