Equivalence Economy

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The equivalence economy is a concept for a form of socialism that seeks to replace the market value of goods with the value of the “ living labor ” ( Karl Marx ) they contain . - It was represented by Arno Peters and is taught today by the German social scientist Heinz Dieterich . Dieterich's work had a major influence on left-wing South American politicians such as Hugo Chávez and Fidel Castro .

definition

The core of the theory is a labor theory of value . Specifically, all prices should be indicated by working time values: Everything is measured by how much working time a person puts into a product to be exchanged. That would mean that a manager gets just as much for the same working hours as a cleaner, whereby different educational paths and times can certainly be billed. In addition, the need to maintain incentive structures (e.g. gratification for more productive work) is recognized, especially for a transition phase to socialism. The concept also requires the participation of all those involved in budget planning.

According to Dieterich, it is a draft of a “non-market economy based on value theory, democratically determined by those directly creating value”. He and his followers refer to this as “ socialism of the 21st century ” and explicitly refer to Karl Marx.

discussion

In economics , the equivalent economy is not discussed.

Marxist critics describe the equivalence economy as a paradox resulting from misunderstandings . For Marx, work could not have any fixable value. The theory is a concept for a socialism based on its opposite, namely a description of the capitalist market economy.

For Marx, value theory and capitalist market economy (exchange of goods) are inextricably linked. Therefore, for him, working hours are not a fixed amount that can be used as a guideline, but depend on exchange relationships. Marx stated that “the objectivity [of goods] is purely social, [...] it can only appear in the social relationship between goods and goods. We actually started from the exchange value or exchange ratio of commodities in order to track down their hidden value ”( Das Kapital , vol. I, p. 63).

Supporters of the equivalence economy justify themselves by saying that it is an attempt to resolve the contradiction between value theory and socialism, which Marx in his main work Das Kapital considers incompatible.

Proponents of labor theory like the computer scientist Paul Cockshott , contrary to economics, are of the opinion that the great improvements in computer technology since the 1980s make a new form of equivalence economy possible today. Purchases are made with smart cards that are not made with money but with hours worked could be charged. For one hour of working time, goods could be bought for the manufacture of which exactly one hour was worked.

literature

Videos

Individual evidence

  1. a b Report in the time about Heinz Dieterich
  2. Definition of terms at wortwarte.de
  3. ^ Paul Cockshott: How the World Works: The Story of Human Labor from Prehistory to the Modern Day. Monthly Review Press, 2020, ISBN 978-1-58367-777-3 .