Pros and cons of command and control system. Command economy - what is it? Advantages, features and problems of a command economy Positive and negative features of a command economy

Essence and traits command economy

Definition 1

A command economy (centralized, administrative) is an economic system in which decisions are made at the state level, while the state assumes the functions of the organizer of social and economic life.

natural and economic resources in this economic system, they are state property, and economic entities act in accordance with the planned targets communicated to them by the control center.

The main features of a command economy are:

1. State property as the basis for the existence of society;
2. Absolutization of state ownership of economic and Natural resources;
3. Rigid centralization in the process of distribution of economic resources, as well as the result of economic activity;
4. Prohibition or restriction of private business activities.

In a command economy, the state determines which goods, in what quantity, will be produced (for whom and how). This economic system was based on state ownership of all the main means of production, in which the bulk of economic resources were owned by society. The state, on behalf of society, controlled the process of distribution and use of all major economic resources.

Remark 1

The market in the command economy has been replaced by central planning, distribution and supply. All products produced in the country are considered goods, while prices for it are set by the state. As in the market, in the command economy there was a system of trade institutions that acted as intermediaries.

Benefits of a command economy

The benefits of a command economy are:

• Ensuring the achievements of an advanced position in technology and science through the concentration of resources (cosmonautics in the Soviet Union, nuclear weapons, etc.);
• Setting socio-economic goals for the economy and their effective solution;
• Ensuring socio-economic stability (guaranteed workplace for all citizens and a high level of employment, stability in the payment wages, free medical care and education, a person's confidence in the future);
• Absence of differences in the income of society, uniform development of various social groups;
• Minimal uncertainty when changing in the near future economic situation, stability economic development;
• Viability in critical periods of the history of society (wars, liquidation of devastation, etc.).

Cons of a command economy

The downsides of a command economy are:

• Exception private property on economic resources;
• Narrow limits in the implementation of free economic initiative, the exclusion of free enterprise;
• Full control of production and distribution of products by the state, as a result of which free market interconnections of individual enterprises were excluded;
• Lack of freedom to choose products that are pre-distributed and scheduled for release;
• Large and complex state structure economic management which often interfered with fast and efficient decision making;
• Subjective management of the economy, leading to an unbalanced and disproportionate development of sectors of the national economy.

In the last 150-200 years different types of economic systems operated in the world: two market(market economy of free competition (pure capitalism) and the modern market economy (modern capitalism)) and two non-market systems(traditional and administrative-command).

Market economy— This an economic system based on the principles of free enterprise, diversity of forms of ownership of the means of production, market pricing, contractual relations between economic entities, limited state intervention in economic activity. It is inherent in socio-economic systems where there are commodity-money relations.

Originating many centuries ago, the market economy has reached a high level of development, has become civilized and socially limited. The main features of a market economy are presented in table 2.1.

Table 2. Characteristics of a market economy

Market economy of free competition developed in the 18th century, but a significant part of its elements entered the modern market economy. The main features of the market economy of free competition:

1) private ownership of economic resources;

2) a market mechanism for regulating the economy based on free competition ;

3) a large number of independent sellers and buyers of each product.

Modern market economy (modern capitalism) turned out to be the most flexible, it is able to rebuild, adapt to changing internal and external conditions.

Its main features:

1) variety of forms of ownership;

2) development scientific and technological progress;

3) the active influence of the state on the development of the national economy.

Traditional economy— This an economic system into which scientific and technological progress penetrates with great difficulty, because conflicts with tradition. It is based on backward technology, widespread manual labor, and a mixed economy. All economic problems resolved in accordance with customs and traditions.

The main features of the traditional economy:

1) private ownership of the means of production and the personal labor of their owners;

2) extremely primitive technology associated with the primary processing of natural resources;

3) communal farming, natural exchange;

4) the predominance of manual labor.

Administrative command economy (centrally-bath- Planned Economy) is an economic system in which major economic decisions are made
the state, which assumes the functions of the organizer of the economic activity of the society. All economic and natural resources are owned by the state. The administrative-command economy is characterized by centralized directive planning, enterprise
The tia act in accordance with the planned tasks brought to them from the "center" of management.

