Parecon in Venezuela?

Anyone interested in imagining alternatives to our current economic and political system, and in how such alternatives might be put into practice, should take a look at this article, which has been published online both by ZNet and Venezuela Analysis.

It's by Michael Albert, founder of ZNet and the author of "Parecon" (short for "participatory economics," a conceptual economic system based on a multi-layered federation of workers' and consumers' councils). He is essentially an anarchist and is very critical of "socialist" systems based on central planning (including not only the USSR but also Cuba), but he gives what I take to be a very tentative endorsement of what's going on in Venezuela. It's a long article, and the whole thing is worth reading, but here are some interesting tidbits:

"Just two years ago no one would have believed a worker managed factory was possible but now there are over 20."

"We were told by the oil ministry officials and also by trade unionists and others how in Venezuela, like in Argentina, there was a movement, just getting up to speed, to 'recuperate' failing or failed workplaces. The difference was that while in Argentina this occurs against the inclinations of government, in Venezuela the government welcomes and even propels it. Indeed, the government has now assembled a list of 700 such plants and is urging workers to occupy and operate them on their own."

"She reported Venezuelan Chavista unions having links to the 'AFL-CIO in California, some grass-roots unions, and the antiwar movement,' but not with the national AFL-CIO 'because they are still giving money to those imposing old bureaucracy and fomenting coups.'"

For background, see the Parecon website, Venezuela Analysis, Upside Down World, and my own posts of Ocbober 19, October 25, October 27, and November 4.