ZNet (unofficial)

The Socialist Banana Debate: Can abundance thrive under socialism?

A thought experiment raises questions about production and consumption under #socialism. An engaging exploration of socialism, the role of markets, participatory #economy and the potential for universal prosperity, it asks whether bananas would be available if farmers, not corporations, were empowered. Share your opinions!

#parecon #labor

https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/socialists-really-do-have-to-talk-about-bananas/

Socialists Really Do Have to Talk About Bananas

It’s easy to mock the “banana discourse” that’s materialized on left-wing Twitter in the last week. But there are important issues here about how

ZNetwork
Jul 27, 2023 at 2:54pmWeb
Show threadCarmen Bianca BAKKERJul 27, 2023

@znetwork Uneducated input: I don't really know, and I don't really care. I trust my local bio shop to stock items that are (at least somewhat) responsibly sourced. I'm happy to make do with their choices to stock or not stock certain items.

Goodness knows we're already at the mercy of markets when it comes to what products are and aren't available for mass consumption. There's an entire world of fruits that are apparently amazing, but aren't sold en masse, presumably because they wouldn't be as viable/profitable. But we don't blame capitalism for the absence of these fruits in our supermarkets, so I don't see why we ought blame socialism when a certain product isn't viable for mass production.

Show threadZNet (unofficial)Jul 27, 2023
@carmenbianca I was also thinking in those lines - if missing a luxury product, like a banana, is the price of empowering workers, I’m happy to pay. Nevertheless, the question is still interesting: does socialism automatically mean no luxury products? Here I think the answer is no: a banana-based (socialist or participatory) economy will still produce them and export.