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.

Chapter 9.1.

👉The table of contents so far is here.

Chapter 9: Time and space frameworks for planning

9.1. Overview

As with planned economies in general, the planned economy process has two dimensions: time and space. The time dimension is the time span covered by a specific plan. In this regard, the former Soviet Union's economic plans were based on a five-year standard, but a sustainable planned economy is based on a three-year standard.

There is no absolute formula for how many years should be set as the time frame for such planning, but the time frame for a sustainable planned economy is set at three years and mid-term because it is based on the prediction of a variable natural phenomenon, namely the state of the global environment, and mid-term planning is considered more appropriate than long-term planning that lasts more than three years.

Once this time frame for planning is decided, it is in principle followed thereafter and cannot be changed for each plan. If the three-year time frame is to be changed to a longer period, it must be done on an appropriate and rational basis. (On the other hand, changing it to a shorter period of less than three years would be inappropriate, as it would make the time frame for planning too cramped and would in fact lose its significance as a plan.)

Partial changes to the content of each plan during the planning period due to revisions to global environmental forecasts or the occurrence of unexpected disasters are permitted as appropriate, as they are different from changes to the time frame for planning.

On the other hand, the spatial framework for planning is the question of which region the economic plan will be formulated in. It can also be rephrased as the geographical scope of planning. In this respect, while the former Soviet Union-style economic plan had a spatial framework of a single sovereign nation, the sustainable economic plan extends in a multi-layered manner to three spaces: the World Commonwealth, the Zone, and the greater local area within the Zone.

These three spatial frameworks are not completely equal, and the world economic plan in the World Commonwealth serves as an upper limit (= cap) that covers the entire globe, and the Zonal economic plan functions as an allocation (= quota) within that range.

The economic plans of the greater local areas within a Zone are plans related exclusively to consumption, and have significance as the consumption sector of Zonal economic planning. This differs from the "decentralization of planning" that was attempted as a reform measure for the planned economy in the former Soviet Union, and is a functional differentiation that is built into the structure of planning from the very beginning.

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

Chapter 8.4.

👉The table of contents so far is here.

Chapter 8: Planning Organizations

8.4. Organizations related to local economic planning

The term "local" here has a different meaning between a unitary Zone and a federal Zone. In the former case it refers to a Provincial Area as a wide local authority, while in the latter case it refers to a Quasi-Zone (a Zonelet) that makes up the federal Zone.

Among these, a Quasi-Zone, as its name suggests, is similar to a Zone and is self-contained like states in current federal states, so it could be argued that it should be allowed to have the authority to formulate its own economic plan (production plan) just like a Zone.

In the case of a federal Zone, the bare minimum would be to allow economic representatives from each Quasi-Zone to participate in the Economic Planning Conference that is involved in formulating economic plan for the entire Zone. Beyond that, whether or not to grant Quasi-Zones the authority to formulate their own economic plans is left to the autonomous decision of each federated Zone.

Whether unitary or federal, the core of local economic planning is the consumption plan. A consumption plan is an economic plan limited to consumption, formulated with the goal of local production and consumption, and the organization that formulates it is a Consumer Business Organization established in each local area.

A Consumer Business Organization is itself a supplier of daily necessities, and at the same time, it is also an organization that formulates consumption plan. Furthermore, since local end consumption cannot be unrelated to the economic plan of the entire Zone, each Consumer Business Organization sets up representative division at Zonal Economic Planning Conference and to be involved as an observes in the formulation of the Zone's economic plan.

A Consumer business Organization has many goods-producing enterprises as affiliated organizations, but most of these enterprises are self-managed enterprises (the Production Cooperatives) that are basically outside the scope of the planned economy. These enterprises are not directly involved in the formulation of consumption plan, but they create their own in-house production plans and produce within the scope of the consumption plan.

Incidentally, since food accounts for a significant portion of the goods supplied by the Consumer Business Cooperatives, the Agricultural Production Organizations and Fishery Production Organization, which are involved in the production of agricultural and fishery products that are the raw materials for food, are also important parties in terms of consumption planning. Specifically, their local offices are involved in consumption planning by also serving as corporate members of the Consumer Business Cooperatives.

