The reason for the impossibility of calculation under socialism is that one agent owns or directs the use of all the resources in the economy. It should be clear that it does not make any difference whether that one agent is the State or one private individual or private cartel. Whichever occurs, there is no possibility of calculation anywhere in the production structure, since production processes would be only internal and without markets. There could be no calculation, and therefore complete economic irrationality and chaos would prevail, whether the single owner is the State or private persons.
... says Rothbard in
Man, Economy and State (
chapter 9). Also:
The difference between the State and the private case is that our economic law debars people from ever establishing such a system in a free-market society. Far lesser evils prevent entrepreneurs from establishing even islands of incalculability, let alone infinitely compounding such errors by eliminating calculability altogether. But the State does not and cannot follow such guides of profit and loss; its officials are not held back by fear of losses from setting up all-embracing cartels for one or more vertically integrated products. The State is free to embark upon socialism without considering such matters. While there is therefore no possibility of a one-firm economy or even a one-firm vertically integrated product, there is much danger in an attempt at socialism by the State.
So what does this mean? It means that a private "monopoly" is unlikely to ever come into existence (without aid from the State), and even thought it would, it would quickly run into economic chaos because it does not have a market to make reference to when calculating the cost of its operation. However, a State "monopoly" can simply drain the economy for blood until it has to default on its debt and obligations - a process that could take decades and will kill all life in its reach in the process.
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