For a century, the debate over market and plan has been trapped in a futile circle: how to make the cake and how to divide the cake. But what if the cake itself is poisoned?
Taking the threefold division of labor commodification as its core analytical entry point, this book brings a definitive end to this century-long debate. The author, Zhang Haoxiang, puts forward a subversive core argument: the market, the plan, and the traditional plan subordinate to the plan are in no way the essential divide between socialism and capitalism, nor are they neutral technical tools. Fundamentally, all three are derivative forms of capitalist logic, corresponding to three distinct layers of labor commodification:
• The market is the complete form of labor commodification, covering the full chain of production, exchange, and labor allocation, representing the standard unfolding of capitalist logic.
• The plan is the base form of labor commodification, which abolishes the open exchange of labor power yet fully retains the core logic of labor production and arrangement.
• Traditional plan is the radically deepened form of the plan, further strengthening centralized control over labor production and arrangement within the planned framework, representing an extreme extension of capitalist logic under a planned system.
None of these three are inevitable "fixed points" of history; they are merely contingent paths shaped by the interaction between economic forces and political entities.
The only true and unavoidable fixed point in history is reclaiming actual control over the production of labor power. On this basis, the author proposes the emancipatory path of a two-stage revolution:
The first stage completely abolishes the commodity buying and selling of labor power, cutting off the root of capitalist exploitation.
The second stage thoroughly eliminates the commodified production and arrangement of labor power, enabling workers to regain sovereignty over their own labor.
During the transition period, institutions such as the state and political parties cannot be immediately eliminated, but through the continuous practice of reclaiming while constructing, workers will gradually gain full autonomy over skill formation, work rhythm, leisure time, and personal data, fundamentally preventing capitalist restoration and subjective alienation.
Only by breaking free from the trap of "making or dividing the cake" can we see the real battlefield: true liberation is never a game of distribution on a poisoned cake, but smashing the cake entirely and reclaiming workers’ absolute sovereignty over their own lives and labor, illuminating a clear path for human emancipation.
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