Max wrote, >The problem is getting accurate information and >having the plan's instructions carried out without the eye >and hand of God behind every economic agent. May I add that this is a problem for which there _cannot_ be a solution because it is rooted in the contingent relationship between language and reality. In order to be of any use whatsoever, language has to abstract, generalize, metaphorize and dissemble in myriad other ways. Without its dissembling features, language adds nothing to pointing. "Accurate information" is a sly oxymoron. By contrast, reality is ruthlessly particular. There are NO categories or averages in reality -- just precisely THIS and precisely THAT. God is an ancient attempt to conceptualize the tension between word and world -- an attempt that remains unsurpassed, although I suspect that the dictatorship of the proletariat is a worthy candidate for updating it. Consider the two following propositions: "In the beginning was the word . . ." "Reflection on the forms of human life, hence also scientific analysis of those forms, takes a course directly opposite to their real development." Superficially these two statements are "opposites" because they place word and world in a different order of priority. But their opposition arises from a deeper agreement about the radical separation of word and world. Viewed phenomenologically, rather than ontologically, the propositions are also in agreement. It's one thing to recognize the radical separation of word and world and another to try to "overcome" it. The latter leads to magic, alchemy, allegory, literalism, solipsism, scientism and fundamentalism -- exactly what the Faust tale is all about. To paraphrase Goethe's last words, "More Goethe!" Regards, Tom Walker ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ knoW Ware Communications | Vancouver, B.C., CANADA | "Only in mediocre art [and in spreadsheets] [EMAIL PROTECTED] | does life unfold as fate." (604) 669-3286 | ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The TimeWork Web: http://mindlink.net/knowware/worksite.htm