Moving Forward Program for a Participatory Economy
Michael Albert, AK Press, San Francisco, USA, 2001
f not capitalism, then what? Something’s not working here, and it’s pretty clear what’s wrong. But there’s a dearth of material on what could be right—and more important, how to do it. Albert breaks through the stranglehold on this debate and lays out the vision and strategy for his revolutionary « participatory economy » idea. He argues that we have to change how we conceive of work and wages, rewarding effort and sacrifice rather than output, and restructuring work so that everyone can become involved in controlling their workplaces. From here, he moves to a proposal for how we might organize the larger functions of the economy in workers’ councils and a general discussion of how our society might look with a participatory economy.
The third in Albert’s series of « Forward » books is written in clear language for anyone from those just beginning to question the (il)logic of capitalism to experienced activists. With its dialogue format and real-world examples, Moving Forward gives you all the tools you need to smartly rebut anyone who tries to tell you the system is working. School yourself on self-management, balanced job complexes, just rewards, participatory allocation, and other weighty concepts made easy.