Command vs Free Markets
In the TV series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Captain Picard tells his bridge crew what he wants, they each do whatever piece of the work is needed, and report their readiness, and Picard utters the now-famous phrase, "Make it so!"
In the context of a military unit (the Enterprise is a military vessel, make no mistake), that's fine. Some officer is in command. He receives reports from his subordinates, decides what needs doing, and passes orders down the chain of command.
But a national economy isn't a military unit. For one thing, it's far too large and complicated for any man to comprehend, even with a top-flight staff to help. For another, the economy needs innovation and experimentation so it can adapt to changing circumstances and continue to grow, while military units are relatively static.
And this is one reason why socialism, or any other brand of command economy, is doomed to fail. The people at the top of the chain of command are so far removed from the realities of the marketplace, and are so slow to react to change, that the economy is perpetually out of balance. Its inefficiencies show up in shortages of desired goods and services, and excess inventories of others, resulting in eventual economic collapse.
In the context of a military unit (the Enterprise is a military vessel, make no mistake), that's fine. Some officer is in command. He receives reports from his subordinates, decides what needs doing, and passes orders down the chain of command.
But a national economy isn't a military unit. For one thing, it's far too large and complicated for any man to comprehend, even with a top-flight staff to help. For another, the economy needs innovation and experimentation so it can adapt to changing circumstances and continue to grow, while military units are relatively static.
And this is one reason why socialism, or any other brand of command economy, is doomed to fail. The people at the top of the chain of command are so far removed from the realities of the marketplace, and are so slow to react to change, that the economy is perpetually out of balance. Its inefficiencies show up in shortages of desired goods and services, and excess inventories of others, resulting in eventual economic collapse.