Harmonious Economics or The New World Order. Vladimir Emelyanovich Chabanov
However, the ideologists of modern economics seem to be completely unaware of this; at least, they do their best to ignore the problem.
Another global factor suppressing SLP is the actual lack of interest on the part of all economic structures in seeing real (non-monetary) results of their activities. This applies not only to wage workers and administrators, but also to politicians and businessmen. The actual result of their work is concealed by financial success, personal benefits, fixed salary, profit, preferences, which belong to a different category. That is why the existing incentives for work organisation often fail to help social production to flourish, moreover, they end up suppressing and degrading it.
Indeed, money as a purpose of economic activity does not constitute a real value; it is nothing but a trade instrument. It is a generally accepted equivalent for exchange of commodities, a social convention, artificially enabled to substitute real goods. Unless backed by real things, money is empty, and at present no backing is provided for it. That is why the general acceptance of such “conventions’ cannot contribute to actual prosperity. For instance, various forms of rent, racketeering, crime, corruption, inflation, drugs, etc. generate significant income for some people, but is far from benefiting the society in general, rather, they destroy it.
Huge losses are also born by the humanity as the result of disharmony between production and Nature, i.e. as the result of the desire to use up the natural rent, to make momentary profit without taking global consequences into account. As the result, modern expanded production is by no means expanded. On the contrary, it shapes vital activity by way of destroying its very foundation, i.e. natural habitat. Thus, for the past several decades we have shamelessly live at the expense of Nature, squandering, like thoughtless barbarians, the wealth it has accumulated over millions of years. We now live at the cost of future generations.
Therefore, if the natural mark-up is included in the cost price of products, the profitability of the major part of modern enterprises will be negative! To quote an example, in order to return the Volga river to its pre-industrial state, to restore fisheries and farmed lands, to rebuild the houses and the infrastructure of all submerged territories, much more energy would be required than has been generated by the hydropower plants constructed on the river. One might wonder: what kind of economics are we dealing with, and what is the actual efficiency of its production relations?
And still, one of the most powerful influences on the structure, the ideology, and the very lifestyle of the society is exerted by exploitation, i.e. by unequal exchange of products of labour between economic actors and individuals. Born as simple cannibalism, this phenomenon has by now acquired most sophisticated forms; it is not only revered, it is universally desired. The market itself, in its current form, fully connives in this. As the result, a capitalist system has evolved, within which poverty is strongly tied to the excessive wealth of certain individuals.
The extent of exploitation is truly planetary, this phenomenon knows no borders. One finds it in the way economic structures and the state itself are organized, and in the ways the ruling elites are selected. It is behind the destructive wars, which break out or smoulder across the globe; behind the suicidal consumption of human and natural resources.
The existence of exploitation, as well as that of any complex phenomenon, can be explained by a number of reasons. Among these, physical violence: threats, burglary, gangsterism, theft, and indemnities. Besides, there is ideological pressure, through deception, fraud, ideologic and religious dogmas, and intellectual slavery. Moreover, one should not forget about administrative racketeering in the form of bribery, extortion, corruption, and distribution of privileges. Financial factors also enter into play here, among them, usury, speculations, monetary and price swindles, and stock exchange speculations. Even private property of production means often poorly stimulates production, but suppresses it rather effectively. Money capital is also engaged here: it represents the easiest to become dependent on, and the simplest scheme to deprive people of what they have earned.
In fact, neither power, nor property or capital on their own have a positive or a negative charge. They are like a sword, which can serve the good or the evil, depending on who holds it. All depends on who, where, and how acquires them, and the purpose they are used for. If their mission is to fulfil their natural function – increase the productive capacities of the society and improve life quality – then they are useful. And if they are only employed for personal enrichment, then they could be dangerous. Eventually, this is what determines the entire image of the society, the expedience of its existence of the administration itself, of private property, of labour, and capital as we know them today.
And this situation has always existed. Plato wrote, “Whenever they’ll possess private land, houses, and currency, they’ll be householders and farmers instead of guardians, and they’ll become masters and enemies instead of allies of the other citizens; hating and being hated, plotting and being plotted against, they’ll lead their whole lives far more afraid of the enemies within than those without. Then they themselves as well as the rest of the city are already rushing toward a destruction that lies very near’ [25].
In reality, private property is a complex phenomenon with lots of positive and negative qualities. However, it cannot be attributed any exceptional qualities, as modern ideologists do. Therefore, it would be erroneous to assume that everywhere where private property exists the society is prosperous, and stagnates in its absence. In fact, “The property theory is mostly a science about morality’ (Léon Walras). And the property phenomenon itself reflects a specific combination of rights and liabilities of the owners before the society that has created these production means (not to be confused with private property!).
Indeed, the form of production means ownership is established by no other than the priorities that function in the society. If state priorities prevail and are mostly used to satisfy state needs, then the state will be recognized as the owner. If individual interests dominate, then private property will prevail. And, finally, if the property is used for the well-being of the entire society, then its forms are to assist this task and contribute to a better life for all.
Concerning private property, it is not as important to know who the owner is, as to understand to which extent it is productive from the point of view of social benefit. It is essential to assess to which point each owner can use productive forces better than hired managers can. At the same time, with the existing form of property of production means, too often it is not the talented and qualified individuals that manage it, but those who hold the legal title of ownership. For clarity, let us imagine a plant with 3 funnels. A person arrives to the plant and presents a paper certified by an official stamp; the document states that its holder is entitled to own the plant. But what can this legal deed change? Will the plant grow a fourth funnel? This is rather unlikely.
In fact, the following changes will take place. On the one hand, there appears the owner who is personally interested in the results of the enterprise. On the other hand, he gets the right to do to the plant whatever he chooses: appropriate circulating assets, sell the equipment in demand, or ruin the plant completely. All these actions will be deemed legally founded. Thus, this person could use his property not for work, for developing his own talents and skills, but for living a better life, for showing off, building a luxurious estate, buying yachts, and going on international cruises. This was the case after property privatization in post-Soviet Russia.
Here neither qualification, nor talents play any role. By consequence, the struggle for property (not competition – struggle) intensifies; property becomes desired, and everyone thinks themselves worthy of it. In such situation, personal interest of the owners in the production results would not be of much help, for such interest is very rare. In the end, there might be a form of labour remuneration that would make the worker personally interested in the results of production as the owner is (See more in Subsection 4.1.2). Then both the owners and the workers of plants would start collaborating and become partners, instead of competitors.
In reality,