Envisioning Real UtopiasRising inequality of income and power, along with the recent convulsions in the finance sector, have made the search for alternatives to unbridled capitalism more urgent than ever. Yet there has been a global retreat by the Left: on the assumption that liberal capitalism is the only game in town, political theorists tend to dismiss as utopian any attempt to rethink our social and economic relations. As Fredric Jameson first argued, it is now easier for us to imagine the end of the world than an alternative to capitalism. Erik Olin Wright’s Envisioning Real Utopias is a comprehensive assault on the quietism of contemporary social theory. Building on a lifetime’s work analyzing the class system in the developed world, as well as exploring the problem of the transition to a socialist alternative, Wright has now completed a systematic reconstruction of the core values and feasible goals for Left theorists and political actors. Envisioning Real Utopias aims to put the social back into socialism, laying the foundations for a set of concrete, emancipatory alternatives to the capitalist system. Characteristically rigorous and engaging, this will become a landmark of social thought for the twenty-first century. |
Contents
Whats So Bad About Capitalism? | 33 |
Thinking About Alternatives to Capitalism | 89 |
The Socialist Compass | 110 |
Copyright | |
9 other sections not shown
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
actors allocation alternative to capitalism argue associational democracy basic income capacity capi capitalist economy capitalist firms capitalist market capitalist societies central chapter childcare Citizendium citizens civil society class compromise complex contribute cooperatives corporations costs councils create decisions direct democracy discussion dominant economic activity economic power economic structure effects electoral emancipatory social employees empowered Erik Olin Wright example forms funds global governance hybrid idea individual inequality institutional design interstitial strategies interstitial transformations investment involved issues kinds labor market live market socialism Marx Marxist means of production mechanisms Mondragón organized ownership parecon participation participatory budget pathways Philippe Van Parijs policies political possible potential principles problem profits proposals real utopias representative democracy role rules ruptural strategy simply social change social economy social empowerment social reproduction socialist solidarity statism statist theory tion trajectory universal basic income utopias various Wikipedia worker-owned cooperatives workers working-class associational power