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.
Book Description
Journalist Doug Henwood's withering postmortem of the New Economy.
Rarely a day went by in the dizzy 1990s without some well-paid pundit heralding the triumphant arrival of a "New Economy." According to these financial mavens, an unprecedented technological and organizational revolution had extinguished the threat of recession forever. Though much of the rhetoric sounds ridiculous today, few analysts have explored how the New Economy moment emerged from deep within America's economic and ideological machinery—instead, they've preferred to treat it as an episode of mass delusion.
Now, with customary irreverence and acuity, journalist Doug Henwood dissects the New Economy, arguing that the delirious optimism was actually a manic set of variations on ancient themes, all promoted from the highest of places. Claims of New Eras have plenty of historical precedents; in this latest act, our modern mythmakers held that technology would overturn hierarchies, democratizing information and finance and leading inexorably to a virtual social revolution. But, as Henwood vividly demonstrates, the gap between rich and poor has never been so wide, wealth never so concentrated. After the New Economy offers an accessible and entertaining account of the less-than-lustrous reality beneath the gloss of the 1990s boom.
Customer Reviews:
excellent.......2005-07-27
This is the excellent kind of economic and business journalism that we expect from Doug Henwood. See his LEFT BUSINESS OBSERVER. It's all about the end of the dream -- or rather hype -- of the so-called "new economy." Henwood writes really well and this book is not for professional economists or business-types. It's readily available to anyone who is interested in the topic.
Bored before he even began.......2004-07-29
What are we supposed to think of a self-appointed 'leftist' economics journalist who left the entire Enron story to the mainstream press? Perhaps if Henwood hadn't taken so long to write this book, it might have been relevant and timely as a recycling of older material on the Wall Street bubble (which he covered in his previous book) tied in with 'new economy' hype. As it is, it's neither. OTOH, maybe the story that Henwood wants to tell hasn't really unfolded yet. Google's inflated IPO value in 2004 indicates that the new economy is still all hype and blather, while the value of US equity markets still screams OVERVALUED. But this book isn't billed as futurology, so one star.
In any case, the lesson for Henwood the leftist and author should be clear: purge yourself of real left associations, and you still can't impress the journalistic mainstream in places like Forbes. However, purge yourself of real left associations, and real leftists get pretty sick of you after about one book.
Finally, it seems that what some mean by a term like 'new economy' and what others mean, unsurprisingly, are far different things. Henwood links the new economy with Wall Street, but much of the new economy for people like the pro-war elements of the Republican party doesn't need Wall Street so much as it needs the federal government. Their new new economy is built around entities like Carlyle Group, a private equity outfit that has huge holdings in companies that basically specialize in federal contracts, including but not exclusive to military spending. Their new new economy is also based on companies like SAIC or Halliburton running all aspects of their war and occupation of Iraq.
The Ironies of the Nineties.......2004-02-11
Henwood does a superb job of illuminating many of the ironies of the Ninties, whether simply quoting George Gilder (who Henwood notes, rivals Whitman as an exuberant list-maker) or pointing out that the phrase "New Economy" was first used by President Reagan in a speech at Moscow State University.
Too good to be true--but it is.
And Henwood underlines how, from the very beginning, the New Economy rested on a flight from the physical world. He quotes Reagan: "In the new eocnomy human invention increasingly makes natural resources obsolete."
While the Bush admnistration's environmental policy could be read as an attempt to fulfill Reagan's dream, world markets are now telling us that natural resources are far from out of vogue. Copper, gold, silver, oil, wheat--today, this is where wealth resides. Demand for these resources is rising in parts of the world where higher productivity actually means higher standards of living for a significant number of people.
By contrast, Henwood shows how, in the West,the productivity revolution of the Nineties produced more, always more, of things that, in many cases, we don't need and couldn't afford.The miracle? They were doing it with fewer people. Jobs vanish (though Henwood shows, low-wage jobs are growing at nice clip), debt mounts, the dollar declines.
And, he notes, in some cases what we produce may even lower the standard of living: "The contribution of the brokerage industry to productivity was mainly web-based trading; how much it contributes to human welfare is debatable. The more people trade, the worse they do (though it makes their brokers happier.)"
