I would agree we are talking about both sides of the calculation problem.
I was simply referring to the monetary(economic) lack of ability on deciding how best to allocate natural resources.
DD5 brings up another good point, at some point the division of labor may break down. Specialities dissapear. There may be no one competent enough to create an electrical system capable of maintaing the war ship ect…
Both of them are valid, the problem of lack of information I believe is Hayekian is it not? It’s not commonly referred to as economic calculation is it? Is there another name for that equally relevant, and complimentary, but different problem? IE the lack of knowledge?
Misesian economic calculation also implies a lack of knowledge, but not in the epxertise of how to build the ship. More so it’s the lack of knowledge in deciding what specifically the economy should produce, how much of it should it produce, and for whom. In other words:
- Should we or should we not produce banana’s
- For whom do we produce the banana’s for?
- How many banana’s do we produce?
This is the economic calculation problem I am referring to. In the case that the formation of meaningful prices is distrubed these questions are less acurately answered.
DD5, I believe you bring up an additional point that at some point the division of labor will fail, and that expertise and cooperation and a certain amount of knowledge will be lost.
This particular part of the problem I am not as familiar with, I think a dictator could easily coerce a scientist into researching whatever material he desires, but it doesn’t mean the scientist is aware on how to accomplish the goal in the most efficient way possible. Those discovery’s are only emergent through market mechanisms.