We collect and republish selected Working Papers and Journal Articles on Exploring Economics.
Abstract: Optimal control theory and information technology provide tools with the capacity to implement top-down centralized allocation of resources in complex economies organized through a social division of labor. Twentieth century political and systems thinking, however, emphasize the virtues of bottom-up spontaneously organized systems. Workers’ control can be analyzed as one variety of bottom-up spontaneous organization. Another is peer production, as in the case of open-source software. A model of peer production under the name Lifenet provides some insights into the advantages and limitations of this approach to socialism.
Subscribe to our newsletter to learn about new debates, conferences and writing workshops.
Go to: Socialist alternatives to capitalism II: Vienna to Santa Fe