ABSTRACT
The purpose of an economy is to apportion the scarce resources of land, labor, capital, and entrepreneurship among competing alternative uses, both public and private. Labor management of the firm combined with a fully decentralized market economy promotes individual freedom and eliminates class distinctions by banishing the tyranny of capitalists, corporation managers, and state bureaucrats-the "bad guys" of the market and plan. The crossing of systemic borders is brought about by the marketization and privatization of the major institutions of the plan-in Chen Yun's simile, the bird flies away-by the planicization and socialization of the major institutions of the market. As in mainland China, the "individualist spirit of profit seeking" was roundly criticized by socialist purists, contributing to the quite considerable retreats from positions initially secured by the adjustment and reform offensive. The neo-market model's central idea is that people will work better if they are meaningfully associated in the management of their workplaces.
