Research On Schweickart's Market Socialism Theory Of “Economic Democracy”

Market socialism is an important socialist trend of thought in contemporary foreign Marxist schools.David Schweickart,the main representative of contemporary Western market socialism theory,put forward the theory of market socialism featured by "economic democracy" on the basis of criticizing capitalism and summarizing the failure experience of Soviet-Soviet socialist practices.Schweickart's "economic democracy"-market socialism theory has three main characteristics: first,productive enterprises are managed by their workers democratically,and the daily economy is a market economy and new investment is regulated by society.In the process of exploring the alternatives to capitalism,Schweickart creatively combined the public ownership of production materials with the market economy to theoretically explore the goal of socialism,which arouses wide academic interest home and abroad.This thesis,based on previous literature,systematically explores David Schweickart's "economic democracy"-market socialism theory.It not only analyzes the rationality of this theory,but also does a comparative analysis of Schweickart's "economic democracy" market socialism with China's socialist market economy theories.Chapter one introduces the research background and its significance.This chapter also reviews the domestic and international research of Schweickart's "economic democracy" market socialism theory.Chapter two provides an overview of Schweickart's "economic democracy"-market socialism theory,including its research background and the theoretical premise.When tracing the theoretical background of "economic democracy" market socialism,it is evident that Schweickart's theory has been greatly shaped by Marxism classics and western theory of resource allocation.The second chapter also points out that Schweickart absorbed the rationality of Marx's criticism of capitalism from Marx's classic works.The inspirations from Marxism are,for example,"Marx's critique of capitalism is expressed as a critique of democracy;"Marx criticizes the capital market and the labor market."Chapter three provides an in-depth analysis of Schweickart's "economic democracy"-market socialism model.It includes the contents,features and application possibilities of "economic democracy"-market socialism theory.Chapter four is an in-depth analysis of Schweickart's "Economic Democracy" Market Socialism Theory.The content includes the rationality and irrationality of the "economic democracy"-market socialism theory.The rationality of "economic democracy" market socialism is manifested in: the market as a combination of both resource allocation means and socialism;the use of workshop democracy to replace the capitalist labor wage system;and the democratic management of investment to replace the capitalist capital market mechanism.The irrationality of "economic democracy" market socialism is manifested in: the market structure system is incomplete;the democratic management system of enterprise has low efficiency;the methods of investment fund distribution are too simplistic;the realization approach is somehow "Utopian".Chapter five highlights the Chinese feature of Schweickart's "economic democracy" market socialism theory.Based on the comparative analysis of Schweickart's theory and China's socialist market economy,this paper analyzes the commonalities and differences between these two.It discusses the transcendence of China's socialist market-economy reform to the "economic democracy"-market socialism theory.Although both adhere to the value orientation of socialism,advocate the "marriage" of socialism and market economy,and feature criticism of capitalism,there are still differences in the institutional environment,fundamental goals,and theoretical practices.At the same time,this chapter also discusses the transcendence of China's socialist market economy reform to the "economic democracy" market socialism theory,including the transcendence of the guiding ideology,leadership,and government functions.Chapter six indicates the application possibilities of Schweickart's "Economic Democracy"-market socialism theory.Based on the study of Schweickart's "economic democracy"-market socialism theory,this thesis puts forward its theoretical and practical significance for China's socialist market economy reform.The theoretical significance includes the application of non-comparative research methods and the enlightenment from the alternative system theory.The practical significance includes the theoretical development of the combination of socialism and market economy,the theoretical explanation of the non-sustainability criticism of capitalism,and the democratic significance of the theory of "economic democracy".Schweickart believes that China's socialist market economy reform can also provide a realistic basis for its "economic democracy"-market socialism theory as well as its theoretical interpretation.In conclusion,Schweickart's “economic democracy”-market socialism model,though with somewhat deficiency and irrationality,creatively combines the public ownership of production materials with the market economy,providing us with further possibility to improve China's socialist market economy reform.At the critical moment of furthering economic system reform,we should critically take the rational connotation of Schweickart's "economic democracy"-socialism theory,apply it to the practices of China's socialist market economic reform,and explore the economic development theory with China's distinctive characteristics catering to China's national conditions at this stage.