this post was submitted on 29 Oct 2026
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Questions about markets and socialism (lemmygrad.ml)
submitted 4 days ago by brezhnev@lemmygrad.ml to c/asklemmygrad@lemmygrad.ml
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I have a question, in a socialist society were all enterprises are public and there are no masters who can exploit surplus value from workers why the market form cannot allocate goods? In a society in advanced socialism like this wouldn't the market actually represent needs of society and be open to everyone since there are no private interests? It would be good if you also advise me some readings to better understand this topic.

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[–] knfrmity@lemmygrad.ml 0 points 4 days ago (1 children)

To expand on this, markets are fine when it comes to "treats," but wholly inappropriate when it comes to the necessities of life like food, water, housing, healthcare, employment, environment, etc.

[–] Malkhodr@lemmygrad.ml 0 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I'd argue that even with "treats" markets eventually become a burden. For example, something like streaming services, which have become socialized across most households in the West, would be significantly better "treats" if they were all centralized under a single universally available service.

[–] knfrmity@lemmygrad.ml 0 points 4 days ago (1 children)

True. I was also thinking along the lines of "what sort of product do people even want" and using a market logic to sort that out but the idea may well collapse when you take our capitalist conditions away.

[–] Maeve@kbin.earth 0 points 4 days ago

China serms to focus on actual needs first, but then lets entrepreneurs address treats, until they get too greedy, or try to plot against the will of the proletariat.