Chapter 10.3.

👉The table of contents so far is here.

Chapter 10: Details of Economic Planning

10.3. Structure and details of the world economic plan

The three-year world economic plan, which forms the core of a sustainable planned economy, is a global plan for the entire world, and serves as the standard for economic plans in each of the Zones that make up the World Commonwealth. As such, it is also a template for the plans of each Zone.

However, since the world economic plan is more of a cap indicating the upper limit of production activity in each Zone rather than a production target, its description is general and can be thought of as a kind of introduction to the economic plans of each Zone.

As for its structure, first an overview is presented at the beginning that gives an overall picture of the three-year plan. This is the introduction to each detail of the plan, and at the same time it also serves as a summary of the three-year plan.

Next, the energy plan is presented. This is the foundation for realizing a sustainable planned energy supply with the aim of correcting excessive energy consumption, which is a major cause of environmental destruction. It can be said to be a major part of the world economic plan.

The central point is the plan for the supply of renewable energy, but it should be noted that the supply of fossil fuels will not be eliminated. Fossil fuels will not be eliminated altogether, but will be supplied in a planned and reduced manner to supplement renewable energy. In that respect, it is the opposite of the energy composition in a capitalist economy.

Next are the details of the production plan. Here, as we saw last time, the essence of a sustainable planned economy is that industries are classified not by industry type, but by which of the major elements of the global environment they place a burden on.

In other words, the classification criteria are air-burden industries, soil-burden industries, water-resource-burden industries, and biological-resource-burden industries. Comprehensive burdening industries that span multiple elements are classified in an overlapping manner.

The details of this production plan are the specifics of the world planned economy. In formulating the plan, the regional planning volumes for each of the five Grand-Zones in the World Commonwealth will be taken into account, but production plans will not be divided among the five Zones to avoid a scramble for each other's volumes.

👉The papers published on this blog are meant to expand upon my On Communism.

Chapter 10.2.

👉The table of contents so far is here.

Chapter 10: Details of Economic Planning

10.2. Industrial classification and production targets 

In formulating an economic plan, it is important to have an industrial classification that serves as a framework for subdividing the plan, since it is required to specify numerically the industrial classification and the production targets for each item for the planning period.

The industrial classification from primary to tertiary by the British economist Colin Clark is well known. This classification was proposed as an instrumental concept to explain economic development from the primary industry centered on agriculture, forestry, and fisheries, through the secondary industry centered on industry, to the tertiary industry centered on intangible services.

The Clark Industrial Classification itself is a very crude classification and does not constitute a framework for a planned economy, but in a sustainable planned economy, the economic plan for the primary industry (Division A) is to be formulated separately from other economic plans.

Incidentally, NAICS (North American Industry Classification System), an standard industry classification system jointly developed by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, uses a six-digit code to classify each industry: the first two digits designate the largest business sector; the third digit represents the subsector; the fourth digit represents the industry group; the fifth digit represents  the NAICS industries, and the sixth digit represents the national industries.

However, the standard industrial classification is also an economic statistical classification, which includes culture-related businesses, health and welfare-related businesses, and other free-production sectors that are outside the Sustainable Economy Plan, so it cannot be used directly as a framework in a planned economy. However, it has validity in economic statistical analysis that includes the free production area.

While these industry classifications are classifications for the purpose of classification itself, the industry classification in a planned economy is a standard classification framework for specifying the specific goals of planned production in a more dynamic manner.

In this regard, the input-output table by Vasily Leontief was originally a newly devised table inspired by the reproduction table formula devised by Marx to analyze the smooth process of reproduction and distribution of capital, but its purpose of use is to analyze the input/output in actual production and distribution activities. The purpose of its use is to analyze the inputs/outputs of real production and distribution activities.

Since such input-output forecasting is an indispensable process in setting production targets for each planning period, the input-output table will be of great use in a sustainable planned economy.

The Marxian reproduction formula of production sector I and consumption sector II was applied in Soviet economic planning to separate the two major sectors, and industrialization was strongly promoted with an emphasis on sector I. 

