In Chapters 1 and 2 , I discussed a range of social and economic alternative societies. Many of these are utopian, and in the last chapter I outlined utopianism and discussed criticisms of it. Many alternatives also have socialist elements, and in this chapter I will focus in more depth on socialism as an alternative society and how it may respond to criticisms. The chapter discusses the extent to which socialism must revise itself to respond to criticisms, or is so inherently vulnerable to their points that it must limit itself to meet their objections. I
5 1 Socialism Rich Moth Introduction We live in a world of characterised by immense inequalities. Figures from 2018 show that the 42 richest individuals globally own the same wealth as the poorest half of the world’s population (3.7 billion people). What’s more, these unequal trends are accelerating. In the decade since 2008 the wealth of billionaires has risen on average by 13% per year, six times faster than the wages of ordinary workers (Alejo Vázquez Pimentel et al, 2018). These global patterns are reflected in the UK, where the proportion of wealth
five years earlier from Edward Cowper, an inventor and engineer, to Robert Owen, which described a mutual friend as a socialist. Early British socialists came to be called Owenites. Owen was a successful industrialist who became renowned for reforms he introduced at the factory he ran at New Lanark in Scotland, as a campaigner for Factory Acts, which would improve the conditions of workers, and as the advocate of planned communities modelled on New Lanark, which would serve as sanctuary islands of socialism in an ocean of capitalism. Owen’s proposals were rooted in
, and economic vision did he want to see realized? And what does this mean for our present? I will suggest that Mauss still has much value as a political and socio-economic thinker, that his version of socialism is now more relevant than ever. Crucially, he does not rely solely on either market or state, which, given the later excesses of both neoliberalism and state socialism, was far-sighted indeed. Combining the two will not do either. Instead, Mauss stresses the all-important aspect of self-organization, as realized, for example, in cooperatives. His objectives
181 TEN ‘Socialism creates a better opportunity’: environmental justice in Cuba In 2006, Cuba earned international recognition as the only country in the world to have achieved sustainable development (WWF, 2006). This was based on the country’s relatively high indicators for social development, in conjunction with a small per capita Ecological Footprint. Sustainable development is not the same as environmental justice (Dobson, 1998), though, with its distributional and procedural dimensions. There have not been any previous studies that specifically
Svetozar (Steve) Pejovich Professor Emeritus, Texas A&M University and the University of Donja Gorica, Montenegro 6959 Joyce Way, Dallas, TX 75225 Socialism is Dead, Long Live Socialism* Much of the social history of the Western world over the past three decades has been a history of replacing what worked with what sounded good. (Thomas Sowell) 1. - Introduction Historical evidence shows that capitalism is the only system in recorded history that has lifted the median citizen above the subsistence level and sustained a steady, if cyclical, rate of
213 TWELVE Twenty-first century socialism? Venezuela’s solidarity, social, popular and communal economy Dario Azzellini Introduction Perhaps the country whose experiences have inspired solidarity economy practices more than any other is the Venezuela of President Hugo Chávez. The 1999 Constitution defined Venezuela as a ‘participatory and protagonistic’ democracy, advocating more direct participation and aimed at creating a ‘humanist and solidaristic economy’. In 2006, the idea of participation was officially defined in terms of popular power
This book traces the economic ideology of the UK Labour Party from its origins to the current day. Through its analysis, the book emphasises key crises, including the 1926 general strike, the 1931 Great Depression, the 1979 Winter of Discontent and the 2007 economic crisis.
In analysing this history, the ideology of the Labour Party is examined through four core themes:
-
the party’s definition of socialism;
-
the role of the state in economic decision making;
-
the party’s understanding of inequalities;
-
its relationship with external groups, such as the Fabian Society and the trade union movement.
The result is a systematic exploration of the drivers and key ideas behind the Labour Party’s economic ideology. In demonstrating how crises have affected the party’s economic policy, the book presents a historical analysis of the party’s evolution since its formation and offers insights into how future changes may occur.
In a time of great gloom and doom internationally and of major global problems, this book offers an invaluable contribution to our understanding of alternative societies that could be better for humans and the environment.
Bringing together a wide range of approaches and new strands of economic and social thinking from across the US, Mexico, Latin America, Europe, Asia, Middle East and Africa, Luke Martell critically assesses contemporary alternatives and shows the ways forward with a convincing argument of pluralist socialism.
Presenting a much-needed introduction to the debate on alternatives to capitalism, this ambitious book is not about how things are, but how they can be!
1 Joseph V. Femia Eliminate Marxism and Distrust Socialism: A Reply to Martinez Delgado Joseph V. Femia1 Martinez Delgado is right to claim that Marxism was never as scientific or as proletarian as it purported to be. Of course, this is hardly an original thesis, but he defends it in a way that is bold and worthy of comment. Let us begin with Marxism’s aspiration to scientificity. From its very origins, he maintains, Marxism has been burdened by a priori ideas, abstract dialectical categories whose logical unfolding supposedly determines
