Anarchist economics: Difference between revisions
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#REDIRECT [[Anarchism#Schools of thought]] {{R from related topic}} |
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{{Anarchism}} |
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Anarchist economics entails theory and praxis relating to economic activity within the ideological outlines of [[anarchism]]. Anarchists primarily oppose [[capitalism]] because they object to the idea of collecting rent from private property, taking a profit in exchanges, and collecting interest on loans--all of which they consider to be [[usury]]. The goal of anarchist economics is therefore to create or spread economic ideas and systems that preclude usury. Anarchist economics differs from [[Marxism|Marxist]] ideas in that they do not rely on a State or centralized body. |
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==Anarchist Critique of Capitalism== |
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''main article'' - [[Anarchism and capitalism]] |
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===Critique of Subjective Theory of Value=== |
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Supporters of [[capitalism]] usually agree with what is called the [[economic subjectivism|Subjective Theory of Value]] (STV), as explained by most mainstream economic textbooks. This system of economics is usually termed "[[marginalist]]" economics. |
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The STV states that the price of a [[commodity]] is determined by its marginal utility to the [[consumer]] and producer. [[Marginal utility]] is the point on an individual's scale of satisfaction at which his/her desire for a commodity is satisfied. Hence [[price]] is the result of individual, [[subjective]] evaluations within the [[marketplace]]. Anarchists claim that STV is a [[myth]] and as an explanation of how to determine the price of a commodity, it has serious flaws. |
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===Bias of Marginalist Economists=== |
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Anarchists object to the portrayal of economics as a "value-free science". |
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"[A]ll the so-called laws and theories of political economy are in reality no more than statements of the following nature:" |
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"'Granting that there are always in a country a considerable number of people who cannot subsist a month, or even a fortnight, without accepting the conditions of work imposed upon them by the State, or offered to them by those whom the State recognises as owners of land, factories, railways, etc., then the results will be so and so.' |
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"So far middle-class political economy has been only an enumeration of what happens under the just-mentioned conditions -- without distinctly stating the conditions themselves. And then, having described the facts which arise in our society under these conditions, they represent to us these facts as rigid, inevitable economic laws." -- Kropotkin's ''Revolutionary Pamphlets'', p. 179 |
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===Command Economies and Free Markets=== |
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Anarchists object to useage of these terms even though they apply for some of their economic strategies. For example, technically, a Syndicalist-run labor-based currency system is a [[free market]] system, but because [[neoliberal]] [[rhetoric]] uses the term heavily, anarchists avoid the term, prefering to call such a system a [[fair market]]. |
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Similarly, anarchists object to the "command" part of command economy, though it simply means an economy in which production and consumption is controlled. [[Parecon]] is technically a command economy scheme, though it relies on [[feedback loop]]s to regulate production/consumption. |
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==Alternative Currency Theories== |
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Many, if not most, anarchists advocate the abolition of money, but others call for a replacement of it with new value systems, new exchange paradigms, and new means of production, arguing that the modern economy cannot be handled without some kind of currency or that it will be a while before we can abolish currency. |
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===Gift Economy=== |
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[[Gift_economy|Gift Economies]] are those based of free distribution of goods and services. [[Anarcho-communism|Anarcho-Communists]] are the main proponents of such. There are a number of variations on the concept, but they center around the notion of "From each according to ability to each according to need". [[primitivism|Primitivists]] also also advocate this kind of economy. |
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===Labor Theory of Value=== |
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The [[Labor_theory_of_value|Labor theory of Value]] (LTV) was advanced by [[Karl Marx]] and [[David Ricardo]] as an analytical tool. It equates all labor-time to be worth the same no matter who it is done by or the nature of the work done. Therefore the price of all goods and services can be evaluated by the amount of labor done to obtain, manufacture, process, distribute, and transport it. |
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Recently, some [[local currency|local currencies]] have taken on LTV characteristics by having a [[Time-based_currency|currency based on time]] although participants are not primarily anarchists. Critics point out that in many of these Time-dollar based currencies, it is really easy to [[inflation|inflate]] the currency, that there is no way to ensure that people are not paid more than an HOUR per hour, and conversely it ignores factors like value-added work (work that incorporates past labor in order to perform, such as the time spent by a dentist in school). One of the reasons that the [[U.S. Internal Revenue Service|IRS]] has chosen not to tax local currencies is that they are used for charitable purposes, such as community-building. |
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Anarchists are interested in LTV currency systems because they make complex [[free market]], [[fair trade]] systems possible, although in their current practices they are not applicable for anything other than local (ie. town-sized) economies. |
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===Energy Theory of Value=== |
