Socialism, Capitalism and Alternatives

Socialism, Capitalism and Alternatives
Author: Peter J. S. Duncan
Publisher: UCL Press
Total Pages: 254
Release: 2019-10-14
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1787353834

In 1989 the Berlin Wall came down. Two years later the Soviet Union disintegrated. The collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union discredited the idea of socialism for generations to come. It was seen as representing the final and irreversible victory of capitalism. This triumphal dominance was barely challenged until the 2008 financial crisis threw the Western world into a state of turmoil. Through analysis of post-socialist Russia and Central and Eastern Europe, as well as of the United Kingdom, China and the United States, Socialism, Capitalism and Alternatives confronts the difficulty we face in articulating alternatives to capitalism, socialism and threatening populist regimes. Beginning with accounts of the impact of capitalism on countries left behind by the planned economies, the volume moves on to consider how China has become a beacon of dynamic economic growth, aggressively expanding its global influence. The final section of the volume poses alternatives to the ideological dominance of neoliberalism in the West. Since the 2008 financial crisis, demands for social change have erupted across the world. Exposing the failure of neoliberalism in the United Kingdom and examining recent social movements in Europe and the United States, the closing chapters identify how elements of past ideas are re-emerging, among them Keynesianism and radical socialism. As those chapters indicate, these ideas might well have potential to mobilise support and challenge the dominance of neoliberalism.

Towards Socialism Or Capitalsim?

Towards Socialism Or Capitalsim?
Author: Leon Trotsky
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 132
Release: 2012-07-16
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0415623383

First Published in 1926, Towards Socialism or Capitalism? considers how the socialist economy of Soviet Russia, isolated in a capitalist world after Lenin's death, faced acute dangers. The three articles in this book, written between 1925 and 1932, discuss the fundamental problems of the Soviet economy from the New Economic Policy to forced collectivization. Published here in one volume, they are indispensable steps in the development of Trotsky's analysis of the Soviet Union, laid down in 1936 in 'The Revolution Betrayed'.

Whither Russia?

Whither Russia?
Author: Leon Trotsky
Publisher:
Total Pages: 164
Release: 1926
Genre: Socialism
ISBN:

London edition (Methuen) has title: Towards socialism or capitalism?

Russia and the Long Transition from Capitalism to Socialism

Russia and the Long Transition from Capitalism to Socialism
Author: Samir Amin
Publisher: NYU Press
Total Pages: 142
Release: 2016-07-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1583676031

Out of early twentieth-century Russia came the world’s first significant effort to build a modern revolutionary society. According to Marxist economist Samir Amin, the great upheaval that once produced the Soviet Union has also produced a movement away from capitalism – a long transition that continues even today. In seven concise, provocative chapters, Amin deftly examines the trajectory of Russian capitalism, the Bolshevik Revolution, the collapse of the Soviet Union, the possible future of Russia – and, by extension, the future of socialism itself. Amin manages to combine an analysis of class struggle with geopolitics – each crucial to understanding Russia’s singular and complex political history. He first looks at the development (or lack thereof) of Russian capitalism. He sees Russia’s geopolitical isolation as the reason its capitalist empire developed so differently from Western Europe, and the reason for Russia’s perceived “backwardness.” Yet Russia’s unique capitalism proved to be the rich soil in which the Bolsheviks were able to take power, and Amin covers the rise and fall of the revolutionary Soviet system. Finally, in a powerful chapter on Ukraine and the rise of global fascism, Amin lays out the conditions necessary for Russia to recreate itself, and perhaps again move down the long road to socialism. Samir Amin’s great achievement in this book is not only to explain Russia’s historical tragedies and triumphs, but also to temper our hopes for a quick end to an increasingly insufferable capitalism. This book offers a cornucopia of food for thought, as well as an enlightening means to transcend reductionist arguments about “revolution” so common on the left. Samir Amin’s book – and the actions that could spring from it – are more necessary than ever, if the world is to avoid the barbarism toward which capitalism is hurling humanity.

Towards Socialism Or Capitalsim? (Routledge Revivals)

Towards Socialism Or Capitalsim? (Routledge Revivals)
Author: Leon Trotsky
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2013-12-17
Genre: Communism
ISBN: 9780415625784

First Published in 1926, Towards Socialism or Capitalism? considers how the socialist economy of Soviet Russia, isolated in a capitalist world after Lenin's death, faced acute dangers. The three articles in this book, written between 1925 and 1932, discuss the fundamental problems of the Soviet economy from the New Economic Policy to forced collectivization. Published here in one volume, they are indispensable steps in the development of Trotsky's analysis of the Soviet Union, laid down in 1936 in 'The Revolution Betrayed'.

How to Be an Anticapitalist in the Twenty-First Century

How to Be an Anticapitalist in the Twenty-First Century
Author: Erik Olin Wright
Publisher: Verso Books
Total Pages: 177
Release: 2021-04-13
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1788739558

What is wrong with capitalism, and how can we change it? Capitalism has transformed the world and increased our productivity, but at the cost of enormous human suffering. Our shared values—equality and fairness, democracy and freedom, community and solidarity—can provide both the basis for a critique of capitalism and help to guide us toward a socialist and democratic society. Erik Olin Wright has distilled decades of work into this concise and tightly argued manifesto: analyzing the varieties of anticapitalism, assessing different strategic approaches, and laying the foundations for a society dedicated to human flourishing. How to Be an Anticapitalist in the Twenty-First Century is an urgent and powerful argument for socialism, and an unparalleled guide to help us get there. Another world is possible. Included is an afterword by the author’s close friend and collaborator Michael Burawoy.

The 99 Percent Economy

The 99 Percent Economy
Author: Paul S. Adler
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 241
Release: 2019-10
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0190931884

The social, economic, and political challenges we face have reached the point of crisis: economic irrationality contributes to workplace disempowerment, social disintegration, political alienation, and environmental degradation. Despair is not an option.The 99 Percent Economy provides a stirring alternative: Democratic Socialism. Paul S. Adler, a leading business and management expert, argues that to overcome these crises we need to assert control over economic affairs through social ownership and democratic management of companies as well as thenational economy. He draws on a surprising source of inspiration: the strategic management techniques of large corporations. He shows how leading companies have designed and implemented strategies that involve and empower workers, enhance engagement and motivation, increase innovation, and areenvironmentally and socially sustainable. The principles are scalable - because they work in large corporations with thousands of people, they can work at local, regional, and national scales.Standing in the way? Private ownership of society's productive resources, the foundation of capitalism's ruthless competition and focus on individual gain at the cost of society, the environment, and future generations. Adler shows how socialize public ownership will merge individual and socialgoals through the democratic involvement of all people in deciding what the future will be-both political and economic, both local and global. The needs of people and the planet will guide decisions about investment and production, rather than the pursuit of profit. Public planning forums at theenterprise, regional, and national levels will democratically decide goals, instead of being the prerogative of CEOs doing the bidding of investors.Democratic socialism is not a leap into the entirely unknown, Adler shows. Capitalist industry has built the foundations for democratic socialism.