Henwood deconstructs GDP, and productivity numbers emphasizing the "statistical fetishism" surrounding both, asking important questions about the quality rather than just the quantity of what is produced (does it offer a gain for human possibilities or a loss?) and offering perhaps the clearest explanation I have seen of the fuzzy math involved in guesstimating both GDP and productivity growth.
Finally, in just a few pages he offers a fine analysis of how "so much of the last twenty years comes together in the Enron story . . . Lay's assetless trading model was right in line with the celebration of postmateriality. The pension system was right in line with New Era pension thinking. And relying on the stock market to judget he company and pay senior managers was right in line with all of the trendy talk from professors and consultants. And it all went badly wrong." Here, Henwood makes what may be his most important point: "But instead of being read as a judgment on the idiocy of all these fashions, it's being read as a case of personal corruption . . . " Our obsessive focus on crime--and putting the perps in jail--may be emotionally satisfying for some, but it too-neatly dodges the heart of the problem. The real problem was not that individuals corrupted the system--the real problem was that the ideology of the new paradigm was, itself, bankrupt.
Yet that ideology is still driving the U.S. economy. Just take a look at stock market valuations--or, better yet, the President's Economic Report. But first read this book.
When the Whip Comes Down.......2004-01-25
For years, Doug Henwood's newsletter -- "Left Business Observer" -- has served as a corrective to the triumphalist nonsense that passes for business journalism in the U.S., (and just about everywhere else for that matter). Now, with AFTER THE NEW ECONOMY, Henwood, pithily exposes the flashy mummery behind the bubble economy of the late 90s.
Henwood's particularly good on the years leading up to the boom. He shows how the New Economy was whipped to a high froth with profits expropriated from American in the preceding two decades. Here's Henwood in his own words on the subject: "It's not hard to figure out what caused the fifteen-year profit boom (in the 80s and 90s) -- a reversal of the forces that produced the sixteen-year bust that preceded it. The conventional story is that excessively stimulative and indulgent government policies led to a great inflation, compounded by the oil-price shocks of 1973 and 1979." (Pg. 204)
"There's some truth to the standard story, but it also needs to be translated into political language. The long post-World War II boom had fed the expansion of the welfare state. The sting of unemployment was lessened and workers became progressively less docile. Wildcat strikes were spreading and factory workers were smoking pot on breaks and sabotaging the line. Internationally, the U.S. had lost the Vietnam ware and discovered that is conscript army was an undisciplined horde that was not shy about shooting commanding officers. The Third World was in broad rebellion, demanding global wealth redistribution and a new world economic order, a point that OPEC made forcefully in 1973 and 1979" (Pg. 204).
Henwood notes that it was at this time that the conservative movement, which had been fairly quiescent in the 50s and 60s, gained a new impetus as the ruling class began to feel the pinch and search around for an ideological tool to stem the rising democratic tide. It came to a head when the top 1% which had traditionally controlled about 40% of the wealth in the United States found their share reduced to approximately 20% in the early 70s (Pg. 121). The counterrevolution began in earnest. It was then that the Chicago School boys sharpened their neo-liberal apologia for capitalism, and their retooled 19th century theories were embraced by the denizens of the Business Roundtable, their friends in the Treasury Department and the White House. And so, in Henwood's words "...through benefit cutbacks by employers, outsourcing, speedup, permanent downsizing, cutbacks in regulation, the central-bank-led class war succeeded in more than doubling the profit rate for nonfinancial corporations between 1982 and 1997" (pg. 210).
Henwood is a numbers guy, and he uses them to debunk the capitalism's cheerleaders as well as its undisciplined detractors. Particularly refreshing is his analysis of the wooly-headed maunderings of the weird left who wish the turn the clock back to some imaginary proto-capitalist time where the nation state was the beneficent conduit of citizen's wishes and cultures were seamless, nurturing and healthy. These ideologues, he notes, are more than matched by those idealist economists who posit the existence of a perfect economic machine that someday (once the distortions of governments and people are eliminated) will bring forth a new millenium.
Henwood knows every move of that great unregenerate beast, and shows how it grows more red in tooth and claw with every upper-class tax cut, every gutted education and healthcare program, every downsized and rightsized American worker. Yet, admirably, in the midst of all the darkness, Henwood strikes sparks of furious, wicked laughter.
