: Regardless - how does a community produce for needs. It needs (ha ha) to know a number of things. 1) what peoples needs are (defined, absolute) 2) how many people there are who will need (variable) 3) how many people doing what kind of work will produce and distribute the required output to ensure that these pre-defined needs are met (unpredictably variable).
: Couldnt be easier huh?Indeed.
: In a society where people are free to work at what they choose whether it be farning, engineer or street musician etc, as suggested by RD, then even if steps 1 and 2 were calculable (and I would doubt they are - the arguments over step 1 would take forever with each adding and removing 'needs' according to various standards) step 3 would be negated by such freedom to choose.
Not really, since we'd have democracy, people would attune their wants/needs pretty easilly to what they reasonably know can be produced- everyone decides for themselves what they need, and then votes- after due debate.
: If everyone had equal share of the 'collective' produce then how many more half an hour per day street musicians would there be at the end of year 1?
As many as felt that would be a useful application of their time. Point being, each member knows that to protect their own interest, they need the collective effort to succeed, and so would work to protect their own interest- the condition of failure is the motive for success.
: Left up to the free choice of people they may well figure out how to produce for their own needs, and those of their families - and more sharply if they were reliant on their ability to do so. However when other peoples unmet needs come into the equation then a decision needs to be made about what the producers need to do in order to meet them, and what effect that would have on their lives. At that point a reliance is placed upon those able to produce to do so for others, and to do so willingly and without prejudice - ie choice in beneficiary.
But people wouldn't be able to figure out how to just produce enough for themselves, its a democratic process, and so everyone invovled in the vote would figure out how to produce enough for everyone in the vote. Its to everyones benefit to produce for everyone.
