Topic on Talk:Socialist market economy

Market "Socialism" is at best, totally contradictory to the aims of creating the Communist mode of production. Communism requires the abolition of commodity production, and markets themselves are a means of commodity production, therefore, in order reach Communism, Market "Socialism" must not exist.</blockquote>Socialism is by definition a contradiction between the capitalist economy and the nascent communist society. The way we speak about socialism does not come from Marx himself, at that time, Marx used the terms "socialism" and "communism" interchangeably, making no distinctions between the two. At the end of his life, he only acknowledged a distinction between a "first phase" and "higher phase" of communist society in [[Library:Critique of the Gotha Program|''Critique of the Gotha Program'']].

Socialism the way we use it today was first conceived (as far as I know) by Lenin in [[Library:The state and revolution|''The state and revolution'']]. Here is how Lenin understands it:<blockquote>Marx makes a sober estimate of exactly how socialist society will have to manage its affairs. Marx proceeds to make a concrete analysis of the conditions of life of a society in which there will be no capitalism, and says:<blockquote>''<small>“What we have to deal with here [in analyzing the programme of the workers' party] is a communist society, not as it has developed on its own foundations, but, on the contrary, just as it emerges from capitalist society; which is thus in every respect, economically, morally, and intellectually, still stamped with the birthmarks of the old society from whose womb it comes.”</small>''</blockquote>It is this communist society, which has just emerged into the light of day out of the womb of capitalism and which is in every respect stamped with the birthmarks of the old society, that Marx terms the “first”, or lower, phase of communist society.

But when Lassalle, having in view such a social order (usually called '''socialism''', but termed by Marx the first phase of communism), says that this is “equitable distribution”, that this is “the equal right of all to an equal product of labor”, Lassalle is mistaken and Marx exposes the mistake.</blockquote>So Lenin used socialism to describe what Marx called the first phase of communism, that is, '''the society still stamped with the birthmarks of the old society'''. This understanding of socialism is still accurate, and not even the experience of the USSR managed to create a socialism which abolished the production of commodities, which is what you claim is socialism. In contrast with your views, here is what Stalin had to say about commodity production and socialism in [[Library:Economic problems of socialism in the USSR|''Economic problems of socialism in the USSR'']]:<blockquote>Commodity production must not be regarded as something sufficient unto itself, something independent of the surrounding economic conditions. Commodity production is older than capitalist production. It existed in slave-owning society, and served it, but did not lead to capitalism. It existed in feudal society and served it, yet, although it prepared some of the conditions for capitalist production, it did not lead to capitalism. Why then, one asks, cannot commodity production similarly serve our socialist society for a certain period without leading to capitalism, bearing in mind that in our country commodity production is not so boundless and all-embracing as it is under capitalist conditions, being confined within strict bounds thanks to such decisive economic conditions as social ownership of the means of production, the abolition of the system of wage labour, and the elimination of the system of exploitation?</blockquote>The USSR at the time of Stalin had commodity production as well. This was the same position of Lenin when adopting the NEP to the conditions of the Russian Empire and the peasant economy. And it was the position of Deng Xiaoping when adopting the Reform and Opening Up.