The main features of the administrative-command economy:

1) the basis is state property;

2) absolutization of state ownership of economic and natural resources;

3) rigid centralization in the distribution of economic resources and results of economic activity;

4) significant restrictions or prohibitions on private entrepreneurship.

Positive aspects of administrative-command economics.

1. By concentrating resources it can ensure the achievement of the most advanced positions in science and technology (the achievements of the USSR in the field of astronautics, nuclear weapons and so on.).

2. Administrative-command economy able to provide economic and social stability. Every person is guaranteed a job, stable and constantly increasing wages, free education and medical services, people's confidence in the future, etc.

3. Administrative-command economy proved its vitality in critical periods of human history (war, liquidation of devastation, etc.).

Negative aspects of the administrative-command economy.

1. Excludes private ownership of economic resources.

2. Leaves a very narrow framework for free economic initiative, excludes free enterprise.

3. The state fully controls the production and distribution of products, as a result of which free market relationships between individual enterprises are excluded.

mixed economy organically combines the advantages of a market, administrative-command, and even traditional economy, and thus to a certain extent eliminates the shortcomings of each of them or mitigate their negative consequences.

mixed economy - type of modern socio-economic system, emerging in developed countries West and some developing countries in transition to post-industrial society. Mixed economy but-sit multi-structural character; it is based on private property interacting with state property (20-25%).

Based on various forms property, various types of economy and entrepreneurship function (large, medium, small and individual entrepreneurship; state and municipal enterprises (organizations, institutions)).

The mixed economy is a market system with its inherent social orientation of the economy and society as a whole. The interests of the individual with its multilateral needs are put forward in the center of the country's socio-economic development.

The mixed economy has its own characteristics in different countries and at various stages of development. Thus, the mixed economy in the United States is characterized by the fact that state regulation is represented here to a much lesser extent than in other countries, because the size of state property is small.

The main position in the US economy is occupied by private capital, the development of which is stimulated and regulated by state structures, legal norms, tax system. Therefore, here, to a lesser extent than in Europe, mixed enterprises are common. Nevertheless, a certain form of public-private enterprise has developed in the United States through a system of government laws.

Russia is practically the first in the world applied the experience of the administrative-command economy in the form of a state socialism. On present stage Russia begins to use the basic elements of a mixed economy.

2.2. Models of economic systems:

American, Swedish, Japanese. Russian model transition economy.

For every economic system characterized by their national models of economic organization. Let's take a look at some of the most famous national models economic systems.

American model built on a system of encouraging entrepreneurial activity, development of education and culture, enrichment of the most active part of the population. Low-income segments of the population are provided with various benefits and allowances to maintain minimum level life. This model is based on a high level of labor productivity and a mass orientation towards achieving personal success. The problem of social equality does not stand here at all.

The Swedish model is different a strong social orientation focused on reducing property inequality through the redistribution of national income in favor of the poorest segments of the population. This model means that the function of production falls on private enterprises operating on a competitive market basis, and the function of ensuring a high standard of living (including employment, education, social insurance) and many elements of infrastructure (transport, R&D) - on the state.

home for Swedish model is social orientation due to high taxation (more than 50% of GNP). The advantage of the Swedish model is a combination of relatively high rates economic growth with a high level of full employment, ensuring the well-being of the population. Unemployment has been minimized in the country, differences in incomes of the population are small, the level of social security citizens.

The Japanese model is characterized some lag in the standard of living of the population (including the level of wages) from the growth of labor productivity. Due to this, a reduction in the cost of production and a sharp increase in its competitiveness in the world market are achieved. Such a model is possible only with an exceptionally high development of national self-consciousness, the priority of the interests of society to the detriment of the interests of a particular person, and the willingness of the population to make certain sacrifices for the sake of the country's prosperity. Another feature of the Japanese development model is associated with the active role of the state in the modernization of the economy.

The Japanese economic model is different developed planning and coordination of the activities of the government and the private sector. The economic planning of the state is advisory in nature. Plans are state programs that orient and mobilize individual parts of the economy to fulfill national tasks. The Japanese model is characterized by the preservation of its traditions and, at the same time, active borrowing from other countries of everything that is needed for the development of the country.

