“Burczak envisions a ‘free market socialism’ in which privately owned firms are run democratically by workers, and governments engage in ongoing redistributions of wealth to support human development, yet markets are otherwise unregulated.” -University of Michigan Press
So, could an economy consisting mainly of the above, in comparison to a classical free-market economy, competitively price goods and services?
I wouldn’t think so. What incentives would there be to attract the best possible business leaders or product innovations, if any wealth they would earn would be re-distributed?
Everyone’s pay doesn’t have to be equal.
Here was a review of that work I read in the Freeman not too long ago http://www.thefreemanonline.org/book-reviews/socialism-after-hayek/
@cognitivist, who cares if I gross a million if my net is 50 thousand? Likewise, who cares if I gross 10 thousand if my net is 50 thousand? There would be perverted incentives everywhere, and the production of wealth reduced significantly, if not entirely disappear in such a society. Not to mention how many would be clamoring to control the reigns of government.
If… if it were really efficient for workers to vote on stuff you would see it implemented already. They’re claiming it would be a way to offer workers higher wages? So by that logic I should be able to start a company, bid workers away from my competitors with superior wages, and make a profit doing it.
This implies that there is free money sitting around. That I could be a successful businessman. That workers could easily have a better life. Bullcrap. There is no free money. If there were, its long gone.
I don’t see this kind of idea challenged regularly in the literature, probably because its so demonstrably stupid. But I remember there’s a part of Ghost in the Shell where a bunch of child laborers, who have to work 24/7, finally overthrow their capitalist oppressors and now the factory is worker owned. Everyone thinks its super great but they have difficulty meeting the quota because some kids just want to slack off. I think this is a good reason to be able to fire employees.