Great Book - Now Let's Take it to the Street!.......2004-01-06
Henwood is a writer I admire and have long listened to on the radio -his analysis is always right on target and he has meticulously documented the sources of all the figures in this book, which make it a great starting place for anyone interested in getting a more sound understanding of where our economy is headed in the long-term.
The title is a bit misleading: it is really primarily about long-term trends in economics (he looks as far back as 1600) and how our economy today fits into a much bigger picture. The first chapter is devoted to debunking recent myths about "New Economy" - the dot-com bubble, and its subsequent burst. But the bulk of the book is really a sober, careful, hard look at the depressing truth about capitalism: it's a rotten system, always has been.
I fully agree with the reviewer here who criticized his chapter on "Globalization". He totally missed the mark with regard to the movement, which suggests to me that he isn't very involved in it himself. I'd rather he spent his time interviewing street activists at the protests than picking at obscure, irrelevant pamphlets he recieves in the mail. Then again, some of us are into the street theater, some aren't.
If it weren't for that chapter, I would be pushing this book on more of my activist friends, who undoubtedly have a kindred spirit in Henwood. A bit more of what Michael Moore has been smoking lately (i.e., an interest in real, ordinary folks and how they see the world) would definitely do Henwood some good.
Despite my frustrations, READ THIS BOOK!!!! It is VERY IMPORTANT!
Book Description
Debunking conventional wisdom that women had little impact on politics after gaining the vote, Kristi Andersen gives a compelling account of both the accomplishments and disappointments experienced by women in the decade after suffrage. This revisionist history traces how, despite male resistance to women's progress, the entrance of women and of their concerns into the public sphere transformed both the political system and women themselves.
Andersen shows how women's participation was based on a conception of women's citizenship as indirect and disinterested. Gaining the right to vote, campaign, and run for office transformed women's citizenship; at the same time, women's independent partisan stance, their focus on social welfare concerns, and their use of new political techniques such as lobbying all helped to redefine politics.
This fresh, nuanced analysis of women voters, activists, candidates, and officeholders will interest scholars in political science and women's studies.
"In this rich and engaging book, Kristi Anderson presents a convincing argument that woman suffrage deserves greater scrutiny as a social, cultural, and political force in the development of American electoral and party politics."—Jane Junn, Political Science Quarterly
"Anderson's innovation in this book is to change the dominant question asked about American women's suffrage. . . . This book offers a much-needed corrective to the conventional conception that the enfranchisement of women had no significant effect on American society."—Inderjeet Parmar, Political Studies
"Anderson's book is an excellent treatment . . . and a sterling example of the value of using multiple research methods—also steeped within a deep understanding of context, culture, and historic trends—to explain something as complicated and nuanced as the impact of women's votes after suffrage."—Laura R. Woliver, Journal of Politics
Average customer rating:
|
After the New Social Democracy: Social Welfare for the 21st Century
Tony Fitzpatrick
Manufacturer: Manchester University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Social Services & Welfare
| Poverty
| Current Events
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Democracy
| Government
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Political
| Philosophy
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Politics
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
History & Theory
| Politics
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Political Science
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Political Doctrines
| Political Science
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Socialism
| Political Doctrines
| Political Science
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0719064775 |
Book Description
Social democracy has made a political comeback in recent years, especially under the influence of the Third Way. However, not everyone in convinces that Third Way social democracy is the best means of reviving the Left's project. This book explains why and offers an alternative approach. Bringing together a range of social and political theories this book engages with some of the most important contemporary debates regarding the present direction and future of the Left.
Average customer rating:
|
After the freeze: New Zealand unions in the economy
Rob Campbell
Manufacturer: Port Nicholson Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Popular Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Labor & Industrial Relations
| Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0908635079 |
Average customer rating:
|
The E-Business Revolution & The New Economy: E-Conomics after the Dot-Com Crash
F. Gerard Adams
Manufacturer: South-Western Educational Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
| Agricultural
| Commercial Policy
| Comparative
| Consolidation & Merger
| Cooperatives
| Debt & Deficits
| Development & Growth
| Econometrics
| Economic Conditions
| Economic History
| Economic Policy & Development
| Exports & Imports
| Free Enterprise
| Inflation
| International
| Labor & Industrial Relations
| Macroeconomics
| Microeconomics
| Money & Monetary Policy
| Natural Resources
| Privatization
| Public Finance
| Statistics
| Sustainable Development
| Theory
| Unemployment
| Urban & Regional
General
| Popular Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Auditing
| Accounting
| Industries & Professions
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Management
| Accounting
| Industries & Professions
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
All Titles
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Business & Investing
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Computers & Internet
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
ASIN: 0324271514 |
Book Description
Rapid, technological change is having the most profound influence on how we conduct and organize business. Not to be aware of changes underfoot is a disaster. Despite the particular circumstances and events of the dot.com economy we do not have a "mature" economy, but one that is dynamic and growing. F. Gerard Adams defines and explores the new economy and the future of E-Business.
