Customer Reviews:
A classic.......2007-03-08
For economy,political science, law and sociology students, this is the mandatory Schumpeter title.
Creative Destruction of Capitalism and the Emergence of Socialism.......2007-02-04
Like Marx, Schumpeter predicts the inevitable disintegration of the capitalist system. However, where Marx foresees the collapse as stemming from proletariat revolution, Schumpeter argues that the "actual and prospective performance" of capitalism is strong, and unlikely to fail. But, Schumpeter argues, it is these same successes which will ultimately destroy the social institutions, namely private property and free contracting, necessary for its continued survival. As such, new conditions will emerge which will not allow capitalism to continue and socialism will become the dominant economic system.
Capitalism is an evolutionary and dynamic process. This constant state of motion is driven by the emergence of new methods of production (and subsequently new consumer goods), the pursuit of new markets, and improved forms of industrial organization (83). As such, aspects of the internal capitalist system are constantly being revolutionized; old processes are being replaced with new processes in the name of progress and improvement. Schumpeter refers to this process as a state of creative destruction. "This process of creative destruction is the essential fact about capitalism. It is what capitalism consists in and what every capitalist concern has to live in" (83).
The theory of creative destruction is based on the classic feature of capitalism, competition. Traditionally, capitalism is characterized by competition stemming from price, methods of production, and organization. This competitive attributes help to ensure the market efficiency of firms. However, Schumpeter argues that the real feature of capitalism is destructive competition. Destructive competition includes the emergence of new commodities, technologies, sources of supply and new types of organizations (84). Where the traditional measures of competition allow for existing firms to evolve in a changing market, destructive competition tends to destroy those firms which become inefficient. It is this system of destructive competition that revolutionizes the internal capitalist structures.
Through the process of destructive competition, Schumpeter argues that the vital institutions of capitalism, ownership of property and freedom of choice in contracting, are destroyed. Schumpeter's sentiment is illustrated through a brief examination of the collapse of the feudal structure. During the feudal period, changes in production and mechanization overran and obliterated the artisan and small producer. Today, the same process can be observed in that larger, more efficient firms are eliminating their smaller, less efficient brethren. Stated simply, the capitalist process attacks its own institutional framework. The entrepreneurial class, which fuels the dynamic capitalist system, is being retarded, or as Schumpeter suggests, "economic progress tends to become depersonalized and automatized" (133).
This is exemplified by the emergence of mega-companies in which the firm is rarely owned by one individual but rather is composed of board members and stock holders. Schumpeter argues that none of these actors truly own the company and as such lack the drive of the entrepreneur who owns his or her company. What then emerges is capitalist stagnation. Individual choice is usurped by the interest of large corporations. Instead of relying on choice, corporations will come to agreements between themselves, thus creating a system of pseudo-monopoly. With this limited competition, laws and regulations are imposed on the corporations rather than left to individual firms (141). As such, we begin to see the emergence of socialist ideology in that competition and ownership are removed, and replaced by a centralized governmental system of control.
Of particular note, unlike Marx who sees the destruction of bourgeois entrepreneur as a necessary precondition to socialism, Schumpeter sees the same entrepreneur as integral to the success of the socialist transition. Socialism will only emerge when capitalism has reached its maturity, that point in time where capitalism has destroyed its own vital institutions of ownership and choice. Although these institutions are eliminated, socialism still reaps the benefits from the technology, knowledge, and resources developed by the entrepreneurial class in the earlier stages of capitalism. In order to be sustainable such inheritances are necessary condition for the success of socialism.
How so much Smartness Can Get it so Utterly Wrong.......2006-03-01
As to the best of my knowledge, there were two major intellectual responses to the seemingly endless and insuperable crisis which the capitalist system had got itself into after the Great Slump of 1929: Keynes`s "General Theory of Money, Interest and Employment" of 1936 and Schumpeter`s "Capitalism" which was first published in 1942. Like Marx before them, both Keynes and Schumpeter reject the "classic economists'" contention that what they called the market system wíll always automatically swing back to an ideal equilibrium - expecially one that implied full employment - provided only the state kept its hands off as much as possible.
