From a Reddit thread on Anarcho-Syndicalism and Markets: Market anarchism is a loaded term, which often suggests a more central role for markets as the mechanism of anarchy than most anarchists would embrace. There is undoubtedly a place for markets (defined generally, without the common assumption that exchange is tantamount to capitalism) among the mechanisms of distribution available to anarchists, but everything in its place. We probably dont want or need the particular kinds of efficiency (always a loaded term) that market-based competition brings when it is a question of staple goods with relatively stable demand. The provision of the basics will necessarily always have a dual aim in an anarchist society: needs have to be met, and they have to be met in a way that sustains the conditions for maximum freedom. If we want to be able to pursue more individual forms of production, consumption, enjoyment, experimentation, etc., then we need to make certain that weve built a strong, sustainable basis. So some industries will probably function rather like utilities, with public services extending well beyond their current boundaries. If we take care of the basics, then well have the freedom to pursue a range of production for individual use and exchange, which will undoubtedly be subject to considerably more in the way of ups and downs, without jeopardizing the economic and social foundations of the community. How much of this sort of things communities want to pursue will naturally vary. But it seems likely that the more individual the needs being met, the more useful market mechanisms will be. So, it may be that much of the work that is currently most associated with syndical organization will not be subject to much in the way of market competition and the like, but syndicates might be a fine way to organize those other sorts of production, currently not addressed much by syndicalists, in order to establish the sorts of safety nets that would be required to make competitive markets in limited areas of the economy sustainable as anarchistic commerce.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 22:41:45 +0000
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