Podcast

In Defense of Socialist Planning: Why Socialism Requires Planning

Djamil Lakhdar-Hamina, Carlos Perez, and Donald Parkinson speak in this session recorded at Socialism 2022. This session was sponsored by Cosmonaut Magazine. http://cosmonautmag.com A major goal of socialists is to win the fight for democracy by extending democracy to the economy. Capitalism is a contradictory couple of the “free market” and the dictatorship of the workplace. The “free market” implies anarchy of production and production for profit but not human-welfare. The dictatorship of the workplace means the rigorous planning of the labor process and intense exploitation of labor. For Marxists, economic democracy means planning , the planning of the economy in a way to assure the welfare of human-beings and the health of the planet. So what is planning? How is it distinguished from market mechanisms of distribution? Can there be a “free market” in socialism? How does planning contribute to the goal of democracy? What will allow for planning i.e. the social and material conditions necessary to make planning feasible? This talk hosted by three members of Cosmonaut Magazine will hope to address these questions and more. The talk is divided into three parts: 1) Basics on Planning: Definition and Values 2)Market and Capitalism, Planning and Socialism 3) Social and Material Conditions on Planning: Technology and Social Organization Learn more about the Socialism Conference at www.socialismconference.org. Buy books from Haymarket: www.haymarketbooks.org Follow Haymarket on Soundcloud for regular event recordings, book talks, political analyses and poetry readings: soundcloud.com/haymarketbooks

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The next Socialism Conference will be held in Chicago, September 4-7, 2026. Learn more about the Socialism Conference at www.socialismconference.org.

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The next Socialism Conference will be held in Chicago, September 4-7, 2026. Learn more about the Socialism Conference at www.socialismconference.org.

Buy books from Haymarket: www.haymarketbooks.org

Follow Haymarket on podcast platforms for regular event recordings, book talks, political analyses and poetry readings!

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The next Socialism Conference will be held in Chicago, September 4-7, 2026. Learn more about the Socialism Conference at www.socialismconference.org.

Buy books from Haymarket: www.haymarketbooks.org

Listen now