However, that is just about where their concurrence ends. While Marx sees the only solution outside the system, in its bloody overthrow and its succession by a "dictatorship of the proletariat" introducing the next evolutionary step in human history, called socialism, Keynes considered the market system as basically viable. All that was needed, according to him, was governmental involvement by which the lacking demand in times of a slump would be lifted to more agreeable levels. Schumpeter, in contrast, agrees with Marx in that capitalism's days are counted and that it is about to be replaced by socialism, even though he doesn't share Marx`s more aggressive notions: according to him, the present day capitalists need not be dealt with by the guillotine alone, they may indeed have a useful function as entrepreneurs employed by his envisaged omnipotent and omniscient super agency that will ideally plan everybody's well-being in his imagined socialist system.
What to think of the book today?
First, it is hard to fathom how Schumpeter could have turned such an absolutely blind eye on the totalitarian tendencies necessarily inherent in a state that not only controlled the political field but also was quasi the monopolist employer and as such responsible for the economic side of peoples's lives as well, in particular when one considers the time when it came out: 1942!
Second, it is a fine example of how wrong you can get things even if (or: because?) you know so much as Schumpeter did - maybe that is the best argument of all against the establishment of such a super agency planning everybody's life to the extent envisaged by Schumpeter.
Finally, even if such an agency did not err - is it not a basic right - and half of the fun of life - to make mistakes - for oneself that is, not forcing them on others?
Provocative and Informative Analysis.......2005-12-14
Despite its age (published in 1942), Schumpeter's book remains a classic. If I have one dominant complaint, it's that he uses the Ubiquitous terms "rational" and "rationality" to refer to human calculus, not in its philosophical or logical senses.
Part One exposes some of the failures of Marxism, although Schumpeter is a thoroughly avowed Marxist. If the book had been written more recently, I am sure he could add some more. Surprisingly, the two major objections to Marxism, labor allocation and price determination, are not even mentioned.
Part Two gives Schumpeter's blueprint for a revised "socialism" along Marxist lines. That in itself is quite a feat, considering that there are at least 60 competing kinds. As I was examining each of his proposals, I could not help observe that to a detail they mirror the efforts of the former U.S.S.R. But the first caveat of Part Three disowns "Russian" socialism. For the life of me, I could not find a single distinction. Under his blueprint, the Board of Planning will, with utilitarian expertise, determine what the consumer wants, determine the price, and the supply. But based on what? Human calculus. But calculus based on what? Obviously, this means an extraordinary bureaucracy to "administer" such a state of affairs, but it'll save money in the long run. Even more troubling, what if something I "need" doesn't fit the calculus? For example, say I want a birth-control device, and the bureaucrats determine condoms are cheap and effective. No need for pills or IUDs under this scheme. What if I think I look better in baby-blue shirts, but drab is more economical and just as efficient? No baby-blue shirts. After all, a shirt is a shirt is a shirt.
Part Three is a "critique" of capitalism. Finally, an author who agrees with me that if capitalism "fails," it will be because of its successes, not because of its intrinsic weaknesses. Indeed, the central thesis of the book is that Marxist socialism can ONLY succeed once capitalism has reached full maturity. Perhaps the most apparent "maturity" will be the emergence of the monopoly, both governmental and commercial. Too bad Wal-mart did not exist at the time of his writing, for it is an example par excellence. It's a mega-business that destroys "smaller" competition by its low prices, volume purchases, and low wages. Beyond the obvious, one only has to observe all the mergers and acquisitions to see the increasing interests in mega-business, or call your "company" and go through a battlefield of menu options to get to a "specialist" who might be able to address your concerns. Good luck. Even more bizarre is the complicity of federal and municipal governments granting mega-businesses dispensations from the customary and usual ordinances (like the 2005 Energy Bill). In each and every case, capitalism has reached a "maturity" that in the end stifles the very thing it touts: competition.