Average customer rating:
|
Markets, Planning and Democracy: Essays After the Collapse of Socialism (New Thinking in Political Economy Series)
David L. Prychitko
Manufacturer: Edward Elgar Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
| Agricultural
| Commercial Policy
| Comparative
| Consolidation & Merger
| Cooperatives
| Debt & Deficits
| Development & Growth
| Econometrics
| Economic Conditions
| Economic History
| Economic Policy & Development
| Exports & Imports
| Free Enterprise
| Inflation
| International
| Labor & Industrial Relations
| Macroeconomics
| Microeconomics
| Money & Monetary Policy
| Natural Resources
| Privatization
| Public Finance
| Statistics
| Sustainable Development
| Theory
| Unemployment
| Urban & Regional
General
| Popular Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Public Relations
| Marketing & Sales
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1840645199 |
Book Description
The essays contained herein span over a decade and reflect David Prychitko's thinking about the role of the market system, and its relation to planning and democratic processes. The collection consists of previously published and unpublished articles written not only for economists but also for an interdisciplinary audience.
Prychitko extends the Austrian School's criticism of central planning to include the decentralized, self-managed and democratic models of socialism - those that were supposed to distinguish Yugoslav-style socialism from Soviet socialism. He critically evaluates the socialist and market-socialist proposals of contemporary advocates including Michael Albert and Robin Hahnel, Ted Burczak, Branko Horvat, and Joseph Stiglitz. A younger Austrian economist, Prychitko has also emerged as an internal critic within that tradition. He questions the Austrian School's claims that the unhampered market maximizes social welfare, that any actions of the state necessarily reduce welfare, and that anarcho-capitalism is viable and desirable. At the same time, he carefully discusses the viability of worker-managed enterprise from a market-process perspective and offers a qualified defense.
Scholars, particularly those with an interest in Austrian economic thought, comparative political economy and free market libertarianism, will find this collection a valuable resource.
Average customer rating:
|
The New Eastern Europe and the World Economy (Eastern Europe After Communism)
Manufacturer: Westview Pr (Short Disc)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Development & Growth
| Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
International
| Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Popular Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Politics
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Relations
| International
| Politics
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0813315239 |
Books:
- Beyond Competition: The Future of Telecommunications
- Business and Government in the Global Marketplace, Seventh Edition
- Business Grammar, Style & Usage: The Most Used Desk Reference for Articulate and Polished Business Writing and Speaking by Executives Worldwide
- Capitalism and Freedom: Fortieth Anniversary Edition
- Chinese Literature in the Second Half of a Modern Century
- Coaching for Improved Work Performance, Revised Edition
- Complex Adaptive Systems: An Introduction to Computational Models of Social Life (Princeton Studies in Complexity)
- Confronting Consumption
- Consider Your Options: Get the Most from Your Equity Compensation
- Consumed: How Markets Corrupt Children, Infantilize Adults, and Swallow Citizens Whole
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Report of Joint Fighter Conference: Nas Patuxent River, MD 16-23 October 1944
- In Big Trouble
- California Colonial: The Spanish and Rancho Revival Styles
- Critique and Radical Discourses on Crime
- History: Fiction or Science
- History: Fiction or Science
- Death of a Cad
- Lofts 2: Good Ideas
- Building Green: A Complete How-To Guide to Alternative Building Methods Earth Plaster * Straw Bale *
- Computer Assisted Studies of Chemical Structure and Biological Function
America Beyond Capitalism: Reclaiming our Wealth, Our Liberty, and Our Democracy
Marx's Revenge: The Resurgence of Capitalism and the Death of Statist Socialism
After Capitalism: Prout's Vision for a New World
Against Capitalism
Parecon: Life After Capitalism
