III - Democratic Planning

·        According to the SP, the self-managing society will not bring about a restraint of freedom, but rather the opposite, since it presupposes the participation of all in the planning of all spheres of life:

-- "Planning is made compatible with self-management by a democratic and decentralized procedure that presupposes abroad popular participation before the definitive choices on the different political levels are made through universal suffrage" ("Fifteen Theses," p. 16).

-- "The new society will be worthwhile only through the rigor of its principle. We aim to achieve unanimity but do not claim to start out from it . . . " (Program, p. 139).

·        The purpose of the enterprise must no longer be profit or the "egotistic " reflexes of the workers, but rather the "social goals" set by "democratic planning":

-- "The pursuit of profit must no longer be the sovereign decisive factor in investments and [ownership of] goods. It must give way to the reasonableness of citizens democratically affirming their needs through planning and the market" (Program, p. 172).

-- Self-management is not . . . a simple method of management destined to replace capital with labor as the directing agent of enterprises and to utilize the egotistic reflexes of basic worker units and their members to perpetuate the mechanisms and economic strength of capitalism. Production units must bear in mind the social goals set by national, regional and local plans" ("Fifteen Theses," p. 15).

·        Through "democratic planning" the workers will choose the model of development - how, by whom and for whom to produce:

-- "Produce, work, Yes! But for whom, why, and how? The success of the business depends on the kind of answers the workers get, or above all that they give, to these questions. The model of development must first of all become an affair of the workers themselves" (Program, p. 176).

·        Consumers will also give their opinions and make their requirements known:

-- "The adaptation of production to the consumers' wishes . . . will be made . . . on the basis of an organized and constant dialogue between the producers indicating their technical and financial constraints and the consumers making known their requirements regarding quality and price" (Program, p. 177).

·        Therefore, the Plan resulting from this ample democratic dialogue is what really regulates the economy:

-- "The socialists . . . emphasize that investments based on prices and profits amplify at a given moment the impact of the current economic situation and are ill-adapted to prepare for the future. Large investments must be decided according to a plan based on the public interest and on periodic forecasts. . . As the socialists see it, the plan, while leaving the fine tuning of supply and demand to the market, is the overall regulator of the economy " (Program, pp. 185-186).

·        What is left of free enterprise in this picture? The Program answers:

-- "Put briefly, the general direction is planned, but not the details of implementation. Where the plan leaves off, there the initiative Of industrialists and the spirit of enterprise take up their rights and the role of the market comes into service once again (Program, p. 188).