So instead of playing "bourgeoisie" football, we'll all be playing "proletariat" football (this is directly from the book). Under this scheme, the most utilitarian scheme always wins. We don't need Fords, Chevrolets, Chryslers; we can all suffice on an extrapolated Volkswagen that the bureaucrats determine is "best" for all. You think the local DMV is a headache, just imagine it a hundred-fold more bureaucrats under the socialist paradigm. And to what purpose? Equalitarianism (today we'd use egalitarianism). The means of production and income will be uniform. Everyone would be given the same units of consumption to purchase their needs as the bureaucrats have determined a priori that consumers want. What if one wants a home with a view, another with a balcony, another with all-electric kitchen, etc.? If such needs exist, the bureaucrats will provide them. Right. Everyone under this scheme would be employed, even if "make work" programs need to be used. Plus, it really doesn't matter, because everyone - everyone - gets the same units of consumption (also known as "money"). So what about that "lazy" person who refuses to "carry his/her own weight?" Economic punishment by authoritarian rule. What about the one person in a hundred who performs extraordinary service? Personal fulfillment and human betterment are sufficient. What part of this scheme does not mirror the U.S.S.R.?
Schumpeter's critique of democracy in Part Four is on target. Like said: It's the worst form of government, save all others. But he makes a number of salient points. He favors the parliamentary system (as do I). The institution of the Senate is blatantly anti-democratic, and if nothing else, must be dissolved. He doesn't have much regard for constitutions, but they alone protect "minority" interests. He flatly rejects proportional representation, but it's obviously more democratic than what we have now: Majority Rule. His prescience did allow him to envision Rank Voting, but I think it's something he'd approve. But in the end, democracy is just a capitalist institution. Whether or not it survives the "revolution" will only be known at that time. Politics will be subordinate to economics anyway, so perhaps all "public policy" will be negated by socialism.
It's ironic that capitalism will, in time, become its own dissolution, but Schumpeter's alternative seems far worse than anything we have now, or can expect. Certainly a "mixed" economy with regulated capitalism is only part of the answer. After all, Wal-mart may be a socialist's worse nightmare, but at least one has alternatives: Target, K-mart, Kohl's, etc. And equally obvious, whatever the "market" cannot provide, the government must. Is it government's duty to provide ALL of Maslov's hierarchy of needs? No. But surely it must provide what the market does not: A Safety Net.
Obviously, Marxist socialism is thoroughly discredited. Read Hayek's "Road to Serfdom," and observe the fall of the U.S.S.R. Even socialists governments are on the wane, not on the increase. Yet, for all its obvious defects, it's great to have one book that explains the matters it does.
Excellent and accessible writing.
Historical Endnote.......2005-10-03
Like Hayek's Road to Serfdom, this book was written during the Secon World War when Keynes was busy crafting the post war peace. It is infused with the 1930s' corporatist ideas and tends to favour the Communist version more than the Nazi/Fascist version. Keynes is indisputably the 2oth century's most important economist but why does Schumpeter and his creative destruction occupy position #2? I put it down to the same reason as Marx' Theory of Alienation gained such sway. As there was little else to salvage from Marx' writings, they hit on that to make him apear relevant. Marx was a dangerous idiot and the fact that Schumeter heaps measured praise on him suggests that Schumpeter should also join him in the intellectual trash can of history. I see little relevant in his work which I feel has gained prominence simply because economics has lost its intellectual direction. Unlike Gary Becker and other recipients of the Nobel Prize, Schumpeter tackles big issues. But the big issues shrug him off. Nothing here to ponder over.