Russian model of transitional economy. After the long-term domination of the administrative-command system in the Russian economy in the late 1980s - early 1990s. began the transition to a market economy. The main task of the Russian model of the transitional economy is the formation of an effective market economy with a social orientation.

The conditions for the transition to a market economy were unfavorable for Russia. Among them:

1) a high degree of nationalization of the economy;

2) the almost complete absence of a legal private sector with an increase shadow economy;

3) the long existence of a non-market economy, which weakened the economic initiative of the majority of the population;

4) distorted structure national economy where the leading role was played by the military-industrial complex, and the role of other sectors of the national economy was reduced;

5) non-competitiveness of industries and agriculture.

The main conditions for the formation of a market economy in Russia:

1) development of private entrepreneurship based on private property;

2) creation competitive environment for all business entities;

3) an effective state that provides reliable protection of property rights and creates conditions for effective growth;

4) efficient system social protection population;

5) open, competitive in the world market economy

2.3. The main economic problems of society. What to produce? How to produce? For whom to produce?

Any society, regardless of how rich or poor it is, solves three basic questions of the economy: what goods and services should be produced, how and for whom. These three fundamental questions of economics are decisive (Fig. 2.1).

Which of the goods and services should be produced and in what quantity? An individual can provide himself with the necessary goods and services in various ways: produce them on his own, exchange them for other goods, receive them as a gift. Society as a whole cannot have everything immediately. Because of this, it must decide what it would like to have immediately, what it would be possible to wait for, and what to refuse altogether. What needs to be produced at the moment: ice cream or shirts? A small number of expensive quality shirts or a lot of cheap ones? Is it necessary to produce less consumer goods, or is it necessary to produce more industrial goods (machinery, machine tools, equipment, etc.), which in the future will raise production and consumption?

Sometimes the choice can be quite difficult. There are underdeveloped countries so poor that the efforts of most of the labor force are spent just to feed AND clothe the population. In such countries, in order to raise the living standards of the population, it is necessary to increase production volumes, but this requires restructuring national economy, modernization of production.

How should goods and services be produced? There are various options for the production of the entire set of goods, as well as each economic benefit separately. By whom, from what resources, with the help of what technology should they be produced? Through what organization of production? There is far more than one option for building a particular house, school, college, car. The building can be both multi-storey and single-storey, the car can be assembled on a conveyor or manually. Some buildings are built by private individuals, others by the state. The decision to produce cars in one country is made by a state body, in another - by private firms.

For whom should the product be produced? Who will be able to use the goods and services produced V country? Since the quantity of goods and services produced is limited, the problem of their distribution arises. To satisfy all needs, it is necessary to understand the mechanism of product distribution. Who should use these products and services, benefit? Should all members of the society receive the same share or not? What should be given priority - intelligence or physical strength? Will the sick and the old eat their fill, or will they be left to fend for themselves? Solutions to these problems determine the goals of society, the incentives for its development.

Main economic problems in different socio-economic systems are solved differently. For example, in market economy all answers to basic economic issues(what, how, for whom) determines the market: demand, supply, price, profit, competition.

“What” is decided by effective demand, voting money. The consumer decides for himself what he is willing to pay money for. The producer will himself strive to satisfy the desires of the consumer.

« How" is decided by the manufacturer, who seeks to get a big profit. Since the setting of prices does not depend only on him, in order to achieve his goal in a competitive environment, the manufacturer must produce and sell as many goods as possible and at a lower price than his competitors.

"For whom" is decided in favor of various consumer groups, taking into account their incomes.

Brief conclusions

1. In the last one and a half to two centuries the following systems operated in the world: the market economy of free competition, the modern market economy, the administrative-command and traditional economy. In the last one and a half to two decades, there has appeared mixed economy.

2. Every system has their national models of organization economic development, because countries differ in the level of economic development, social and national conditions.

3. Russian model The transitional economy has the following characteristic features: a powerful public sector, a small share of small and medium-sized businesses, an uneven transition to market relations in various sectors and regions of the country, and a high criminalization of the economy.