In other words, the Agricultural Production organizations and the Fisheries Production Organizations are doubly involved in economic planning, as they are involved in Zonal economic planning as an organization as a whole, and at the same time, are involved in local consumption planning at the local office level.

Furthermore, a consumption plan is submitted to the local Commons' Convention (the Provincial Commons' Convention in the unitary type, and the Quasi-Zonal Commons' Convention in the federal type) and come into effect after deliberation and resolution, which is the same structure as Zonal economic planning.

In that respect, the Consumer Business Cooperatives are conference bodies run by representative system, with all residents of the jurisdiction automatically as members, and in themselves can be said to have the significance of a lower house of the local authority.

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

Chapter 8.3

👉The table of contents so far is here.

Chapter 8: Planning Organizations

8.3. Organizations related to the zonal planned economy

The forefront of a sustainable planned economy are the Zones, which are the constituent entities of the World Commonwealth. Each Zone is usually single and is also the economic planning entity that formulates and operates its own economic plan within the framework of the world economic plan.

However, small Zones often do not have the economic base to operate a planned economy on their own. Therefore, these small Zones form unions with neighboring Zones of the same size or larger Zones, and operate a planned economy in the unit of a Joint- Zone. The main role of the Joint-Zone is to operate such a common economic plan.

These Zonal economic plans are formulated based on the Grand-Zone in the world economic plan, taking into consideration economic cooperation within the the Grand-Zone, and the practical aspects of such Grand-Zonal economic cooperation are handled by the economic cooperation councils of the five Grand-Zone. The councils are composed of representatives of production enterprises that are responsible for the fields of economic cooperation within the Grand-Zone, and after concluding a Grand-Zonal economic cooperation agreement, they obtain approval and resolution from the Grand-Zonal the Commons' Convention.

Following the Grand-Zonal economic cooperation agreement, the process moves on to the formulation of economic plans for each Zone. Whether single or joint, the body that formulates the Zonal economic plan is the Economic Planning Conference. This is not an administrative body like the State Planning Commission, which was the central body of the planned economy in the former Soviet Union, but a deliberative body jointly run by the production enterprises that are the subject of the planned economy.

It is structured as a conference body whose members are the planning officers of each production enterprise, and it has an attached secretariat that provides practical support for the conference. The conference is a tripartite system in which the general industry committee, agriculture, forestry, fisheries committee, and pharmaceutical committe are branched out in accordance with the three types of plans: general, agriculture-forestry-fisheries, and pharmaceutical, and representative departments of consumer business organizations in the Provincial Areas or Quasi-Zones, which are the units for formulating consumption plans, are also established as observer committees.

Of the three committees, the general industry committee is divided into special subcommittees that roughly follow the industrial classification of the input-output table that forms the basis of economic plans, and each subcommittee formulates its own plan after discussion. The agriculture, forestry and fisheries committee is also divided into special subcommittees, but the pharmaceutical committee itself doubles as a special subcommittee.

Regarding the energy plan, which is a prerequisite for the economic plan, the Energy Planning Council, made up of energy-related businesses such as oil refineries and electricity, is established as a subordinate organ of the Economic Planning Conference, and the Economic Planning Conference deliberates and passes on the energy plan proposed by the Council.

On the other hand, the Commons' Convention, which is involved in the administration of the Zone, is also involved in the formulation of the economic plan, but it does not take the lead. The role of the Commons' Convention is to re-deliberate and approve the plans passed by the Economic Planning Conference. In that respect, the relationship between the Commons' Convention and the Economic Planning Conference can be said to be equivalent to that of a sort of upper house (≒ the Commons' Convention) and lower house (≒ the Economic Planning Conference). However, the Commons' Convention cannot completely reject a plan, it can only partially disapprove or send it back.

In the case of economic planning at the Joint-Zonal base, a Commons' Convention is not established in the joint territorial area, but instead the Policy Coordination Council has the right to approve the plan. To this extent, the Policy Coordination Council plays a role equivalent to the Commons' Convention in a single Zone.

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