command economy
Government controls everything
A command economy is an economic system in which a central authority—typically the government—makes decisions about production, distribution, and pricing rather than allowing market forces to operate freely.
The Soviet Union exemplified command economies, with state planning boards setting quotas for factories and farms.
The term often carries critical connotations, contrasting with free-market systems where supply and demand guide economic activity.
Government directs all production
- five-year planHalf-decade strategic roadmap
- quotaFixed assigned amount
- allocationDistribution of shares
- rationingLimiting distribution during scarcity
directive · industrialization · heavy industry · collectivization · state planning
Belonging to government
- nationalizationGovernment acquisition of industry
- public ownershipState-held property or enterprise
- public sectorState-controlled economic portion
- government ownershipState holds the title
ministry · bureaucracy · commissar · central committee · soviet · state monopoly · expropriation · collectivism
Suboptimal use of resources
- shortageDeficient supply of necessities
- black marketIllicit trading system
- corruptionDishonest abuse of power
- red tapeBureaucratic obstacles to action
misallocation · stagnation · hoarding · queue · scarcity · reform · collapse
Official rules governing conduct
- directiveFormal command or instruction
- mandateFormal authoritative directive
- enforcementCompelling compliance with rules
- complianceAdhering to requirements
oversight · price controls · wage controls · distribution · requisition · coordination · standardization · protocol
Communal economic control
- MarxismClass-based revolutionary philosophy
- communismCollective ownership system
- proletariatLaborers lacking capital ownership
- bourgeoisieCapitalist ownership class
classless · redistribution · collective ownership · common good · social welfare · egalitarianism · anti-capitalism · class struggle
central planning
Government directs all production
- five-year planHalf-decade strategic roadmap
- quotaFixed assigned amount
- allocationDistribution of shares
rationing · directive · industrialization · heavy industry · collectivization · state planning
state-owned
Belonging to government
- nationalizationGovernment acquisition of industry
- public ownershipState-held property or enterprise
- public sectorState-controlled economic portion
government ownership · ministry · bureaucracy · commissar · central committee · soviet · state monopoly · expropriation · collectivism
inefficiency
Suboptimal use of resources
- shortageDeficient supply of necessities
- black marketIllicit trading system
- corruptionDishonest abuse of power
red tape · misallocation · stagnation · hoarding · queue · scarcity · reform · collapse
regulation
Official rules governing conduct
- directiveFormal command or instruction
- mandateFormal authoritative directive
- enforcementCompelling compliance with rules
compliance · oversight · price controls · wage controls · distribution · requisition · coordination · standardization · protocol · constraint
socialism
Communal economic control
- MarxismClass-based revolutionary philosophy
- communismCollective ownership system
- proletariatLaborers lacking capital ownership
bourgeoisie · classless · redistribution · collective ownership · common good · social welfare · egalitarianism · anti-capitalism · class struggle · solidarity
- economicssupply and demand, inflation, GDP, GNP, gross domestic product
- Cold WarBerlin Wall, Iron Curtain, arms race, Warsaw Pact, Cuban Missile Crisis
- communismMarx, Marxism, Leninism, Lenin, proletariat
- socialismMarxism, communism, proletariat, bourgeoisie, communal ownership
- Soviet communismLenin, Stalin, Leninism, Bolsheviks, Stalinism
- Soviet EraUSSR, Soviet Union, Soviet rule, CCCP, Eastern Bloc
command economymarket economy
Commerce-based economic system
free market · free market economy · laissez-faire · free enterprise · capitalism
command economyeconomic freedom
Autonomy in commerce
free economy · economic liberty · voluntarism · anarcho-capitalism
command, economy, commanding, economic, commanded, commands, economical, economize, economizing