Don Lavoie argues that the radical Left's enthusiasm for planning has been a tragic mistake and that progressive social change requires the abandonment of this traditional view. Lavoie argues that planning—whether Marxism, economic democracy, or industrial policy—can only disrupt social and economic coordination. He challenges both radicals and their critics to begin reformulating our whole notion of progressive economic change without reliance on central planning. National Economic Planning: What is Left? will challenge thinkers and policymakers of every political persuasion.

"Can a 'radical free-market' economy help to end poverty and militarism while avoiding the quagmire of central planning? Don Lavoie makes a ... case that it can in National Economic Planning: What Is Left? Avoiding the conventional pitfalls of the Right and the Left, Lavoie argues that national economic planning fails to solve the basic problem of coordinating knowledge in society. He shows how decentralized markets solve this problem, while planning can do nothing but disrupt social and economic coordination. Constantly sensitive to the social concerns that have inspired 'radicals' from Thomas Jefferson to Karl Marx, Lavoie demonstrates why the traditional policies of the Left have failed and what alternative policies can produce progressive social change in a prosperous and growing economy. This book challenges radicals--and their critics--to begin reformulating their whole conception of progressive economic change."--Cover.

This book discusses national development planning in the context of a globalized world economy. National economic development planning, the process of defining strategic economic objectives for a country and designing policies and institutional frameworks to attain them, was popular in many countries in the 1960s and 1970s. Over time it lost its appeal. More recently, with globalization accelerating and economic competition increasing, it is making a comeback in different countries under different forms. National planning in this new era is different than the earlier quantitative planning approaches. It employs different tools, such as strategic visions and action plans, revived forms of physical infrastructure planning, industrial policy, and cluster policy. Built on the research of international scholars with firsthand knowledge of the countries in question, this volume presents and evaluates current national planning strategies and policy worldwide. It will be of interest to both academicians who study and teach globalization and development as well as policy makers who may use it as a reference as they contemplate their own strategies.

Discussing the problems arising from a mixed economy, Principles of Economic Planning argues for a system of controls that combine and encourage the best features of laissez faire and state planning. Chapters covering the following are included: * Money * Investment * Foreign Trade * Mobility * The Social Control of Business * Nationalization Appendices on economic union and planning in developing countries are also included.