command economy

American  

[kuh-mand i-kon-uh-mee] / kəˈmænd ɪˌkɒn ə mi /

noun

1. a socialist economic system in which production and distribution of goods and services are controlled by the government and industry is mostly publicly owned.

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command economy British  

noun

1. Also called: planned economy. an economy in which business activities and the allocation of resources are determined by government order rather than market forces

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Etymology

Origin of command economy

First recorded in 1940–45

Compare meaning

How does command-economy compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• market economy vs. command economy

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

command economy

The ruins of the Soviet command economy were also a crucible for innovation, said Kadri Ukrainski, who lectures on the subject at Estonia's Tartu University.

From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026

In the mid-1960s, Tito dumped the command economy and introduced a market Socialism that birthed affordable household designs, such as the Minirama television, whose rounded edges were clad in orange plastic.

From New York Times ● Jul. 19, 2018

Up until then, the country had been soldiering on as a communist command economy, with all work and goods distributed by the state.

From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2018

In 1928 Stalin’s plans called for a command economy, a system in which the government made all economic decisions.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2012

Since 1990, widespread conflicts, e.g., in Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Mengrelia, severely aggravated the economic crisis resulting from the disintegration of the Soviet command economy in December 1991.

From The 1994 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency