Empowering Individuals and Communities: The Role of Non-Market Participatory In-Kind Calculations and Participatory Planning in the Vision of Participatory Communism

 By Direct Democratic Communist Confederation

Non-market participatory in-kind calculations represent one of the most efficient ways for individuals to live on this planet with minimal voluntary labor, allowing people to enjoy a moderate to luxurious lifestyle while having ample free time and opportunities for leisure. In such a system, traditional notions of work and financial exchange become obsolete. The concept of money and market-driven economies reflects humanity's historical tendencies toward ignorance, savagery and exploitation. In fact, the origins of money, wages, and market systems can be traced back nearly 5,000 to 8,000 years to the Sumerian and Egyptian civilizations. Modern Western society, therefore, continues to be fundamentally shaped by these ancient and primitive economic concepts. As a result, western intellectuals and civilians behave like primitive savages. Those primitive savages, instead of living in the jungle, live in the cities with primitive institutions. Those western savages are unable to calculate their products, services and labor without money. This inability to calculate in-kind western savages call their ignorance the "socialist calculation problem."  

In-kind calculation refers to the valuation of products, services, resources, and labor without the use of a common monetary unit of measurement. Participatory in-kind calculation differs from traditional methods by allowing individuals to select or determine their preferred units of calculation, or to opt out of the calculation altogether. This approach contrasts with non-participatory in-kind calculations, which are typically conducted or proposed by an elite group, such as the Egyptian pharaohs, technocratic bodies, or political ruling elites like a politburo. Currently, non-participatory in-kind calculations are advocated by various groups, including the Technocracy movement, state communists, and proponents of a resource-based economy. Early influential figures who proposed non-participatory in-kind calculations include Aristotle, Otto Neurath, and Jacque Fresco. While figures such as Peter Kropotkin, Mikhail Bakunin, Leo Tolstoy, and Karl Marx supported the abolition of wage labor and money, they did not provide specific proposals for how in-kind calculation could be implemented, or how an anarchist, socialist, or communist society could function without such calculations. More recently, anarchist and socialist intellectuals, including David Graeber, Paul Cockshott, and Anitra Nelson, have advanced the idea of non-market, moneyless economic systems, emphasizing direct democratic approaches to political and economic institutions.

Participatory in-kind calculation, or the absence of any calculation, is particularly crucial for managing labor in large societies and safeguarding human freedom. The only way to ensure voluntary participation in work is through participatory in-kind calculation, non-calculation, and participatory planning. When resources are abundant, the need for detailed calculations diminishes, allowing for more efficient use of time and energy.

Participatory in-kind calculations ensure that labor remains voluntary, offering individuals greater freedom and autonomy in their participation within society and direct democratic confederations. In scenarios where full automation eliminates the need for labor, there would be no requirement for participatory in-kind calculation. However, if participation is necessary, individuals can choose their preferred method of contributing, such as through labor hours. In cases of highly labor-intensive work, human energy consumption can be measured in kilo joules. The total energy consumption can then be calculated and the workload divided among participants according to their preferences. One of the key advantages of participatory in-kind calculation is its ability to distribute labor more equitably across a large community. For example, if a community of 5,000 nurses currently works 40 hours per week, the total weekly labor amounts to 200,000 hours. If the community were to voluntarily add 100,000 additional nurses, the individual workload could be reduced to just 2 hours per week. This approach to participatory calculation and planning not only lightens the burden of labor but also liberates individuals from excessive work, providing more time to enjoy life with family and loved ones.

Goods and services, both at the personal and public level, such as hospitals and public transportation, can be measured using existing metric systems without the need for currency or the monetization of products and services. However, there are two main concerns regarding non-monetary participatory in-kind calculations. The first concern is the efficiency of production, manufacturing processes, and the quality of services provided. The second is the future security of resources, particularly in terms of food and resource sustainability. Both of these issues—efficiency and resource security—can be more effectively addressed through participatory in-kind calculation and planning, as this approach facilitates better coordination and long-term resource management.

Participatory planning allows individuals to engage directly in the planning process for both personal and communal consumption of products and services. This can extend to national and even global levels, encompassing resource allocation, industrial production, and agricultural output. People can participate in short-term, medium-term, and long-term planning, covering everything from daily food consumption and annual clothing needs to multi-year infrastructure projects such as transportation systems. In this planning process, individuals can help establish strategic reserves, such as weekly food stocks and long-term grain reserves. This approach ensures more secure, long-term saving of products and services compared to contemporary monetary and market systems, offering greater stability and sustainability for both individuals and communities.

Another key concern is the efficiency of production and the conservation of precious resources. Participatory in-kind calculation provides detailed insights into the availability of resources at the community, national, and global levels. This transparency enables more efficient planning and management of factories and agricultural land, leveraging the latest technologies. Since there is no hoarding of resources, technology, or land by the state, corporations, or individuals, the system ensures that resources are utilized equitably and sustainably, reducing waste and promoting long-term efficiency.

It is essential to eliminate the market and monetary systems, as they perpetuate forms of exploitation akin to slavery, reducing individuals to mere commodified farm animals that can be bought and sold in the state zoo market. The treatment of humans as workable farm animals goes back to Egyptian civilization, the Roman Empire and currently with western civilization. In the Roman Empire, humans were used to fighting with other animals for entertainment purposes. Currently in western civilization, humans are fighting humans for profit and entertainment purposes. Human farming and human activities such as wars and sports are done to generate income for the state and corporations. The state regulates human farming by law, and tames the farm animals through education and economic adjustments. Thus, the state creates state zoos for humans. To achieve a just and liberated society, it is essential to dismantle the exploitative structures that define Western civilization. A key approach to this transformation is the adoption of participatory in-kind calculations, as opposed to reliance on monetary systems and markets.

Participatory in-kind calculations and planning have the potential to usher in the most efficient and secure production processes humanity has ever witnessed. It is up to us to move beyond the millennia-old dogmas of money, wage slavery, and market-driven economies, consigning them to the dustbin of history. By embracing planned economies and participatory in-kind calculations, we can create a system that allocates resources equitably and efficiently. This shift will free individuals from the constraints of excessive labor, allowing them to enjoy their limited time on Earth in a more joyful, fulfilling, and luxurious manner. It is time to de-barbarization the world after centuries of barbarization of the world through western slave institutions and barbaric values.