4. Basic questions of economics(what, how, for whom) are solved in different socio-economic systems in different ways, depending on the socio-economic development of the country.

Economic training

Key terms and concepts

economic system; types of economic systems: traditional economy, market economy, administrative-command (centrally planned) economy, mixed economy; models of economic systems: Japanese, South Korean, American, Swedish; Russian transitional economics; basic economic questions: what, how, for what.

Control questions and tasks

1. What types of economic systems do you know and what is their essence?

2. Expand the essence of models of economic systems.

3. What are the features of the Russian model of transitional economy (as opposed to administrative-command to market)?

4. What is different japanese model from South Korean? What elements of these models can be used in Russia to create a market economy?

5. What are the three main questions of economics constantly trying to answer economic theory and what is their content?

6. How are the three main economic issues (what, how, for whom) solved in a market economy and an administrative-command economy?

7. What are the features of the development of economic systems at the present stage?

Exercise. Compile an economic crossword puzzle using the following terms: types, systems, tradition, customs, community, entrepreneurship, property, diversity, self-regulation, inequality, plan, planning, administration, centralization, concentration, state, models.

Advantages of the administrative-command system

There are several advantages of the command-administrative system.

1. The effectiveness of command and control methods of managing the national economy in an extreme situation.

Such a system can justify itself only in an extreme situation, when tough and resolute, and sometimes the only measures are needed (war, national disaster, etc.). It was after the revolution, during the Civil War and the Great Patriotic War, that the command-administrative methods of managing the national economy proved to be the most profitable. Since in the conditions of the complete decline of the national economy, the economy cannot self-regulate. And harsh and sometimes cruel methods brought a great effect. In the very first post-war five-year plan, the national economy was almost completely restored: industry developed, but in agriculture there was a crisis /19, p.42/.

2. High level of employment of the population.

According to official figures in the USSR, unemployment disappeared in the second half of the 1930s. Almost the entire population in working age and grind the job. They were concentrated in different sectors of the economy in different industries (Fig. 1). The worker received a guaranteed salary (the average salary of an employee in the state sector of the economy in 1980 was 204.3 rubles per month), but the salary in the USSR did not depend on the quality of work, which led to a decrease in product quality.

Of course, the worker has a wide choice of professions, but the Soviet citizen had far from unlimited rights regarding the choice of the area of ​​employment and the industry in which he would like to work, which waited for indifference to work.

Most of the employed population was concentrated in the public sector of the economy. This is due to the fact that almost all enterprises were state property /6, p.132/.

Employed population by sectors of the economy (million people)

3. Low inflation rates.

The negligibly low rate of inflation is also confirmed by the value of the ruble against the US dollar (in 1979, the value of 1 US dollar was 0.96 rubles). The firmness of the Soviet volute is explained by the fact that the value of the ruble was confirmed by the gold bullion reserves of the USSR. But during the USSR, the most dangerous type of inflation took place - hidden inflation: the value of money decreased due to the fact that they simply had nothing to buy, that is, people had money, but there was no goods that they could buy.

Disadvantages of the administrative-command system

As for the shortcomings of the administrative-command system of the national economy, their advantages are much greater. One of the main drawbacks is the growth of the bureaucracy, which is the reason for the monopolization of the economy. With a complete monopolization of the economy, the following disadvantages are observed:

1. Scarcity of the economy.

In such a system, with the complete absence of competition, the market is overflowing with goods that are not in demand by the buyer. This is due to the fact that enterprises produce products, the production of which is required by the state, without taking into account the demand for this product. For example, in the market they sell a huge amount of galoshes when the buyer is interested in sneakers. In this case, the buyer is willing to purchase sneakers at a higher price than their real price. What will serve as a prerequisite for the emergence of a black market /6, p.151/.

2. Immunity to the achievements of the scientific and technological revolution.

The absence of competitors does not force producers to care about the quality of goods, which means that monopoly producers are not interested in the achievements of scientific and technological revolution. Moreover, a lot of money had to be spent on scientific development.