In our sustainable planned economy, however, the emphasis is not placed on either Production Goods Sector I or Consumption Goods Sector II, but rather economic planning for general consumption goods was separated from the general economic planning for the whole Zone, and is formulated as a consumption plan for each local area.

In addition, a separate, prerequisite plan for energy, which is the source of power for all production activities, would be formulated as an energy plan.

The industrial classification that will serve as a detailed framework for the development of the general economic plan should reflect the greatest emphasis on environmental sustainability in particular, and should be classified in terms of which industries add the main burden to air, soil, water, and biological resources.

The classification would not be based simply on the type of product, such as machinery, metal, or chemical industries, but would be based on a detailed environmental scientific analysis of the production activities of each industry, and would be organized into major categories based on the environmental load, such as air-loading, soil-loading, water-loading, and biological resource-loading industries. 

In this regard, industries that emit a large amount of greenhouse gases in the production process or their products, which is currently the primary focus, will be classified as air-loading industries, and the largest number of industries will be in this category. There may also be overlapping classifications.

The industrial classification that will serve as a subdivision framework for formulating general economic plans could be based on whether the industry places the main burden on the air, soil, water resources, or biological resources, reflecting the fact that the greatest emphasis is placed on environmental sustainability.

In that case, rather than simply classifying industries according to the type of production, such as machinery, metals, chemicals, etc., industries would be organized under major classifications based on the target of environmental burden, such as air-burden industries, soil-burden industries, water resource-burden industries, and biological resource-burden industries, based on a detailed environmental scientific analysis of the production activities of each industry.

In this regard, industries whose production processes or products emit large amounts of greenhouse gases, which are the current focus of attention, would be classified as air-burden industries, and this would likely be the largest category of industries. There may also be industries that are classified in overlapping categories.

👉The papers published on this blog are meant to expand upon my On Communism.

Chapter 10.1.

👉The table of contents so far is here.

Chapter 10: Details of Economic Planning

10.1. Ecological sustainability quotas

The starting point of a sustainable planned economy is the formulation of a global economic plan. At that time, ecological sustainability goals form the premise of the world economic plan. In this respect, it is in contrast to the former Soviet Union's developmental planned economy, which prioritized economic development, where production quotas were presented as the premise of the economic plan.

Such ecological sustainability goals are not simply the goals of environmental protection policies, but are normative quotas that define each economic plan as a whole, in the sense that they form the prerequisite criteria for each three-year economic plan. Therefore, ecological sustainability is clearly stated as a normative numerical value at the beginning of each three-year economic plan.

The specific item composition is currently considered to be as follows, but we do not exclude the possibility of further improvements such as adding new items or subdividing or refining the indicators for each item as environmental science research progresses.

①Climate change: Greenhouse gas emission index 

② Ozone layer depletion: Ozone depleting substance consumption index 

③ Eutrophication: Nitrogen and phosphorus emissions to hydrosphere and soil 

④ Acidification: Acidifying substance emission index 

⑤ Toxic substance status: Heavy metal and organic compound emissions 

⑥ Urban air quality: Sulfur oxide, nitrogen oxide and volatile organic compound emissions in urban area 

⑦ Water Resources: Intensity of water resources use (amount extracted / amount of available resources) 

⑧ Fishery resources: Catch of fish 

⑨ Forest resources: Intensity of forest resources use (actual harvest / production capacity) 

⑩ Soil degradation (erosion / desertification): Potential and actual land use for agriculture 

⑪ Waste: Amount of general waste, industrial waste, toxic waste, nuclear waste 

⑫Biodiversity Area of protected biodiversity areas, target population of endangered species, etc.

In the actual world economic plan, normative target figures for each of these indicators will be presented every three years. Therefore, for example, with regard to climate change, greenhouse gas emission control targets for each of the next three years will be set out in a normative manner, rather than being set as lofty long-term targets as are the current international target figures. 

👉The papers published on this blog are meant to expand upon my On Communism.

Chapter 9.5.

 👉The table of contents so far is here.

Chapter 9: Time and space frameworks for planning

9.5. Geographical scope of Zonal economic plans

Economic plans (Zonal economic plans) formulated on each Zonal basis, based on the general framework of the world economic plan of the World Commonwealth and in accordance with a series of linked scheduling, will basically apply to the geographical area covered by the Zonal administration.

