Economics in Communism and anarchism

[Subversive Pessimist]

What's the difference between communist economy and anarchist economy?
Thank you very much :D

[Don't Change Your Name]

I guess you meant a "socialist economy" instead of a communist one (you know, the "stage before communism"). In that case, leninists and other non-anarchist communists usually want the state to nationalize and own everything, and a centrally planned economy. Anarchists usually prefer free associations, mutual banks, "communes", self-managed workplaces and various organizations that help planning the local economy on various ways I won't detail.
Then of course there are other alternatives based on market socialism, and various "middle points" between a market and a planned economy.

Not sure if you can understand what I posted since i did it in a hurry

[Subversive Pessimist]

Anarchists usually prefer free associations, mutual banks, "communes", self-managed workplaces and various organizations that help planning the local economy on various ways I won't detail.


What do you mean by "free associations"?
When you say banks, I think of money. So are you saying that anarchists usually prefer a society where you have money?
On the local economy thing. Is that because the actions people will take, will directly affect themsleves?

[The Feral Underclass]

Originally posted by [email protected] 28 2004, 11:44 PM
What's the difference between communist economy and anarchist economy?
Communist economics advocates communal ownership or collectivisation of the means of production. Marx used the maxim "from each according to their ability, to each according to their need." What he means by that is that individuals give to society what is necessary and they recieve what is necessary. Everyone would give certain amounts of time to social necessary jobs such as making for instance bread or working in the electricty stations; because everyone is contributing to necessary work it means that things are provided for you. So you give what is needed and you take what is needed.

Anarchism comes in many different economic forms, and doesn't really have a defined economic theory. The three main economic variants of anarchism are anarcho-communism, which advocates the economic system I have described.

Anarcho-mutualism; (http://www.mutualist.org/) "In mutualism people would be either self-employed or part of a worker-controlled cooperative (individual cooperatives would be run by worker assemblies as described above). They would produce goods and trade them on a market. Although mutualism uses markets to coordinate production it is not capitalist because wage labor would be abolished. No one would sell their labor to others but would instead work in cooperatives or for themselves."

Anarcho-collectivism; "In Collectivism markets would be abolished. Instead of using markets to coordinate production they would set up workers councils, as described above, to coordinate production. Each workplace would be run by it's own worker assembly and each assembly would federate with other workplace assemblies in the area, forming a local workers council. The workers councils would federate with each other (forming more councils) as needed on many levels. Money would be kept and people paid on the basis of how much they work. Most collectivists believe that collectivism would eventually evolve into a gift economy."

There are also anarcho-primitivists, but like anarcho-capitalists they are not really worth the time of day in my opinion. If you want to learn more about anarcho-primitivism you can check out Morpheus' site (http://question-everything.mahost.org/) which is where those other two descriptions come from.

Also a good link is Comrade Blackberry's 'Anarchism for Dummies'. (http://www.che-lives.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=6421)

[Don't Change Your Name]

Originally posted by [email protected] 29 2004, 10:51 AM
What do you mean by "free associations"?
That you wouldn't be enforced to join with others. I should have said "voluntary associations" since it sounds more accurate. ("free" association is usually associated with capitalism, but it's not so free if you ask me)


When you say banks, I think of money. So are you saying that anarchists usually prefer a society where you have money?

Nope. Some anarchists like the idea of markets and money (mostly mutualists and individualists, and collectivists to an extent), but not all of them.


On the local economy thing. Is that because the actions people will take, will directly affect themsleves?

I personally think it's better if people feels the outcomes of their actions as close as possible, since that would be a good "incentive". But usually anarchists prefer more descentralized, federalist processes, especially when "planning the economy" (if such a thing is needed), so that there aren't unnecessary concentrations of power.