Spending on science from the state budget, billion rubles

In different years, the state spent different amounts of money on science (Fig. 2), most of which went to the needs of the military-industrial complex, which hindered the introduction of new technologies into industry. This made the products of Soviet manufacturers uncompetitive.

3. Militarization of the economy.

State spending on the army reached 30% of GDP (and in the US, GDP was at the level of 5-7% of GDP). Spending on the military industry in 1985 amounted to 83.2 billion rubles, which was 18% of the budget, when more money was needed for the development of agriculture and for social policy. At the same time, until 1989, part of the military expenditures was also included in the expenditures on the national economy: for the purchase of weapons and equipment, for research and development work, military construction, etc.

What happened in the USSR is simply called “guns instead of butter”. It is clear that, yielding to the United States in terms of GDP by 2 times, and in the West it was believed that by 3-3.5 times, the USSR had to spend 3-4 times a larger share of GDP on military spending. The question arises, where to get the money for military spending? Especially when you consider that you also need to feed the population, and this is not so easy. According to official statistics, the gross harvest of wheat (winter and spring) has not increased since the 1970s.

A command economy is an economic system in which the state plays the main role in regulating it. In this system, the state determines what products and in what quantities should be produced, for whom to produce and how to produce. Why is the state given the role of the main regulator in the economy? Because in this economic system, state ownership of all the main means of production prevails, that is, the bulk of economic resources are owned by the entire population living in the country. On behalf of the population, the state manages the distribution of all basic economic resources, as well as their use.

Due to little or no private ownership of the means of production, there is no market in a command economy. It is being replaced by central planning, distribution and supply. However, there are elements of the market here. Manufactured products are considered goods, but the prices are set by the state. There is a network of trade institutions that act as intermediaries between sellers (state or cooperative enterprises) and buyers (enterprises, institutions or the public).

The advantages of a command economy are:

1) a minimum of uncertainty in changing the economic situation in the short term, a relatively stable development of the economy;

2) the possibility of setting social goals for the economy and their achievement;

3) the absence of sharp differences in the income levels of the population between its various groups, which contributes to a more even development of all strata of society;

4) the possibility of maintaining a stable level of employment.

But, like any economic system, the command economy has its drawbacks:

1) the lack of freedom of choice of goods (in particular, the means of production) for sellers and buyers - everything is planned and distributed in advance;

2) the need to create a large, complex bureaucratic structure of economic management, often hindering the rapid adoption of operational decisions;

3) subjectivity in the management of the economy, which leads to imbalance and disproportionate development of industries;

4) alienation of owners (population) from property objects (means of production) and lack of competition (competitiveness), which leads to lack of initiative of workers and insufficient incentives for more efficient use of economic resources; as a result - underutilization of the achievements of scientific and technological progress, reduced efficiency, stagnation in the economy.

An example of a command economy is the economic system in the former Soviet Union and in the countries of the socialist direction of development.

Planned economy (administrative-command system) previously dominated the USSR, countries of Eastern Europe and a number of Asian states.

The characteristic features of the ACN are public (and in reality - state) ownership of almost all economic resources, monopolization and bureaucratization of the economy in specific forms, centralized economic planning as the basis of the economic mechanism.

The economic mechanism of the AKC has a number of features. It assumes, firstly, the direct management of all enterprises from a single center - the highest echelons of state power, which nullifies the independence of economic entities. Secondly, the state completely controls the production and distribution of products, as a result of which free market relationships between individual farms are excluded. Thirdly, the state apparatus leads economic activity with the help, mainly, of administrative and administrative (command) methods, which undermines the material interest in the results of labor.

The complete nationalization of the economy causes the monopolization of production and marketing of products, unprecedented in its scale. Giant monopolies, established in all areas of the national economy and supported by ministries and departments, in the absence of competition, do not care about the introduction of new equipment and technology. The scarce economy generated by the monopoly is characterized by the absence of normal material and human reserves in case the balance of the economy is disturbed.

In countries with ACN, the solution of general economic problems had its own specific features. In accordance with the prevailing ideological attitudes, the task of determining the volume and structure of products was considered too serious and responsible to transfer its decision to the direct producers themselves - industrial enterprises, state farms and collective farms.

