In proposals for a rudimentary method for calculation labor costs associated with a socialist economy, we operate under the assumption that the labor-hour will be adopted as the unit of choice. This has the strongest tradition in socialist literature, however in the 21st century different units, such as the kilowatt-hour, being a bit more scientific in that they are derived from actual physical measurements in addition to time, may prove to be more universal and accurate as an accounting tool. In any event, I would like to use the production of treated drinking water as an example not just because I have experience in the field but because it is typical of an accounting grey area which will arise in any accounting method involving labor time – a product which is both a finished one ready for consumption and a raw material for other productive processes.
This education document will principally look at some of the theories that have been put forward to explain why periods of relative economic prosperity are regularly and sometimes violently interrupted by periods of economic downturn.
“PRODUCTION FOR USE” – a phrase uttered so often by socialists as to become almost a cliché, yet understood (in a superficial fashion) by both enquirers and opponents. It describes our concept – our visualization – of a future social system superceding the present “un-social” system we call capitalism. Our enquirers and opponents alike recognize this.
Scientific socialism rejects the delusive concepts that make up religion. This does not mean that socialism is committed to any fanatically narrow conceptions of rationality such as characterized some nineteenth-century materialisms. It means that socialism is opposed to superstition in any and all forms. Socialists see human beings as fully capable of shaping human life, subject only to the limitations posed by the material world.
In Depth
Hypothetical Case for a Socialist Economic Model:
Marxian Theories Of Economic Crises
Production for Use
Russia and State Capitalism
Socialism and Religion