Book Description
David Schweickart moves beyond the familiar arguments against globalizing capitalism to contribute something absolutely necessary and long overdue--a coherent vision of a viable, desirable alternative to capitalism. He names this system Economic Democracy, a successor-system to capitalism which preserves the efficiency strengths of a market economy while extending democracy to the workplace and to the structures of investment finance. Drawing on both theoretical and empirical research, Schweickart shows how and why this model is efficient, dynamic, and superior to capitalism along a range of values.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting alternative.......2005-07-28
Interesting alternative to the current economic system. The book "After Capitalism" is not a technical book, but does flesh out enough of the economic system invisioned by Schweickart to make it worth reading and thinking about. Is there "no alternative" to capitalism? I am still not sure, but read this book and find out for your self. According to Mises, socialism cannot work, and this really must be the case with Schweikart, but I am not sure I could articulate a proof.
Also read "The Machinery of Freedom" by David Freidman, for another alternative: the real free market.
don't miss this.......2005-06-17
I just want to add my voice to those who have lauded this book. It is superb in every way. Also, I want to call attention to Morris Berman's work, especially to his last two books, "Wandering God," and "The Twilight of American Culture", which provide important supplements to Schweickart's analysis.
A Coherent & Efficacious System, and a Pretty Good Read too!.......2004-11-10
Though perhaps it significantly skewed my views to have been reading Schweickart following a close and careful reading of both Friedman's Capitalism & Freedom and Rawls' Theory of Justice, I feel that not only aided me tremendously in my understanding of the overall flow and goal of the text, but additionally, the overall experience gave me sufficient background in economics and the political interactions of economic theory, to properly appreciate the aims of the text. Many criticisms have been raised against both Friedman and Rawls and I count my own voice amongst those that would offer the critique of necessary but insufficient to both texts based on my limited but careful exposure to them. By this I mean that in reading both previous texts I was struck with the thought that although both theories are needed at least on a purely theoretical basis to provide a jumping off point for further socioeconomic exploration, neither sufficiently brings forth a theory that can be said to at once be necessary to our continuation in culture (and note that by this I mean the sort of culture to which we have grown accustomed), and at the same time be sufficient to meet the needs of a production and workable model of economic policy.
Schweickart, very much on the other hand of the discussion, seems to bring forth a theory that is both necessary and sufficient, both in providing a basis for understanding its own purpose and for meeting the needs of a culture that is heavily imbued in a single system that must be equaled or exceeded to be replaced. To my way of seeing, this system provides a basis for understanding its own purpose in that unlike Friedman and Rawls, Schweickart's system is not merely a position piece describing the merits of a system already extant (capitalism), or the creation of a theory that will help us to justify aspects of that system; rather, it is a complete system unto itself, at once a response to the existing system, while standing on it's own independent of said system and then becoming and remaining recognizable as a unique approach to socioeconomic aspects of government that instead of merely flowing behind existing structure, is itself the basis forming the structure that will arise out of it. I feel that, as I stated above, this system meets the needs of the culture to which it would be applied by replacing the existing system, not merely modifying or justifying the current one. We have in this text something simply not found in the other two and that is a presentation of a possibility that has existed all along, coming to fruition by being read now in an age of understanding, by individuals capable of taking the theories presented and applying them to actuality and not simply as a ponderable aspect of economic and political interest. This is the point that struck me most plainly about Schweickart's text that seems so vastly different if not blatantly superior to many other writings either in philosophy, or from my limited exposure to them, economics, and that is the actual applicability of the text and, building off that, the ease with which a transition could be made into such as system and the clear benefits of doing so are made remarkable clear without having to imagine anything besides the benefits to be gained and the struggle to be avoided.
