Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy

#1615 Envisioning a Leftist Economic Future of Postcapitalism, High-Tech Automation, Universal Basic Income and a World (Mostly) Without Work (Throwback)

6 snips
Feb 28, 2026
Leigh Phillips, journalist and author known for probing large-scale planning, joins to imagine a postcapitalist future. He explores corporations as planned entities and how automation reshapes work. Conversations cover universal basic income, big-data coordination replacing price signals, and practical political demands like decommodifying essentials and nationalized pharma.
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INSIGHT

Walmart Undercuts The Case Against Planning

  • Walmart's scale shows planning can coordinate massive production without price-signal omnipotence.
  • Lee argues Walmart rivals nation-states in size, undermining the claim that planning inherently fails compared to markets.
INSIGHT

Big Data Challenges Price-Centric Allocation

  • Information technology and big data challenge Hayek's 'prices as action at a distance' thesis.
  • Smartphones and machine learning produce abundant signals beyond price that can align social goals with allocation decisions.
ANECDOTE

From Independent Craftspeople To Machine-Paced Factory Workers

  • Industrial automation shifted workers from autonomous shopkeepers to repetitive factory roles supervised by owners.
  • The podcast cites Marx-era factory towns and modern Amazon warehouses where pace is set by machines, producing alienation.
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