Is There An Alternative to Capitalism?

My favorite bits and pieces of an article I recently enjoyed.

Via Z Magazine Online

“What do I mean “the Left doesn’t know what it’s talking about”? I certainly don’t mean that Left values are bad, or that the abolition of the market and its replacement by democratic planning is naïve. But I do think that the Left is often incoherent, stupidly dogmatic, and almost unintelligible to ordinary people. I don’t think, in practice, that we convey effectively our vision of a desirable future, nor do we convey a strategy for achieving it that seems … well, achievable. I don’t think most self-described socialists (Marxist or otherwise) could tell you, in straight, ordinary language (and that’s the key) what a market economy IS, what the essential institutions and features and dynamics of capitalism are, and how a worker-run economy might differ, be more fair, and still deliver the goods. I don’t think most self-described anarchists could tell you that either, or for that matter, tell you about the essential institutions and function of the State, and more importantly, how a non-hierarchical polity might differ from a capitalist or State-socialist one.
…

There is a good deal that the Left has to own up to –– that is, if it actually wants to inspire, and motivate, and grow…and win for Christsake! (I’m not convinced that a lot of Leftists really want to win, that they don’t prefer marginality, because marginality is somehow by definition more “pure” than the mainstream. In my opinion, this is nonsense; “purity as pathology.” The Left should be ecstatic about its values and goals becoming mainstream; it means a revolution is brewing!)
…
Instead of saying “Anything short of complete ‘Revolution’ is reformist” (and then going home to watch TV), we need to recognize that no revolution begins with the overthrow of the State. The dismantling or seizure of the State is usually a reflection of a deep revolution already occurring at the grassroots, community and workplace level.
…
There’s nothing complex or mysterious about this –– even though the High Priests of Capitalism (and some Marxists) work very hard to make economics seem that way. What do we value? What do we want an economy to achieve? Any attempt to conceptualize alternatives to capitalism must begin with these questions, if we want to interest ordinary people in the debate, if we want to be rooted in the real world. One doesn’t build a broad-based, anti-capitalist movement by pretending to understand the “labour theory of value,” or by saying capitalism sucks (and not having a well-thought-out alternative model to put in its place). We need to ask straight-forward questions about what we want. We need to debate different proposals and options for how to best achieve our desires. I don’t care what you call this –– communism, anarchism, participatory democracy, socialism as it was always meant to be –– it really doesn’t matter. But if we’re going to develop an anti-capitalist alternative model, we need to be very clear about what values and principles we want to uphold. And if we can’t communicate these values in everyday language, if we can’t persuade anyone of anything, then we either don’t know what we’re talking about, or our ideas suck.”