Now, I realize, and it's necessary for this critique to understand that the goal of Schweickart indeed may not have been the goal of either Friedman or Rawls, but I additionally feel it to be of great import that while both previous texts made claims to improve conditions of our social reality through impacting an economic change, neither before Schweickart had either shown their theory capable of performing such a feat, or had the components in place to succeed in doing so. With Friedman the reader is asked to assume a version of an economic model that today hardly seems viable in the face of the massive structure and paradigm shifts that have occurred since it was penned. Likewise in Rawls, the reader is asked to assume a great deal not only about the world in which we live in terms of its actual workings and processes, but also to assume an unlikely if not impossible and implausible original position, and for the goal only of justifying a current system that has already been shown to be insufficient, leaving one wondering what the point in fact was and what impact it truly makes other than providing for a theoretical basis and thought experiment. In Schweickart, the reader is not asked to assume this or that, and no original position is called for, as the system argued against is that which is in place and the flaws are not only seen but felt by the reader as actuality, and not as some wild fiscal figment as in the previous two texts. We see the problem, and perhaps what we previously perceived to be a degree of inevitability, already in our daily lives and Schweickart brings forth an alternative that while not nearly as convoluted as either Freidman or Rawls is nonetheless exponentially more efficacious in theory and infinitely more believable without the crutch of assumption leaned on by his predecessors.
I enjoyed reading this book and while as I wrote above I felt that the texts read previously were necessary for a clearer understanding of this one, it was not until this point that I understood why they were read when this was out there to tie it all together.
Is this already happening???.......2004-05-13
This is a good book. It was recommended to me by a friend who took the professor's philisophy class. The professor provides an excellent lesson on capitalism. The economic democracy that the professor proposes is fascinating because it eliminates capitalism. First, the professor explains why capitalists are inherently bad for democracy, then he explains how we can do without capitalists, then he explains how we being to phase capitalists and their effects out of society. This is not a book that comes from far out in left field. In fact, I am the son of a father who is a member of a worker-collective right here in Chicago. Economic democracy is happening, but will it go as far as proposed in this book? If economic democracy is superior to capitalism, is there any other alternative for our future?
A vision of "Economic Democracy".......2002-12-24
The evils of centrally planned socialism on the Soviet model are widely proclaimed, but capitalism has equally negative side effects: gross maldistribution of the fruits of the economy, the breeding of a mass consumer culture, and destruction of the environment among them. Capitalism may well collapse under its own excesses, but what would one propose to replace it? Margaret Thatcher's mantra was TINA...There Is No Alternative. David Schweickart's vision of "Economic Democracy" proposes a serious alternative. Even more fundamentally, it opens the door to thinking about alternatives. His may or may not turn out to be the definitive "successor system," but he is a leader in breaking out of the box.
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Haves Without Have-Nots: Essays for the 21st Century on Democracy and Socialism
Mortimer J. Adler
Manufacturer: Macmillan Pub Co
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ASIN: 0025005618 |
Book Description
Wealth inequity, corporate welfare, and industrial pollution are the symptoms of our sickened economy, Marjorie Kelly suggests. The underlying illness is shareholder primacy. In The Divine Right of Capital, she shows that the corporate drive to maximize shareholder profits at any cost is not only out of step with democratic and free-market principles, but is detrimental to the long-term health of individual companies and the economy as a whole. Kelly offers a far-reaching solution to rebuild corporations in a way that serves all.
Customer Reviews:
Thought Provoking and a Great Read.......2005-06-15
I highly recommend this book.
Personally I have stored my older books by Mises, Hayek, Friedman, etc...away in my basement. Although still on the shelf, even Adam Smith and Ricardo are a bit outdated. Others may still believe in their theories, but I do not. I am looking for someone who can put forth a plan for economic reform. Ideas that again value work and economic stability from which strong families and engaged citizens can emerge. The author does this.
Personally I have grown weary of the right wing, free market utopian dogma of the day. Besides being old and tired, it is largely a sham. As the author points out the defenders of the status quo would have us believe the current economic system is natural law, when in fact it is subject to change and reform.