Centralized distribution of material goods, labor and financial resources was carried out without the participation of direct producers and consumers, in accordance with pre-selected public goals and criteria, on the basis of central planning. A significant part of the resources, in accordance with the prevailing ideological guidelines, was directed to the development of the military-industrial complex.

The distribution of created products among the participants in production was strictly regulated by the central authorities through the universally applied tariff system, as well as centrally approved norms of funds for the wage fund. This led to the prevalence of an egalitarian approach to wages.

Main features:

state ownership of virtually all economic resources;

strong monopolization and bureaucratization of the economy;

centralized, directive economic planning as the basis of the economic mechanism.

The main features of the economic mechanism:

direct management of all enterprises from a single center;

the state has full control over the production and distribution of products;

the state apparatus manages economic activity with the help of predominantly administrative-command methods.

This type of economic system is typical for: Cuba, Vietnam, North Korea. A centralized economy with an overwhelming share of the public sector is more dependent on agriculture and foreign trade.

command economy

The pure capitalism presented above has its antipode (opposite) in the face of a centralized (command-administrative) system characterized by state ownership of everything. material resources and making important economic decisions through collective meetings and centralized economic planning. In other words, the means of production (land, capital) are concentrated in the hands of the state - the leading economic entity, and one can speak of economic power as centralized. It is important to consider that the market does not determine the balance of economic forces (it does not affect which companies and what they produce, which of them will withstand competition), the prices for goods and services are determined by the government. The Central Planning Authority (CPO) distributes the initially available and finished products, its competence includes the task of what products should be produced and in what quantity, what will be the quality of this product, from what resources and raw materials it will be produced. As soon as these issues are settled, the CPO transfers the order (implements directives) to specific enterprises, indicating the necessary details. It is worth noting that enterprises located on the territory of the country also belong to the state.

A significant advantage of this model over the others is the achievement of conditions conducive to the absence of obvious unemployment due to the centralized distribution of resources and taking into account, in particular, all available labor resources. Another point - due to the rigid centralization of management, the ability to control the distribution of income among the population.

At the first stage of economic planning, the task of the central planning authority is to draw up five year plan development of the country's economy as a whole. In the future, this plan is refined and detailed, divided into more detailed moments, and ultimately obtained ready plans for economic branches and individual enterprises. At the same time, it should be noted that there feedback on the part of these same enterprises - at the stage of designing plans, they themselves give estimates and comments on the optimality of the required indicators. The plan that is ultimately approved must be carried out almost unquestioningly.

However, it would be wrong not to mention the difficulties in implementing this model. Among the priorities is the problem, directly, of centralized management of the economy, as one of the most difficult. And here an important place is given to the problem of awareness government agencies planning on the state of the economy directly in this moment time. After all, in this case it is very difficult to assess the influence of numerous factors, to track changes in indicators characterizing the state of the economy (production costs, consumption growth, resource costs). At the same time, even statistically collected information changes rapidly, which makes planning often inconsistent with time. The higher the degree of centralization of management, the more distorted the adequacy economic indicators down up. Often, many economic institutions deliberately distort the results obtained in order to end up looking in the most favorable light for management.

Problems arise in a planned economy and when trying to introduce new technologies into production or when it comes to the release of new products. This is due to the fact that the management of the enterprise is under the control of a higher-level management and is subordinated exclusively to its directives (teams), which cannot always be assessed objectively. It is in a market economy that enterprises seek to minimize costs and bring to market a new product that outperforms competitors and allows them to earn profits, keeping the company afloat in an ever-changing market environment. In the directive model, however, flaws in the management structure and an inadequate level of awareness do not allow to properly increase the production efficiency of a particular enterprise in proportion to its potential.

Summing up, it is worth noting the following advantages of this model:

Centralized management makes it possible to concentrate funds and other resources in certain, most priority areas at the moment

Creation of social stability, feeling of "confidence in the future".

