Is Planning Compatible with Democracy

Democracy as we know it is a class society in which class conflicts are resolved by the peaceful process of collective bargaining. The distinguishing feature of a dictatorship is the substitution of military force for collective bargaining as a means for promoting harmony. Planning in a democracy is not the making of a blueprint, with specifications fixed for all time; it is a social process in which the participation of the layman is as important as that of the expert. This process is nowhere better illustrated than by the agricultural planning now being sponsored by the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, where agreement between farmer and expert opinion is an indispensable part of the planning procefure. One aspect of this planning relates to the problem of soil conservation. Here, as in most economic matters requiring the attention of government, the most hopeful procedure for harmonizing public and private interests is the employment of collective persuasions and inducements democratically determined. These can be developed only by planning

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