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Re: [ox-en] extrinsic motivation = coercion



Michel Bauwens wrote:
Given that definition, it idneed seems communal shareholding,

but I think there are other RBE approaches, such as the technocracy ones,
that actually do involve a system of exchange (remember, even Marx defines
socialism as a system of exchange, but not a market),i.e. it is not totally
unconditional,

On the contrary, in his "Critique of the Gotha Programme", Marx writes quite
explicitly:

    Within the co-operative society based on common ownership of the means
    of production, the producers *do not exchange their products;* just as
    little does the labor employed on the products appear here as the
    *value* of these products, as a material quality possessed by them,
    since now, in contrast to capitalist society, individual labor no
    longer exists in an indirect fashion but directly as a component part
    of total labor.
    [http://www.marx.org/archive/marx/works/1875/gotha/ch01.htm, 1st
    emphasis added, 2nd in original]

The socialist society Marx sketches in the "Critique of the Gotha Programme"
is quite imperfect and still resembles capitalism in many ways, as Marx
himself readily admits. It has a strong coupling between giving and taking,
even stronger than the coupling I describe I my book. But it is *not* based
on exchange, since exchange requires *private production* whose products are
afterwards exchanged, while production in socialism, communism, or commonism
is *social from the very start.*

This distinction between "initially private and socialized afterwards" (via
exchange) and "social from the very start" (== no exchange, even if giving
and taking are coupled), is very important. I think that Marx's "Capital"
demonstrates that any society based on exchange will end up as capitalism,
or worse.

So unless we give up exchange (produce privately and exchange later), we
won't accomplish any essential change (at least not for the better). Free
software and related free and open production practices are interesting in
that they already have done away with exchange; let's not fall back behind that.

Best regards
	Christian

-- 
|-------- Dr. Christian Siefkes --------- christian siefkes.net ---------
|   Homepage: http://www.siefkes.net/   |   Blog: http://www.keimform.de/
|   Better Bayesian Analysis:           |   Peer Production Everywhere:
|   http://bart-project.com/            |   http://peerconomy.org/wiki/
|------------------------------------------ OpenPGP Key ID: 0x346452D8 --
The Linux philosophy is to laugh in the face of danger. Oops. Wrong one.
"Do it yourself." That's it.
        -- Linus Torvalds



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