ABSTRACT
Command socialism is the economic form once identified with socialism: central planning by the state. If one compare command socialism with Economic Democracy, they see at once that the latter will not be prone to the inefficiencies associated with the former. The most serious objection to command socialism is not to its inefficiency but, rather, to its problematic relationships to both liberty and democracy. If one wants to move from capitalism to socialism, perhaps a few far simpler changes could be made, with resulting gains in both economic performance and equality. If the overall economy were to perform as efficiently under pragmatic market socialism as under capitalism, it can scarcely be doubted that there would be a large gain in equality. Insofar as it is nondemocratic, a command economy is compatible with considerable inequality. The early advocates were concerned to develop rules for enterprise managers that would ensure that the economy would simulate a competitive economy.
