Participatory Economy

What is a parecon?

A parecon is a participatory economy, which can be thought of as a radically democratic form of community-based economic development writ wide. A parecon is one that involves members of a society fully, following the principle that every participant has a say in decisions to the extent they are affected by them. Most importantly, a parecon is one that is inherently classless, in that there is no longer a need for centralized political power or economic actors—planning is done by each and all of the members of any given society.

Typical features of a parecon are producers and consumers organized into co-operatives and self-managed councils; balanced job complexes (sharing tasks or even eliminating specialization); remuneration for effort and sacrifice (pay for duration, intensity, and onerousness of socially valued labour); and participatory planning. The original idea of a parecon springs from the various writings of progressive economists such as Michael Albert and Robin Hamel. A number of books, most of which are fully available on-line, are listed here:

http://www.zcommunications.org/zmi/readparecon.htm

How do you establish a parecon?

In Winnipeg, a considerable effort is underway to bring a parecon to practical fruition, involving a number of existing worker-owned co-ops who have adopted a commitment to parecon principles. ParIT is proud to be part of the effort.

Our immediate collective goal is to build relationships that are not driven by market forces. The first step was to each organize ourselves as a worker-owned co-operative and redefine our own workplace and working relationships. The second step was to engage with other worker-owned co-ops, establish a Worker Council, and begin to redefine our service and goods exchanges with each other. This is just some simple world-changing stuff that will eventually spread to form a full economy as more participants engage in it.

Where can I find out more?

A reasonably short article, in Q&A form, that introduces the concept of parecon and provides a reasonable introduction to the guiding principles:

http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/3978

A wide range of articles and discussions, including entire on-line books, is available thanks to ZNet:

http://www.zmag.org/znet/topics/parecon