In this regard, it should be noted that　depending on the political structure of the Zone, the geographical scope of application of Zonal economic plans differs between a single Zone and a Joint-Zone consisting of the combination of multiple Zones.

In the case of a single Zone, the Zonal economic plan corresponds to the geographical area over which the administrative power of the Zone extends. However, there are two types of Zonal structures: a decentralized federal type and a more centralized unitary type. In the case of a federal type, the decision as to whether or not each of the Quasi-Zones (Zonelets) that make up the federal Zone should formulate its own economic plan is left to the independent judgment of each of the federa lZones.

If each Zonelet formulates its own economic plan, the Zone's planned economy will be decentralized. One problem with this type of geographical decentralization is that it may lead to competition over the allocation of benefits between the Zonelets. This problem also arose when decentralization reforms were implemented in the planned economy system of the former Soviet Union, which was once a federal state.

If competition for the allocation of benefits intensifies, it could lead to structural factors such as corruption, and there is a risk that the schedule for formulating the Zonal economic plan will be delayed. To avoid such disadvantages, it is desirable for economic planning to be centralized even in a federal Zone; however, even if a Zonelet formulates its own economic plan, it will be within the framework of the economic plan of the entire Zone, and therefore the Zonelet 's economic plan will still constitute part of the Zonal economic plan.

In contrast, one of the main aims of a Joint-Zone is for small and medium-sized Zones that do not have an industrial base sufficient to formulate economic plans on their own to join together and formulate a joint, common economic plan in the form of a division of labor while making use of the economic characteristics of each Zone. In this case, the common economic plan will therefore be applied in common to all of the Zones that make up the joint.

Incidentally, the Grand-Zone, which is made up of wider continental entity, is not the entity that formulates economic plan, but is simply geographical entity that represents economic cooperation and other mutual cooperation within the Zone. Therefore, economic cooperation within a Grand-Zone is itself an intra-regional agreement and not an economic plan, but it supplements the Zonal economic plan and, so to speak, forms the outer part of each Zonal economic plan.

👉The papers published on this blog are meant to expand upon my On Communism.

Chapter 9.4.

👉The table of contents so far is here.

Chapter 9: Time and space frameworks for planning

9.4. Scheduling of Zonal economic plans

Economic plans in the Zones are at the forefront of planned economies, but unlike the national economic plans of the former Soviet Union's "Socialism in One Country," they are branch economic plans that are based on the global world economic plan, and therefore the world economic plan takes priority in terms of their formulation schedule.

As a result, while both plan cycles are three years, the three-year starting point of the world economic three-year plan and the Zonal economic three-year plan differ, and the Zonal economic plan takes precedence.

The formulation process of the Zonal economic plan begins when the world economic three-year plan is passed and enacted at the World Commonwealth General Assembly and goes into effect. From there, it takes about three to four months to formulate the Zonal economic plan, and once it has been passed and enacted at each Zonal Commons' Convention, the first planning year begins.

As a concrete example of such a series of schedules, if we set the coming into force of the world economic plan to January for easy understanding, the formulation process of the Zonal economic plan would begin in the same month, and it would be passed and enacted by April or May of the same year, with the first planning year of the Zonal economic plan starting.

The Zonal economic plans are organized in a multi-layered manner, incorporating the general production plan (Division A), the agriculture, forestry and fisheries plan (Division B), the pharmaceutical plan (Division C), and the local consumption plans, with the energy plan serving as the foundation for all plans.

Division A is formulated based on the energy plan, and the remaining Divisions B, C, and consumption plans are formulated based on Division A. Therefore, in the practical formulation work, the energy plan and Division A take precedence, and the formulation work for the remaining plans follows accordingly.

Furthermore, the consumption plan formulated for each greater local area is inseparably related to Division A and B which relate to the entire Zone, and especially to Division B in relation to the supply of food, which is the core of the consumption plan. For this reason, consumption plans will be formulated almost in parallel with Division B.

However, in a federal Zone, if a system were adopted in which each Quasi-Zone (Zonelet) formulates its own economic plan, the economic plans of each  Quasi-Zone would have to fit within the economic planning cycle of the federal Zone, resulting in a complex system in which the formulation of economic plans for a Zone and each Quasi-Zone economic plan would be carried out simultaneously.

