Economy: “a system for producing, distributing, and consuming wealth or resources”. Economics: the study of how an economy can work. Participatory Economics (“Parecon”): an economic model proposed in 1991 by Michael Albert and Robin Hahnel to replace market capitalism and central planning of economies. Values for a good economy:

• Self-management: Having a say in decisions as much as they affect you.

• Equity: Fairness in who gets what.
• Efficiency: Doing the work of an economy without wasting resources, the environment, and human lives and meaning. Non-wastefulness.
• Diversity: The greatest variety of choices in work, consumption, and life.
• Solidarity: Cooperation that makes us more and not less human.

Institutions of Parecon: Parecon is made up of four main institutions to promote the above values:

1. Balanced job complexes: Jobs are made up of both desirable and undesirable tasks, so that everyone’s job includes some high-functioning and empowering work, and onerous work is also shared.
2. Remuneration for effort and sacrifice: You get compensated for how hard you work and what you give up to do it, not for property, bargaining power, or talent. Everyone benefits the same when the economy does better.
3. Self-managed council democracy: Decisions are made by workers’ councils and consumers’ councils. Workplaces and industries are managed not by CEOs or managers but democratically, by the people who work in them. Everyone’s job includes managing the economy.
4. Participatory Planning: Democratic planning of the economy to replace lethally unplanned markets and dictatorial central planning. An annual and ongoing back-and-forth negotiation between workers’ and consumers’ councils (and between individual workers and consumers) to determine democratically how this year’s consumption and production will differ from the last. A peace process to end long ages of economic war.

How can I help achieve Parecon? Get involved in shorter-term struggles (see reverse) and work to make our movement ever more solidaritous, equitable, efficient, diverse, and democratic. A strong, democratic movement will pursue Parecon or something better. To learn more: Websites:

• www.parecon.org, the main Parecon site, hosted by Michael Albert/ZNet

Books:

• Parecon: Life After Capitalism by Michael Albert (London: Verso, 2003) (Available for free download at www.parecon.org - also available in stores)
• Economic Justice and Democracy by Robin Hahnel (London: Routledge,’05)