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Thanks comrades, very useful On Fri, 4 Jan 2019, 2:27 p.m. Louis Proyect via Marxism < marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu wrote: > ******************** POSTING RULES & NOTES ******************** > #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. > #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. > #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. > ***************************************************************** > > I used this for an article on the Cuban revolution: > > > https://www.amazon.com/Che-Guevara-Economics-Transition-Socialism/dp/0873488768 > > From my article: > > Guevara laid out his main ideas on socialist construction in a so-called > "budgetary finance system." According to Carlos Tablada, author of "Che > Guevara: Economics and Politics in the Transition to Socialism", Cuba > would draw upon the following measures to make a planned economy work: > > --advanced accounting techniques that permitted a better system of > controls and an efficient, centralized management; as well as studies > and practical application of methods of centralization and > decentralization by the monopoly corporations; > > --computer technology applied to the economy and management, and the > application of mathematical methods to the economy; > > --techniques of programming production and production controls; > > --use of budgetary techniques as an instrument of financial planning and > controls; > > --techniques of economic controls through administrative means; > > --the experience of the socialist countries. > > Che summed up the spirit of the system as follows: > > "We propose a centralized system of economic management based on > rigorous supervision within the enterprises, and, at the same time, > conscious supervision by their directors. We view the entire economy as > one big enterprise. In the framework of building socialism, our aim is > to establish collaboration between all the participants as members of > one big enterprise, instead of treating each other like little wolves." > > If accounting and controls was all there was to Guevara's concept of > socialism, we would be unimpressed. After all, isn't what the United > States and other advanced capitalist countries going through today > nothing but an exercise in bottom-line mentality. Wouldn't Guevara's > seeming obsession with efficiency and control crush the human spirit? At > the same time he was writing articles on the necessity to introduce > technology into the Cuban economy, students at Berkeley University, many > of whom were sympathetic to the Cuban revolution, were demanding not to > be "mutilated, folded or spindled." The mid-1960s were a period when > large-scale computing had begun to be felt everywhere, including the > liberal arts universities. > > Key to understanding the relationship between the overall goal of > efficiency and the importance of putting people first can be found in > Guevara's approach to the Marxist category of value. It would be value > that would mediate between society and the economy. > > Simply put, Guevara believed that the law of value operates as a "blind, > spontaneous force" under capitalism. Socialism, on the other hand, would > allow conscious action upon the law of value in accordance with an > understanding of the greater needs of society. In his Manual of > Political Economy, Guevara spells out the way the socialist state can > make use of the law of value. > > "We consider the law of value to be partially operative because remnants > of the commodity society still exist. This is also reflected in the type > of exchange that takes place between the state as supplier and as the > consumer. We believe that particularly in a society such as ours, with a > highly developed foreign trade, the law of value on an international > scale must be recognized as a fact governing commercial transactions, > even within the socialist camp. We recognize the need for this trade to > assume a higher form in countries of the new society, to prevent a > widening of the differences between the developed and the more backward > countries as a result of the exchange. In other words, it is necessary > to develop terms of trade that permit the financing of industrial > developments even if it contravenes the price systems prevailing in the > capitalist world market. This would allow the entire socialist camp to > progress more evenly, which would naturally have the effect of smoothing > off the rough edges and of unifying the spirit of proletarian > internationalism. > > "We reject the possibility of consciously using the law of value in the > absence of a free market that automatically expresses the contradiction > between producers and consumers. We reject the existence of the > commodity category in relations among state enterprises. We consider all > such establishments to be part of the single large enterprise that is > the state (although in practice this has not yet happened in our > country). The law of value and the plan are two terms linked by a > contradiction and its resolution. We can therefore state that > centralized planning is the mode of existence of socialist society, its > defining characteristic, and the point at which man's consciousness is > finally able to synthesize and direct the economy toward its goal--the > full liberation of the human being in the framework of communist society." > > full: http://www.columbia.edu/~lnp3/mydocs/state_and_revolution/cuba.htm > _________________________________________________________ > Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm > Set your options at: > https://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/nelsontim86%40gmail.com > _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: https://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
