Kevin CarsonHow Socialism in the 21st Century Could Work
https://jacobin.com/2026/05/market-socialism-capitalism-ownership-exploitation
Jacqueline
hatzka@burnoutqueen @KevinCarson1 Do you have a more specific rebuttal than "nuh uh"?
Markets, by their very definition, require the private ownership of land and capital in order to function
Dregling of the Great Swamp@burnoutqueen @hatzka @KevinCarson1 Market socialism is kinda doomed, but not for this reason afaik. Markets where land is collectively managed and capital is worker controlled via coops is possible iiuc. The issue is that even in a world wide system where the entire economy is worker coops, the logic of markets will still alienate workers and does not address commodification. Such a system would be incredibly better than a system of global capitalism though! whether it is worth the effort...
@dregorfly @burnoutqueen @hatzka Marx himself distinguished markets from capitalism, pointing out that simple commodity exchange predated capitalism. "Capital," by definition, is means of production divorced from labor. The creation of capitalism required "freeing" workers from their rights in the means of production. Clearly, markets can exist without absentee capital owners who put propertyless workers to work.