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The theory that all values can be evaluated in terms of [[Joules]]. In the same vein as LTV, this is an attempt to make a ''normative'' basis for value. Accounting for such a system would be vastly more complex than current or other theoretical currency systems because all energy output of workers and energy expenditure on goods/services must be tracked. |
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==Theoretical Anarchist Economic Systems== |
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===Participatory Economics=== |
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''main article'' - [[Parecon]] |
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[[Michael Albert]] and [[Robin Hahnel]] wrote about [[Participatory economics|Parecon]] in the 1980's. It builds on the premise of [[gift economy|gift economies]] to incorporate [[feedback loop]]s to the production and consumption cycles to democratically regulate the economy. Though not strictly an "anarchist" idea, the concept of decentralized, efficient, economic regulation appeals to many anarchists. |
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===Technological LTV Networks=== |
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A revision of [[labor theory of value|LTV]] that incorporates [[information technology]], [[cryptography]], and [[open-source software]] to create an medium of exchange that precludes all forms of usury and thus requires no oversight or ideological guidance. In contrast to Parecon, there is no [[planned economy]] because users of the system will approve of labor that they feel is necessary and so production happens as people fill the labor market as they will. |
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Crucial to this system is the premise that money (credit for work done) can be improved with the addition of [[identity]], [[information]], and [[transparency]], i.e. all credits created are associated with a particular individual (they are non-transferable), they inform users of the work done to create it, and can be viewed by any user on the system. |
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There are no specifications for how decisions are made within these Technological LTV Systems - each one is tasked to create its own ruleset. Joining such a network would be akin to signing a contract or [[EULA]] so revision of rulesets would resemble the [[open-source]] paradigm of updating software and having the user agree to a new ruleset. Decision making would then be implicit in any user's ability to participate in the revision of the system software, even though this approach could be elitist. |
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Prices on goods and services would be evaluated by the amount of credit earned by laborers involved--requiring that every individual item or service be tracked. Production then represents a mirror of the credit creation, so physical items would require their "negative" credit to be cancelled by a person wishing to own it. Since income distribution would be relatively flat in this system, it is hoped that most of the problems of capitalist accumulation and class structure will be avoided. |
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===Panarchist Synthesis=== |
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This is the theory that '''all''' alternative economic systems could exist simultaneously. Though it may imply accepting a greater complexity of day-to-day living, anarchists predicate this overlapping of systems on the removal of states and corporations, and the presence of multiple currency paradigms. In effect, this would be analgous, on an individual level, to having various [[subscription]]s or club memberships--a level of complexity surpassed by the average American middle-class consumer that holds several credit cards with various debts, owes mortage and car payments, and so forth. |
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The motive to adopt a panarchist approach to economics is the theory that not all goods, services, or resources are best exchanged/regulated within a single system. Ie. energy production is best tracked in kilowatts-hours, but collectible items have highly subjective values and therefore require a different exchange medium. |
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==Economics as Anarchist Strategy== |
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Some anarchists believe that it is not radical political activity that will transform society, but radical economic activity that will make true change. They regard [[boycott]]s, [[consumer advocacy]], and [[class-action lawsuit]]s to be merely liberal actions that do not address the core problem which is capitalism itself. |
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Anarchists believe that changing the nature of [[work]] itself is the crux of defeating capitalism. [[Parecon]] addresses the [[division of labor]] question by advocating [[balanced job complexes]] wherein all workers at a production facility share in all aspects of labor, i.e. everyone takes part in labor, management, maintenance, and all related work in order to ensure equality and that skills are shared amongst workers. Labor Theory of Value based alternative currencies are founded on the assumption that if all compensation for work was equal, people will gravitate towards work that they most enjoy or feel compelled to do (for the greater "good"). |
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Almost all anarchists believe that changing personal consumption habits to minimize (or eliminate entirely) all involvement in the prevailing capitalist economy is essential to practicing anarchism in their lives. Dropping out of the system by living on scavenged, stolen, or scammed resources is often touted by [[situationist]]s such as [[CrimethInc.]] as a viable means of survival and non-participation in the system. |
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===Shadow Economies=== |
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Shadow Economics entails the use of [[alternative currency|alternative currencies]] and growing them to the point where other curriences based on STV principles cease to exist. Since States cannot collect taxes and revenue through use of alternative currencies they will theoretially lose power to the point of collapse. If alternative currencies are designed to not permit [[usury]], capitalist enterprises will have nothing to gain in these shadow economies and will also be "pushed out" if the alternative currencies become popular. |
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==Further Reading== |
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===Books=== |
