PURE COMMAND ECONOMY:

An economy, or economic system, that relies exclusively on governments to allocate resources and to answer all three questions of allocation. This theoretical ideal has no markets, government makes all allocation decisions. Then contrasting theoretical ideal is a pure market economy in which markets make all allocation decisions.

Economic Systems

A pure command economy is a theoretical extreme on the spectrum of economic systems that does not actually exist in the real world. It does, however, provide a benchmark that can be used for comparison with real world economic systems.

In pure command economies, governments force all allocation through involuntary taxes, laws, restrictions, and regulations. Governments set forth the laws and rules. If folks do not follow the rules, then they are punished. Governments can punish those who do not follow the rules because... well... because they are the governments. Given a choice, most humans probably would rather NOT pay taxes or have their cars safety inspected. They follow government rules because they have to, because that IS the law.

The real world embodiment of a pure command economy is termed a command economy. The communistic/socialist economies of China and the former Soviet Union are primary examples of command economies.

While, in theory, resource allocation could be undertaken exclusively through markets or governments, in the real world, all economies rely on a mix of both markets and governments for allocation decisions, what is termed a mixed economy.

<= PUBLIC SECTOR

PURE MARKET ECONOMY =>

PURE COMMAND ECONOMY, AmosWEB Encyclonomic WEB*pedia, http://www.AmosWEB.com, AmosWEB LLC, 2000-2026. [Accessed: August 10, 2026].

     | pure market economy | command economy | capitalism | socialism | communism | market socialism | market-oriented economy |

     | mixed economy | economic system | public sector | central planning |

     | three questions of allocation | distribution standards | government functions | property rights | political views | production possibilities |

Back to the WEB*pedia

Today, you are likely to spend a great deal of time at a garage sale hoping to buy either an AC adapter for your CD player or storage boxes for your family photos. Be on the lookout for the last item on a shelf.
Your Complete Scope

This isn't me! What am I?

-- Harry Truman, 33rd U.S. president

User Feedback