I have been formulating some ideas while trying to tackle the calculation problem in a moneyless RBE. At the moment, I'm concerned with arranging the RBE so items whose consumption would be curbed by being designated with high prices in a free market, would be controlled for specific consumption rather than allowing wasteful consumption for the general population without introducing prices. I welcome specific feedback from BillyT and billvon as both have always provided me productive and knowledgeable challenges as tests to my proposals and ideas. Here is my proposal for solving this: If I'm a producer of a good such as a tractor, dump truck, satellite or any means of production or good with an intensive labor requirement and scare material use, etc.. unless I can easily produce a lot of that item, I'm going to be particular about who I give that good to. I'm not going to supply a free dump truck or cruise ship to Joe Schmo. If I build a single satellite, I'm going to give it to the people who can put it in space, not a deli shop owner (no offense) who is going to put it in his backyard as a lawn ornament. So although all items will be free, there will be a natural curb on distribution (that functions like pricing) at the point of production based on how involved the production methods required, the scarcity of the materials used and the projected use of the good. A team of collaborative people are not going to spend their time collecting the material for a satellite, finding the people to design it, design it, build it and then give it away to just anyone unless satellites can be easily mass produced like cell phones or tvs. So there is a line between a specialized, labor and material intensive good and a mass producible and consumable good. Once the line is crossed between a mass producible and consumable good, there should be no restraints allowed on who can consume it. But as long as it is a specialized, labor and material intensive good, it would still have to be free, but instead of the state trying to direct where access to such goods will be allowed, that decision is left with the producer, provided the good goes anywhere but consumption by the general public. In other words, if everyone can't have at least one of that good, access is determined by the producer. If everyone can have at least one of that good, access is left to the consumer's selection of it provided that good meets standardized limits on size and material construction. If it doesn't, that item is not added to a list of items of general consumption until it does. This way you avoid the issue of a command economy having to direct everything while still keeping it moneyless. Yes, the producer cannot distribute the good to the individuals of the general public but they are allowed to choose any non-public entity they think their good should go by determining where it will serve the best use. Of course, this doesn't immediately answer the production and distribution of certain non-specialized luxury items like Lamborghini's and 92" tvs. Theoretically, we might be able to produce one of these items for everyone but we obviously don't want everyone always choosing the 92" tv or material going to satisfy everyone's wish for a 92" tv, even if it's only to, again, trade on the black market for more goods and resources than their resource allowance legally allows. Some people will naturally not want a 92" tv and have no interest in trading it on a black market for more stuff but you, of course, want to avoid and cut off that possibility even so without employing pricing. One top down way to avoid the over use of resource material is to just impose universal size limitations on distributed goods for general consumption. After all, we want to provide for the basic material comforts of the individual not a luxury of comfort. As such, free shelter and land will have a size limit so why not apply that same standard to other goods? Such generalized size regulation already occurs under the current system so I don't see how that can not be done under a RBE and also applied to other areas such as the kinds of materials used in production of certain goods. So the answer to pricing in a moneyless RBE can be summed up in a simple sentence: You will be granted a basic comfort of resources but not a luxury of resources based on universal availability, purpose of use, size and material regulations. (Beyond mass producible and sustainable items of basic comfort, that conform to standards of mass distribution and consumption, the decision on distribution will be left to the producer.) The moment you allow people to select luxuries (and by luxuries I mean extreme luxuries like my 92" tv example), you run into the pricing problem and the issue of waste. If you want access to that which is in limited supply, like some means of production, you have to do so by means of a collaborative effort on a project of production/service and/or by submitting to training and education to gain access to the use of that good. In other words, if you want access to a 92" tv screen, you must be in a collaborative effort to build a stadium or sports bar, etc... I welcome and appreciate any challenges that may arise to address my proposal. Thank you.