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* Albert, Michael ''Parecon: Life After Capitalism''. W. W. Norton & Company (April, 2003). ISBN 185984698X |
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* Dolgoff, Sam, editor, ''The Anarchist Collectives: Workers' Self-Management in the Spanish Revolution''. Montreal: Black Rose Books. ISBN 0919618219 |
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* Dolgoff, Sam ''The Relevance of Anarchism to Modern Society'' . Chicago: Charles H. Kerr, 1989. |
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* Kropotkin, Peter ''Fields Factories and Workshops (The Collected Works of Peter Kropotkin, V. 9)'' Black Rose Books (January 1, 1996). ISBN 1895431387 |
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* Kropotkin, Peter ''The Conquest of Bread'' . New York: New York University Press. |
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* Leval, Gastón ''Collectives in the Spanish Revolution'' . London: Freedom Press. ISBN 0900384115 |
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* G.P. Maximoff, ''Program of Anarcho-Syndicalism''. (extract from his Constructive Anarchism, published in English in 1952; this section is not included in the only edition of the work now in print.) Sydney: Monty Miller Press, 1985 |
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* Proudhon, Pierre ''What Is Property?'' (B. Tucker, translator). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521405564 |
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===Articles=== |
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*[http://www.thefeature.com/article?articleid=101119 Open Source Currency] - article by Douglas Rushkoff on [http://www.thefeature.com/main The Feature] |
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*[http://www.unisys.com/financial/insights/insights__compendium/WPaper_BLietaerbergdahl.pdf The Future of Payment Systems] - white papaer by Bernard Lietaer (page 23 starts the chapter on Complentary Currency Systems) |
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==See Also== |
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====Concepts==== |
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*[[currency]] |
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*[[economics]] |
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*[[free trade]] |
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*[[fair trade]] |
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*[[safe trade]] |
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*[[commodity markets]] |
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*[[market share]] |
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*[[supply and demand]] |
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*[[time-based currency]] |
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====Ideologies==== |
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*[[anarchism]] |
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*[[anarcho-capitalism]] |
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*[[capitalism]] |
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*[[marginalism]] |
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*[[anarcho-communism]] |
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*[[communism]] |
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*[[anarcho-syndicalism]] |
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*[[syndicalism]] |
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*[[primitivism]] |
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====Theories==== |
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*[[Labor theory of value]] |
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*[[Subjective theory of value]] |
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*[[General equilibrium]] |
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*[[Austrian school]] |
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*[[Community-based economics]] |
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*[[Anthropological theories of value]] |
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====People==== |
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*[[Karl Marx]] |
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*[[David Ricardo]] |
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*[[Michael Albert]] |
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*[[Robin Hahnel]] |
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*[[Pierre-Joseph Proudhon]] |
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*[[Peter Kropotkin]] |
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==Outside Links== |
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====Alternative Currency==== |
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*[http://www.transaction.net/money/community/ Complementary Currencies] |
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*[http://www.cs.ut.ee/~helger/crypto/link/protocols/ecash.php Helger Lipmaa's links on electronic cash] |
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*[http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/~roehrigw/suhr/nngengl.html NeuMoNe] (The Neutral Money Network) |
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*[http://www.gmlets.u-net.com/ LETS Systems] |
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*[http://www.openmoney.org/ OpenMoney Project] |
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====Ostensibly Anarchist==== |
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*[http://www.social-ecology.org/ Institute for Social Ecology] |
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*[http://www.infoshop.org/money/index.html Infoshop.org on Money & Economics] |
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*[http://www.parecon.org Participatory Economics] |
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====General Left-Wing Economic Reporting==== |
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*[http://www.dollarsandsense.org/ Dollars & Sense] - "The Magazine of Economic Justice" |
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*[http://www.leftbusinessobserver.com/ Left Business Observer] - "accumulation & its discontents" |
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*[http://www.leftturn.org/ Left Turn] - "Notes from the Global Intifada" |
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*[http://www.financialsense.com/ Financial Sense] |
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[[Category:Anarchism|Economic Theories]] |
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Latest revision as of 15:46, 18 August 2024
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