Product Description

Liberal, democratic capitalism as the end of history? Not necessarily. This work argues that there are forces developing in the world that might constitute a "counterproject" to the project of globalizing capitalism. At present, however, this movement lacks a coherent vision of a viable, desirable alternative. This text attempts to fill this lacuna by articulating, as a successor-system to capitalism, a model of "economic democracy", an economic system that preserves the efficiency strengths of a market economy, while extending democracy to the workplace and to the structures of investment finance. This model, which derives from both theoretical and empirical research, is shown to be efficient, dynamic and superior to capitalism among a range of values. The model allows us to see how the interconnected problems of global poverty and environmental degradation might be fruitfully addressed. It seeks to make sense of the vast number of large-scale economic "experiments" that have taken place in the past century, and is suggestive of a reform agenda that can and must be purchased in order to make a successful transition from capitalism to something much better.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #309265 in Books
• Published on: 2002-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

About the Author
David Schweickart has been a professor of Philosophy at the Loyola University of Chicago since 1992. His previous books include Market Socialism: The Debate Among Socialists, Against Capitalism and Capitalism or Worker Control? An Ethical Economic Appraisal.

Customer Reviews

A vision of "Economic Democracy"
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.

Is this already happening???
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?