Of the minuses, it is worth noting:

Low level meet consumer needs

Lack of choice in both production and consumption (including a shortage of consumer goods)

Achievements of scientific and technological progress are not always implemented in a timely manner

As the main drawback of the command-administrative system, the impossibility of planning targets to objectively reflect the needs of society in certain goods is singled out. Indeed, in order to determine how many units of each product a society needs, the Center must have information about the needs of people, their tastes and preferences. F. Hayek called this information "scattered knowledge", pointing out that it is dispersed among people and cannot be concentrated in single center . In a market economy, this information is reflected through the mechanism of price fluctuations (changes in relative prices and marginal substitution rates are the benchmark that tells producers what to produce, and consumers what to buy), in a planned economy there is no such mechanism, which means that many , a planned economy, in principle, cannot determine exactly how many of which goods a society needs. There is, however, an opinion that progress in the field of computing technologies will make it possible to eliminate the limitations of the collection and processing of information by the planning authority, and therefore "with the development of information technology it will be possible to model the entire process of production and consumption for all mankind as a whole." But the opponents of this opinion give the following argument: economic life is characterized by uncertainty, and therefore even the most powerful computer technology will not be able to plan the required volume and range of output with absolute accuracy, since it is not possible to foresee all changes in economic life. In other words, even if it is possible to collect all the information about available resources and needs for certain goods at a particular moment, then after a certain time this information will not objectively reflect reality due to changes in economic life, these changes are unpredictable, therefore they cannot be taken into account by the planned task. Thus, the Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises considers six large groups of factors that, in his opinion, set the economy in constant motion: changes in the natural environment, in the size of the population, in the size and distribution of capital, in production technology, in the social organization of labor, and changes in the structure of consumer demand. Of course, not all of these factors are completely unpredictable. For example, population dynamics can not only be accurately predicted, but also directly influenced by demographic policy instruments, and changes in production techniques under the command-administrative system are taken into account by the planned task, so they do not need to be predicted. However, to accurately predict, for example, changes in the natural environment is indeed a practically impossible task. After all, it is impossible to say in a few years which year will be fruitful and which will not, when and where natural disasters will occur and what will be the extent of the destruction brought by them.

It is difficult to disagree that the "scattered" nature of information about consumer preferences, as well as the uncertainty factor present in economic life, do not allow planned targets (even when using the most modern computer technology) to determine with absolute accuracy how much and what goods need to be produced. to fully meet the needs of society. However, it should be noted that even in a market economy, the volume and assortment of goods that are one hundred percent consistent with the needs of the population are not produced. In an ideal model of a market economy, capital instantly moves from less profitable industries to more profitable ones (that is, from those industries where demand becomes lower than supply to those industries where demand, on the contrary, begins to exceed supply). In practice, things are more complicated. Development stock exchanges really allows you to move quickly enough financial assets from one industry to another, but these financial flows are not instantly converted into production assets- it takes time. Therefore, when the demand for any product changes, the supply does not immediately respond (provided, of course, that there are not enough stocks in the warehouses to fully satisfy the increased demand). In addition, manufacturers do not immediately expand production, but first conduct market research to find out whether the reasons for the increase in demand are temporary or not, and this further increases the delay in the response of supply to increased demand. A similar situation occurs if the demand for a certain product falls: enterprises do not immediately reduce output, but continue to work for some time in the same mode, while producing excess products.

Thus, the question arises whether theoretically (for example, with the development of electronic computers) a planned economy can ensure the production of such a volume and range of goods that, even if not 100 percent, will meet the needs of the population (after all, a market economy does not provide one hundred percent compliance) , but will be close to the real needs of society? Or were serious inconsistencies between planned targets and the true needs of the population during Soviet times quite natural?

As a drawback of the command-administrative system, many also point out that the Center, "trying to paint the range of products in kind up to the nail, must contain a huge bureaucracy that absorbs significant labor and material resources"... Name the exact size of the bureaucracy under the USSR it is impossible, since the lists of the nomenclature were secret and nothing was officially reported about it.Therefore, the data of different researchers differ, but in general, estimates of the number of the nomenclature under the USSR vary from 2 to 4 million people.

