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Participatory economics, often abbreviated Parecon, is an economic system based on participatory decision making as the primary economic mechanism for allocation in society. In the system, the say in decision-making is proportional to the impact on a person or group of people. Participatory economics is a form of a socialist decentralized planned economy involving the collective ownership of the means of production. It is a proposed alternative to contemporary capitalism and centralized planning. This economic model is primarily associated with political theorist Michael Albert and economist Robin Hahnel, who describes participatory economics as an anarchist economic vision.[1]
The underlying values that parecon seeks to implement are: equity, solidarity, diversity, workers' self-management, efficiency (defined as accomplishing goals without wasting valued assets), and sustainability. The institutions of parecon include workers' and consumers' councils utilising self-managerial methods for decision-making, balanced job complexes, remuneration based on individual effort, and wide decentralized planning. In parecon, self-management constitutes a replacement for the mainstream conception of economic freedom, which Albert and Hahnel argue by its very vagueness has allowed it to be abused by capitalist ideologues.[2]
Albert and Hahnel claim that participatory economics has been practiced to varying degrees during the Russian Revolution of 1917, Spanish Revolution of 1936, and occasionally in South America.[3]
- ^ Albert, Michael Parecon: Life After Capitalism Archived 2008-10-16 at the Wayback Machine Chapter 19 Individuals / Society
- ^ Albert, Michael; Hahnel, Robin; Kotz, David M.; O'Neill, John (2002). "In Defense of Participatory Economics". Science & Society. 66 (1): 7–28. doi:10.1521/siso.66.1.7.21015. ISSN 0036-8237. JSTOR 40403950.
- ^ "Introduction | Participatory Economics". Retrieved 2024-01-29.