The Good Hippie's Almanac - Politics

Non-Market Socialism is Bad. Market Socialism is Good.

These two statements are abjectly false. Good and bad are notions that we were taught as children to protect ourselves from harm. Unfortunately, socialism is not black and white. The same system which oppressed the Soviet people can be used to free people from the same shackles. The thing is that both are just effective in doing what they but we are much more likely to get the cooperation of the old middle class in America using the Market forms of socialism. Moneyless, Classless, and totally equal would be nice but as I said as soon as you toss people into it some asshole has to be in power and others have to compete for that power until the competition destroys everything. I get there is no stopping the wheels from turning so fast.

"Socialist systems are divided into non-market and market forms.[16]

Non-market socialism involves the substitution of factor markets and money with engineering and technical criteria based on a calculation performed in-kind, thereby producing an economic mechanism that functions according to different economic laws from those of capitalism. Non-market socialism aims to circumvent the inefficiencies and crises traditionally associated with capital accumulation and the profit system.[25]"

Non-market socialism completely eliminates what is currently understood as the traditional western economic system. This is the Socialism of John Lennon and many of the counterculture advocates of socialism from the 60s and 70s. The only issues are that someone has to work, someone has to manage, and human exclusive self-interest means that those with any power will abuse that power to their own advantage. Just because you wouldn't don't mean that you can't think of three people off the top of your head that would.   

"By contrast, Market socialism retains the use of monetary prices, factor markets and in some cases the profit motive, with respect to the operation of socially owned enterprises and the allocation of capital goods between them. Profits generated by these firms would be controlled directly by the workforce of each firm, or accrue to society at large in the form of a social dividend.[26][27][28] The socialist calculation debate concerns the feasibility and methods of resource allocation for a socialist system."

From an American standpoint, Market socialism makes a great deal more sense until authors start expounding the absurdity of ALL companies and MEANS OF PRODUCTION being owned by the state or collective. At this point, you lose most Americans and because of that currently envisioned tweaks of the concept of market socialism fall short of the mark for an acceptable system in America. Yes, I see that an unreasonable amount of that is due to entrenched corrupt capitalists, but it is also the people; who used to be the middle class; that are struggling to maintain their lifestyles, as well as entrenched abusers of social systems. 

That being said, in America, this is where we are going to have to start thinking as the current market is a vibrant part of world society. It is not the market which is the source of the problem, but it is us, the 329 million Citizens of the United States. We can not go on like this or we will kindle a fire that will burn each and every one of us, rich and poor. Nothing will survive if a regime like Soviet Russia or NAZI were to gain control of our land and resources. 
So this collection  of essays is about ideas to fix things.