SCARCITY, MARXISM, AND GOSPLAN

1. THIS article is a survey of the incompatibility of Marxism with 'scarcity' economics, i.e. the proposition that the essence of economics is choice, or the allocation of scarce resources between competing ends. The word 'scarcity' will be used here as shorthand for this concept. It is argued that this problem has never been and is not now understood by Marxists, in or outside U.S.S.R. We deal first with the Founding Fathers, then with monetary and accounting theory, price and output formation, and planning.