Beyond the rhetoric, the truth is in your pay check. For many Americans each day is filled with hard work and economic insecurity. It is also a matter of liberty. If all one knows is work, sleep, and worry, you can know nothing of freedom.
In particular the author's suggestion that beyond the IPO, subsequent stock holders are little more than anonymous economic parasites is very intriguing.
Along with "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man" and the Alexander Hamilton bio, I found it to be one of the best non-fiction books I've read this year.
Essential reading.......2004-01-19
As much information as I absorb about our state of government, there are still some very broad assumptions which pass under my radar. This book shines a brilliant light on issues that are critically important for ANYONE who wishes to consider themselves 'informed'.
The most basic mythology exposed: that those who speculate have superior & perpetual rights over those who earn by labor. The bias in our mass media & legal institutions is so outrageous that at first it's difficult to accept just how deeply we are being bluffed.
I am now on my second reading. If you only read one nonfiction book this year (instead of the Wall Street fiction & PR positioned as fact) do yourself a huge favor & buy this book.
Necessary New Perspective.......2003-07-08
For anyone who's ever felt a disconnect between what they're hearing about the economy and what they're experiencing personally, Marjorie Kelly's book is very enlightening. She challenges some of the fundamental assumptions we hold about the stock market's role in the overall economy. Particularly in the context of current debates about corporate responsibility legislation and the privatization of Social Security, this book is very important. "The Divine Right of Capital" is a must-read for social justice activists and market conservatives alike as we all try to figure out what to do with this broken system in post-Enron America. Love them or hate them, the ideas Kelly offers up are innovative and groundbreaking.
Note: I've talked to a couple of more radical/anarchist/extreme whatever types who found this a little on the tame side because it's so darn grounded in reality. If you're really about tearing down the whole system (not my approach, but best of luck), there might be more satisfying extremist rants out there. For everyone else, read this now!
Unclear; Very Confused; Muddled Thinking.......2003-06-24
Wonderful example of how undisciplined, muddled thinking can create unsound arguments, based on invalid premises, that yield conclusions that will confirm one's biases. Perhaps in a follow-up book, the author will "prove" that the world is flat. An early mistake: She declares that it is (mostly) false that stockholders fund major public corporations, noting that shares trade in secondary markets. Accordingly, she draws the conclusion that there is no reason that corporations should maximize the interests of stockholders and minimize the interests of shareholders, and that it would be just as appropriate to put the interests of employees first. In fact, clear economic thinking reveals that successful corporations do make the interests of employees a high priority, because a corporation with unhappy employees has difficulty retaining employees, which makes for an unsuccessful company. Further, when a corporation raises capital, it often does so by means of a public offering of securities, which is really an agreement between the corporation and the stockholders where the stockholders give the corporation money in exchange for the right to an ownership interest in the corporation. Whether the shares stay in the hands of the original purchaser or whether the purchaser sells them in secondary markets is not germain; whoever holds the shares holds the right to the ownership interest, which may yield value through appreciation, sale or dividends. If you think her argument that it would be equally appropriate for a corporation to maximize payments to employees and minimize the interests of stockholders, just try this little exercise: Form a coproration and attempt to raise capital to run the corporation (including to pay employees). Then tell the potential investors of your plan to minimize value to stockholders. Then count how many of these potential investors actually invest their money in your corporation. (Hint: if you guessed more than zero, you're too high.)
For years I've been wondering.......2003-03-20
One of the many reasons why I loved this book was because it answered a question I have had for years: Long after the initial public offering, how does the money used to buy a share of stock become available to the company that issued the stock?
I read many books in the public press that aimed to explain stocks and bonds to the unknowing, but I could never find the answer to this question and decided that it was a dumb question.
The Divine Right of Capital begins with the answer to my question: A public company only gets capital from a share of stock once: when it initially issues the stock. Any further increase in the stock price goes only to speculators also known as stockholders.
These speculators provide needed liquidity but law stipulates that in return they get compensated inordinately to the detriment of the corporation and its employees.
