Four decades towards an America beyond capitalism
Despite its great wealth the United States faces enormous difficulties, with no easily discernible political answers that even begin to offer strategic handholds on a truly democratic future. Elections occur, and major fiscal debates ensue, but many of the most pressing problems facing ordinary citizens are only marginally affected (and in many cases in ways that increase burdens, not reduce them). Meanwhile climate disaster approaches. The issue is not simply that the situation is worrisome; it is that there are growing reasons to believe that we face systemic problems, not simply political problems.
Systemic problems require systemic solutions and if the current political-economic system continues to falter in its capacity to nurture equality, personal liberty, ecological sustainability and meaningful democracy, what specifically are the alternatives? How, too, might we move to less interventionist and militarized relationships with other nations?
The traditional alternative to corporate capitalism has been state socialism. But are these really the only options? For more than four decades Gar Alperovitz has been thinking about these questions, developing possible answers, and helping encourage related on-the-ground, real-world projects and experimentation that move in the direction of a coherent model rooted in American experience.
The Pluralist Commonwealth model addresses both systemic questions and the challenge of moving over time from where we now are to where we might one day hope to be as older traditions and structures continue to deteriorate. The goal is not to answer all of the questions, but to help raise the level of inquiry and dialogue to a level that is both theoretically sophisticated and also rooted in living experience.
In the years since an initial approach to the model was formalized in 1972, a large amount of research, institutional and policy work, and in some cases legislation has contributed to a much fuller and more elaborate design. A number of books and related reports on key issues have also been written by Alperovitz himself and with co-authors. A very great deal of work has been done assembling information on local economic models in the United States and abroad, and also helping to foster new models both on the ground and through model legislation.
Systemic problems require systemic solutions and if the current political-economic system continues to falter in its capacity to nurture equality, personal liberty, ecological sustainability and meaningful democracy, what specifically are the alternatives? How, too, might we move to less interventionist and militarized relationships with other nations?
The traditional alternative to corporate capitalism has been state socialism. But are these really the only options? For more than four decades Gar Alperovitz has been thinking about these questions, developing possible answers, and helping encourage related on-the-ground, real-world projects and experimentation that move in the direction of a coherent model rooted in American experience.
The Pluralist Commonwealth model addresses both systemic questions and the challenge of moving over time from where we now are to where we might one day hope to be as older traditions and structures continue to deteriorate. The goal is not to answer all of the questions, but to help raise the level of inquiry and dialogue to a level that is both theoretically sophisticated and also rooted in living experience.
In the years since an initial approach to the model was formalized in 1972, a large amount of research, institutional and policy work, and in some cases legislation has contributed to a much fuller and more elaborate design. A number of books and related reports on key issues have also been written by Alperovitz himself and with co-authors. A very great deal of work has been done assembling information on local economic models in the United States and abroad, and also helping to foster new models both on the ground and through model legislation.
