Planning without Bureaucratic Administration

We have all, at one time or another, read about the law of planning [planomernost'] in a textbook on political economy. According to this law, a constant proportionality is maintained in a socialist economy, production is directly coordinated with consumption, and economic management takes place on behalf of and on the scale of society as a whole. We have long been accustomed to the plan being the alpha and omega of our economic life. But actually, although efforts were made not to talk about these matters, shortages in many types of products grew, heaps of unused goods accumulated, economic management "on behalf of society" often led to parasitic dependency, and the plan was transformed into a bureaucratic fetish. In such cases, "according to plan" often began to be perceived as a dogmatic camouflage for bureaucratic commanding from above.