I think that the author's arguments might win the day (despite the readiness of some reviewers here to dismiss them as the rantings of yet another leftist) if emerging companies choose to raise capital by means other than issuing public stock.
Meanwhile however, Supreme Court decisions giving corporations the rights of natural persons are ludicrous and I do not understand why saying this is enough to earn a person the label of hippie leftist.
Book Description
The end of apartheid in South Africa has been widely viewed as the end of an era of African history.
The Next Liberation Struggle is an indispensible guide to understanding how the resources of that era can be used to contribute to real liberation for the region and for the continent of Africa as a whole.
The Next Liberation Struggle integrates the concrete observations of a seasoned observer and participant in southern African liberation struggles with analysis of and reflection on the large question of the place of southern Africa within the global capitalist order and its capacities to contribute toward remaking that global order. It examines specific national developments in South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique, and Tanzania. At the same time, it shows throughout how the problems of each national context are linked by a common location in the global order, and argues for a collective regional response.
For the past four decades John S. Saul has been among the foremost radical analysts of the struggle for liberation in southern Africa. This volume brings together his recent writings on the region in the aftermath of the decade of globalization.
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Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy Revisited (A Journal of Democracy Book)
Manufacturer: The Johns Hopkins University Press
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ASIN: 0801847478 |
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"Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy Revisited is must reading for anyone who considers him- or herself a political economist, and it should also appeal to those probing the uncertainties of contemporary democratization."--Philippe C. Schmitter, Stanford University.
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Empire of Chaos
Samir Amin
Manufacturer: Monthly Review Press
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ASIN: 0853458448 |
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Publisher: Edition: first
Book Description
Ellen Meiksins Wood argues that with the collapse of Communism the theoretical project of Marxism and its critique of capitalism is more timely and important than ever. In this book she sets out to renew the critical program of historical materialism by redefining its basic concepts and its theory of history in original and imaginative ways, using them to identify the specificity of capitalism as a system of social relations and political power. She goes on to explore the concept of democracy in both the ancient and modern world, examining the concept's relation to capitalism.
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Ellen Meiksins Wood argues that with the collapse of Communism the theoretical project of Marxism and its critique of capitalism is more timely and important than ever. In this book she sets out to renew the critical program of historical materialism by redefining its basic concepts and its theory of history in original and imaginative ways, using them to identify the specificity of capitalism as a system of social relations and political power. She goes on to explore the concept of democracy in both the ancient and modern world, examining the concept's relation to capitalism.
Customer Reviews:
Revolutionary thinking.......2003-11-21
I learned what everyone else did in school: Communism bad, Capitalism good. But this book made me rethink my personal definitions of what politics is, and makes a really good argument that civic equality can not survive when paired with a vastly unequal capitalistic economy that--by definition--creates have's and have-not's. My whole worldview changed after I read this! Very technical, though, as she critiques other Marxists' and socialists' writings.
training.......2000-03-13
secretaries are now called administrative professionals. One should not undervalue any job - page 286 - those who do this job know that it is very valued. Will have to re-read this book as it has interesting undertones.
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After capitalism and socialism, an overhaul of democracy
Magnus Verbrugge
Manufacturer: Maydo Publications
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Binding: Unknown Binding
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ASIN: B0006CQ5XS |
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- Challenge of Third World Development, The (4th Edition)
- Consumed: How Markets Corrupt Children, Infantilize Adults, and Swallow Citizens Whole
- Cost Accounting (12th Edition) (Charles T Horngren Series in Accounting)
- Cost Accounting Student Guide, 12th Edition
- Designing and Managing the Supply Chain w/ Student CD-Rom
- E-Commerce: Business, Technology, Society (3rd Edition)
- Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data
- Elliott Wave Principle: Key to Market Behavior (Wiley Trading Advantage)
- Environmental and Natural Resource Economics (7th Edition)
- Essentials of Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences
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