I. INTRODUCTION

1. Two interrelated issues inform the debate between socialists who advocate Market Socialism and those who advocate socialism without markets, Democratic Planned Socialism (DPS).1 The first is if socialism without markets is feasible. David Schweickart, who calls his most left wing of all market socialist models “Economic Democracy,” flatly asserts: market socialism “is the only form of socialism that is, at the present stage of human development, … viable …” (1998: 10). From a logical point of view, one should as well consider the question of if market socialism is possible. In fact, a few advocates of socialism without markets have made that point, for example Bertell Ollman (1988) and David McNally (1993). By-in-large, however, this issue has not been included on the debate menu, while the question of the feasibility of socialism without markets has: advocates of socialism without markets have felt it necessary to defend their vision as feasible, while advocates of market socialism have not felt the same necessity. The second issue is, if both models are in fact possible, which would be more desirable.

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