View source

<!--  via Wikipedia: Planned economy
    
      last updated: 2004-03-30T09:56:10Z
      updated by: Timwi
      update comment: proper see also section
      
//-->

In a '''planned economy''' [[economics|economic]] decisions are made on behalf of the public by planners who determine what sorts of goods and services to produce and how they are to be allocated. Since most known planned economies rely on plans implemented by the way of command, it had become widely known as '''command economy'''. To stress the centralized character of planned economy and to contrast the term with economic planning required in any rational economy, a more specific term, '''centrally planned economy''', is also used. Although a planned economy may include exchanges of [[money]], these exchanges are less important in allocating resources than the central plan. Planned, or command economy models are usually contrasted with the concept of [[market economy]]. A [[palace economy]] may be considered as a [[subsistence economy]] augmented with elements of command economy.

Proponents and adversaries of planned economy put forth a number of arguments. It is not the goal of this article to discuss neither validity nor applicability of these arguments.

== Support for centrally planned economy ==

Supporters of planned economies cast them as a practical measure to ensure the production of necessary goods - one which would not rely on the vagaries of [[free market|free markets]].  

Some advocates of a centrally planned economy, in particular, of an administrative command system of the Soviet-type, claim the following advantages. The government can harness land, labor, and capital to serve the economic objectives of the state (which, in turn, may be decided by the people through a [[democracy|democratic]] process). Consumer demand can be restrained in favor of greater capital investment for economic development channeled into desired pattern. For example, many modern societies fail to develop certain medicines and vaccines which are seen by medical companies as being unprofitable, but by social activists as being necessary for public health. The state can begin building a heavy industry at once in an underdeveloped economy without waiting years for capital to accumulate through the expansion of light industry, and without reliance on external financing. Second, a planned economy can maximize the continuous utilization of all available resources. Under planned economy, neither unemployment nor idle plants should exist beyond minimal levels, and the economy should develop in a stable manner, unimpeded by inflation or recession. A planned economy can serve social rather than individual ends; under such a system, rewards, whether wages or perquisites, are to be distributed according to the social value of the service performed. A planned economy eliminates the dependence of production on individual profit motives, which may not in themselves provide all society's needs. 

== Objections to centrally planned economy ==
Critics of command economy argue that planners cannot detect demand with sufficient accuracy (in market economy, price signals serve this purpose). For example, during certain periods in the history of the [[Soviet Union]], shortages were so common that one could wait hours in a queue to buy basic consumer products such as shoes or bread. These shortages were due in part to such issues as the central planners deciding that making tractors is more important at the moment, rather than shoes, or because the commands were not given to supply the shoe factory with the right amount of leather, or because the central planners had not given the shoe factories the incentive to produce the required quantity of shoes, at the required quality.

Critics of command economy also argue that the claimed advantages of the latter are in fact possible by state intervention within the framework of market economy as well. In particular, it is it possible to create unprofitable but socially useful goods within the context of a market economy.  For example, one could produce a new drug by having the government collect taxes and then spend the money for the social good.  It is also claimed that market economies do allow societies to evaluate the cost of social goods and choose rationally between different alternatives.

Finally, critics of command economy point out that certain types of command economies may require a state which intervenes highly in people's personal lives.  For example, if the state directs all employment then one's career options are limited. If goods are allocated by the state rather than by a market economy, then citizens cannot, for example, move to another location without state permission because they would not be able to acquire food or housing in the new location, since those were not preplanned for the change (however, advocates of planned economy may point out that a market economy does not guarantee the existence of food and housing at the new location either). If they are not accompanied by democratic checks and balances, planned economies may create enormous opportunities for corruption and favoritism.

== Planned economy and socialism ==

Most planned economies were implemented by states that called themselves [[Socialist state|socialist]]. Nevertheless, planned economy should not be seen as a necessary element of  [[socialism]].  Considerable amounts of  centralized planning in the economy supervised by government are proved possible within the context of a market economy.

Some have used criticism of command economy as a means of objecting to [[socialism]].  However, many socialists have pointed out that socialism in Western Europe occurs in a context of a market economy and not a command economy.  Indeed the People's Republic of [[China]] terms its own economy a [[socialist market economy]].

It should be noted, however, that the exact definition of "socialism" is hotly disputed by several political groups which identify themselves as "socialist" (including [[Marxism|Marxists]], [[social democracy|social democrats]], [[libertarian socialism|libertarian socialists]], [[anarchism|anarchists]], and others), and that therefore the relationship between planned economy and socialism depends on the kind of socialism in question (for example, Marxists argue that democratic economic planning is essential to socialism, while anarchists argue that any form of centralized authority is incompatible with socialism).

== Transition from planned to market economy ==

The shift from a command to a market economy proved to be difficult, in particular, there were no theoretical guides for how to do so. It is generally believed that China largely succeeded in converting to a market economy by first creating a pricing system and encouraging people to enter the market and start new businesses. China also carefully structured the transition so that no one would be worse off under a market economy than a command economy while some people would be much better off.  By contrast, the [[Soviet Union]]'s transition was much more problematic and Russia has yet to generate the high rate of sustained economic growth that China has.

== Related articles ==

* [[Gift economy]]
* [[Palace economy]]
* [[Subsistence economy]]

<!--  NOTE TO EDITORS: 
Per the GNU Free Documentation License, please include the live link below to the adapted Wikipedia article:
//-->

====References====
* Adapted from the [[Wikipedia]] article, "Planned_economy" [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planned_economy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planned_economy], used under the [[GNU Free Documentation License]]