>
Praise for Alternatives to Capitalism
“This is an extraordinary book. At one level it is a profoundly informed discussion of critical issues of radical systemic structure. At another it is a model of how a thoughtful dialogue on challenging and highly contested issues should be carried on. A must read for anyone seriously interested in how to conceive the possible forms of fundamental systemic change.”
Gar Alperovitz
“If you’ve ever wondered what a democratic economy could really look like, treat yourself to this engaging (and wonderfully comradely) conversation about two leading schools of contemporary socialist thinking—participatory economics and real utopias—by their distinguished founders.”
Juliet Schor
“Although the failings of neoliberalism are increasingly clear—social, economic and environmental—the myth of ‘no alternative’ remains a powerful one. In this book, Robin Hahnel and Erik Olin Wright debate what an alternative might look like. Should it involve markets? Is a role for markets compatible with democratic values? To be so, what other institutions and policies must be in place? Their discussion is a superb introduction to these fundamental debates.”
Stuart White
Alternatives to Capitalism
Proposals for a Democratic Economy
ROBIN HAHNEL
ERIK OLIN WRIGHT
First published by Verso 2016
© Robin Hahnel and Erik Olin Wright 2016
First published as an ebook by New Left Project 2014
The partial or total reproduction of this publication, in electronic form or otherwise, is consented to for noncommercial purposes, provided that the original copyright notice and this notice are included and the publisher and the source are clearly acknowledged. Any reproduction or use of all or a portion of this publication in exchange for financial consideration of any kind is prohibited without permission in writing from the publisher.
All rights reserved
The moral rights of the authors have been asserted
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
Verso UK: 6 Meard Street, London W1F 0EG US: 20 Jay Street, Suite 1010, Brooklyn, NY 11201 versobooks.com
Verso is the imprint of New Left Books
ISBN-13: 978-1-78478-504-8
ISBN-13: 978-1-78478-506-2 (US EBK)
ISBN-13: 978-1-78478-505-5 (UK EBK)
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress
Typeset in Sabon by Hewer Text UK Ltd, Edinburgh
Printed in the US by Penguin Random House
Contents
Introduction: A Dialogue
Ed Lewis
PART ONE
1.The Case for Participatory Economics
Robin Hahnel
2.Participatory Economics: A Sympathetic Critique
Erik Olin Wright
3.In Defense of Participatory Economics Robin Hahnel
PART TWO
4.Socialism and Real Utopias Erik Olin Wright
5.Breaking with Capitalism Robin Hahnel
6.Final Thoughts Erik Olin Wright
Notes
Acknowledgements
About the Authors
Poverty, exploitation, instability, hierarchy, subordination, environmental exhaustion, radical inequalities of wealth and power—it is not difficult to list capitalism’s myriad injustices. But is there a preferable and workable alternative? What would a viable free and democratic society look like?
Alternatives to Capitalism: Proposals for a Democratic Economy presents a debate between two such possibilities: Robin Hahnel’s “participatory economics” and Erik Olin Wright’s “real utopian” socialism. It is a detailed and rewarding discussion that illuminates a range of issues and dilemmas of crucial importance to any serious effort to build a better world.
Is it worth devoting energy to thinking about alternatives to capitalism? There is a tradition within anti-capitalist politics that thinks not. It is argued that idle speculation distracts from what really matters: the struggles emerging in the here and now, which are the soil from which any emancipatory future will spring. Moreover, if participation in those struggles is done on the basis of a preconceived vision, their creativity and experimentation may be inhibited.
However, a compelling case can be made that serious visionary work can invigorate and strengthen radical politics. The most powerful movements of the left in the twentieth century failed to produce a desirable alternative to capitalism, leading instead to authoritarian “really existing socialism” in the USSR and its satellites, on the one hand, and “humanized capitalism” of social democracy, on the other. This has led to pessimism about widespread transcending capitalism, even among radical movements and their sympathisers. By contrast, a left animated by a shared vision, resting on the kind of credible intellectual foundations that Robin and Erik supply, could help provide confidence and strategic direction that lacking to day.
This dialogue brings together two writers who, motivated by such considerations, have devoted substantial efforts
