List: Economy

This list covers the economy of the state aka how the state produces and distributes goods. In most cases this is covered by the Idea list since more often then not understanding the dominant political ideology of the state also helps us to understand how the economy is roughly structured. Worst case scenario, it is always safe to assume that the economy of the country is mixed i.e. has elements of several economic systems mixed and matched together. This table is to be used in cases, where a short explanation of the economy is needed. Additional use for this list is the creation of political parties, since unlike the state, their ideas for a functioning economy may be drastically different from the rest of the state.

Capitalism
Capitalist understanding of economy is based on the concepts of: apital accumulation: production is for profit aka for the owners personal enrichment.
 * Private property: the property belongs to a specific entity that is a subject to local laws. They can do whatever they want with it.
 * Private ownership of the means of production: A specific individual entity has control over things that are used to make goods and services. In case of labour/people it means that the laborers are subject to the whims of their owner (who in turn is subject to local laws).
 * Market economy: production and distribution are based on the balance between the wants of the people and availability of the thing they want (aka supply and demand).
 * Voluntary exchange: “don’t like it – don’t buy it”.
 * Competition: businesses compete with each-other for customers, resulting in an improvement of the quality of goods and services.

In a traditional capitalist economy the state often serves as a regulatory body. It creates the rules for the market and enforces them via regulation and force, if necessary. The division here is based on how “free” is the market from any sort of intervention, be it government, monopolies or something else.

Free-market capitalism
Sometimes called “Laissez-faire principle”. In a capitalist free-market economy the prices and types of goods and services are determined solely by the supply and demand, without intervention of the government or any external regulatory body.

Protectionist capitalism
In protectionist capitalism, the economic policy, while remaining free market, is designed to minimize the imports for an economy due to a belief that importing goods may negatively impact domestic production. It should be noted that in Keine Zeit this form of capitalism is a dying breed, mostly popular among either reactionaries or those who desire to make their economy self-sufficient (nationalists, stalinists, etc. )

State-directed capitalism
Sometimes called “Dirigism”. In a state-directed economy the state directly interferes into the market either via economic planning, heavy investment into the chosen industries, or using the market tools to incentivize/force businesses to comply with state needs.

State capitalism
State capitalism is a capitalist market economy dominated by state-owned enterprises, which are organized as for profit businesses. The exact nature of this system differs from country to country, ranging from states where means of production are fully nationalized and operate only as state-owned enterprises to having these enterprises as the biggest player on the market and defended by the state.

Welfare capitalism
A welfare capitalist system is a market-capitalist system, where the state or businesses establish additional welfare for the people, be it in form of a safety net or as additional employee benefits. It needs to be mentioned, that unlike in our world, where such things are expected and are the norm, in the world of Keine Zeit such ideas are, while not new conceptually, have only been implemented within the last 20 or so years, mostly as a form of compromise with the working class. Because of this there is no real standardization within the welfare given, resulting in some businesses giving workers access to communal swimming pools and sex education, while paying them as little as possible and forcing them to stay in company-owned settlements. Or alternatively – states providing unemployment insurance, but not doing anything about the working conditions.

Communism
Communist understanding of economy is based on the concepts of:
 * Social justice: open advocacy for a society in which everyone is treated similarly, unhampered by prejudices and arbitrary characteristics. This is economically good, since this would open the work place to more workers and talents.
 * Social ownership of the means of production: the things that are used to make goods and services are owned by the “people”, instead of a specific individual. That way nobody gets their income passively without contributing.
 * “To each according”: people should be able to receive enough to satisfy their needs. Some people additionally imply that the amount received would be equal to their contribution.
 * Production for use: production is based on their usefulness to the people and created for immediate consumption instead of being created for profit/sale.

The biggest difference a communist economy has from a capitalist one is that while capitalist economic goals are clearly defined (accumulation of wealth via participation in the market), communist economic goal is the establishment of a society that would be able to produce based on societal demand in sufficient numbers. The main division thus, is based on the answers individual thinkers gave to the question of how to effectively and efficiently realize such a society. Because of this instead of a concrete list of types, subtypes of communist economy are divided into questions a communist economist must ask himself and the answers combine into a singular economic idea.

State socialism
The means of production are owned by the state and/or collective state-created enterprises, which in turn represents the “people”. The most popular theory of ownership by 1930’s.

Cooperative socialism
The means of production are owned and managed by the employees. This means that workers of a business participate in decision making of the business, be it via direct democracy or via elected representatives. In such cases the state has the role of a regulator.

Communal socialism
The means of production are owned by the local community overall, rather then a specific group in said community (employees) or the larger governing body (state).

Central planning
A centrally planned socialist economy is where decisions regarding the quantity of goods and services to be produced is planned in advance by a special planning agency. In such countries the economy is subservient to the objectives of the state, instead of consumer demand.

Network planning
Sometimes called “decentralized planning” or “self-managing planning”. A network planned economy is where decisions regarding the quantity of goods and services to be produced is planned based on feedback of a wide network of agents within the system, ranging from production units to consumers themselves, usually in a form of a cooperative. This makes the production of goods an extremely democratic endeavor.

Market socialism
A market socialist economy uses a framework of market economy, but assumes that all or most businesses are socially owned by the workers and compete with each other for profit. The price of goods and services are governed by a central planning board. It should be noted that in these systems there is either no, or limited central planning, making the question of “Centralized or decentralized?” redundant.

Non-market socialism
A non-market socialist economy denotes a system where markets (and sometimes money) are replaced with the state allocating resources based on an agreed upon economic plan. This results in the economy starting to operate by laws different to that of capitalist economies, as it eliminates markets unpredictability.

Lists:

 * Introduction to Politics
 * List: Land
 * List: Idea
 * List: Ruler