👉The papers published on this blog are meant to expand upon my On Communism.

Chapter 9.3.

👉The table of contents so far is here.

Chapter 9: Time and space frameworks for planning

9.3. Overall scheduling of plans

In a planned economy, the key to sound economic management is to set a schedule and steadily implement it. In this regard, the time frame for scheduling such plans is the planning cycle period. In a sustainable planned economy, it is three years.

Starting with the original first three-year economic plan, each cycle of subsequent three-year plans is built up every three years, and these cycles are accumulated in ordinal numbers, starting with the first economic plan, followed by the second, third, etc.

Each three-year period is divided into the first planning year, second planning year, and third planning year, but this is merely a formal division, and the implementation content of the plan does not differ for each planning year, but the plan is simply organized into a three-year cycle as a whole.

Since this three-year cycle is the implementation period of each plan, naturally the formulation of each subsequent plan must begin before the start of the first month of the first year of the plan, which is the starting point of the three years. In that respect, a sustainable economic plan that spans three spatial layers - the World Commonwealth, the Zone, and the greater local area - will not function unless the scheduling of each of these three layers is organically linked together.

Considering the burden of the wide-ranging metrological work, the formulation of the three-year world economic plan, which is the starting point for all plans, needs to begin one year before the current plan ends (or one year before the start of the first three-year plan, for which there is no previous plan).

Furthermore, this process needs to be completed no later than six months by a resolution of the World Commonwealth General Assembly, taking into account the schedule leeway for the formulation of the Zonal economic plans that are based on that.

If we set the start month of the three-year world economic plan to January for easy understanding, then formulation of the next plan will begin in January, when the third planning year of the current plan begins, and the next three-year world economic plan will be completed by July of the same year.

Using the completed world economic plan as a base, the process of formulating economic plans in each Zone will begin. This process consists of two layers, the Zonal economic plan (core production plan) and the greater local economic plan (consumption plan) within the Zone, and it will be completed in the last six months of the third planning year of the current plan.

👉The papers published on this blog are meant to expand upon my On Communism.

Chapter 9.2.

👉The table of contents so far is here.

Chapter 9: Time and space frameworks for planning

9.2. Overall picture of the planning process

Before we look at the time and space framework of planning, we will present an overall picture of the economic planning process based on the World Commonwealth, which can be organized into the following three major stages.

① Formulation of the world economic plan in the World Commonwealth

⇒ The world economic plan is really a set of guiding principles that serves as the overall blueprint for economic planning in the World Commonwealth. It is centered on an overall production plan that incorporates an energy plan as a premise, and a production plan that takes into account the demand and supply outlook that takes into account the environmental situation and population of each Grand-Zone. In formulating the plan, environmental policy organizations such as the World Environment Programme are also involved in the establishment of environmental standards. The plan is reviewed by the World Community institutions and finally approved by the World Commonwealth Commons' Convention and put into effect.

② Formulation of economic plans in each constituent Zone

⇒ The Zonal economic plan is a respective plan for each member Zone of the World Commonwealth, developed by the planning body (Economic Planning Conference) of each Zone within the framework of the world economic plan. This plan is frontline plan that will directly affect the daily lives of the people. It is divided into three areas: Division A for general production, Division B for agriculture, forestry and fisheries, and Division C for pharmaceuticals as a special production area. It also includes a surplus plan in preparation for disasters and infectious disease pandemics. The plan will be deliberated and approved at the Zonal Commons' Convention before coming into effect.

③ Formulation of economic plans in greater local area

⇒The economic plan in greater local area is a consumption plan for each greater local area (Provincial Area or Quasi-Zone) within each Zone. Since the principle of a sustainable planned economy is local production for local consumption, the  Zonal economic plan should be the general framework, while plans for the distribution and consumption of daily living goods, especially food, should be formulated for each greater local area. The plan is formulated by the local consumer business association and is deliberated and approved at the Commons' Convention in each greater local area before coming into effect.

👉The papers published on this blog are meant to expand upon my On Communism.