The bureaucratic apparatus of the USSR, in addition to its large numbers, is also reproached for its corruption. Indeed, corruption was present in the nomenklatura, but it should be noted that the corruption of officials after the collapse of the Union increased many times over. But in any case, no reforms will completely eradicate corruption, it will always exist - whether it be a planned economy or a market one. Therefore, to say that the corruption of the bureaucratic apparatus under the USSR was due to the economic system itself is not entirely correct, besides, it is not possible to assess the degree of corruption of the nomenklatura under the USSR - one can only state the fact that it was.

The disadvantages of the command-and-control system include the fact that manufacturers have no incentives to improve the quality of consumer goods and introduce more efficient production technologies. The reason for this is the lack of competition. After all, in the absence of an alternative, buyers have no choice but to buy goods from a single manufacturer. In addition, soft budget constraints allow the enterprise to operate inefficiently, since it cannot, in principle, go bankrupt. In an ideal model of a command-administrative system, the state itself (and not competition, as in a market economy) should control the efficiency of enterprises and strive to improve the quality of manufactured goods, but in the days of the USSR this was not always possible.

Among the important shortcomings of the socialist system, the absence of high incentives to work is also distinguished, since there is no motive for personal gain under it. So, the income of the producer in this economic system does not directly depend on how much and what kind of products he produced - it is fixed and determined solely by the position held. Many believe that the very nature of human nature is such that in the collective management of the economy, he will never work as conscientiously as if he worked for himself, and this property of human nature cannot be eradicated by anything. Of course, the centralized state has some tools with which it can induce people to work more productively - it can be the threat of punishment or the inculcation of enthusiasm based on the belief in a brighter future (both methods were used in the Soviet Union). But can these measures generate as high an incentive to work as a motive for personal gain? It depends on how great the person's confidence is that in case of poor performance of his work, he will certainly be punished, as well as on how strong his faith in the general idea is. Of course, if a person is convinced of the justice of the socialist idea and knows that if he does not do some work, immediate sanctions will follow, then he will work no worse than if his income is proportional to his work. But, unfortunately, this was not always the case in Soviet times.

Many authors criticize socialism also for the concept of determining the share of each participant production process based on labor costs. They argue that there is a different quality of work, different labor productivity and, most importantly, a lot of its varieties (from highly intellectual to purely physical), and therefore it is quite difficult to objectively assess its cost.

The socialist system is also actively criticized for the fact that it contributes to the concentration of great power in the hands of one person (group of persons), which can lead to the establishment of a totalitarian regime in the country and the aggressive foreign policy. Indeed, the era of "Stalinism", for example, was accompanied by mass repressions, and as for aggressive foreign policy, here, as an example, we can cite the USSR attack on Finland (1939), the entry of troops into Hungary (1956), Czechoslovakia (1968), Afghanistan (1979).

The large size of the shadow sector is also referred to the disadvantages of the command-administrative system. So, by the beginning of the 70s, 3-4% of the USSR GDP was produced in the shadow sector, and in the period from the beginning of the 60s to the end of the 80s, on average, the scale of the shadow sector increased 30 times (in construction - 60 times, in the field of transport and communications - 40 times, in agriculture and industry - 30 times). However, it should be noted that after the collapse of the USSR, the size of the shadow sector did not decrease. It should also be noted that the origins of the shadow sector in a market economy and in a socialist economy are different. If for market system the growth of the shadow sector is associated with lower costs for underground production, the presence of demand for goods and services prohibited by law, as well as tax evasion, then for a command economy main reason is a deficit. If the planned task does not objectively take into account the needs of the population and enterprises, then a deficit arises.

In distribution relations, the main drawback of CAS is that the state is a monopoly distributor of basic resources: material, financial, natural, labor. Money objectively could not perform the same functions as in a market economy. Therefore, the distribution is carried out not in accordance with the prevailing demand and supply of resources, but at the discretion of state authorities. In such conditions, bribery flourishes. In a market economy, wages are determined in the process of competition, taking into account the ratio of supply and demand in the labor market. In CAS, it is administratively established and limited by the state through regulations, therefore it is not an incentive for highly productive work and manifests itself simultaneously in equalization and privileges.