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Overcoming Capitalism: Strategy for the Working Class in the 21st Century
Overcoming Capitalism is a book about strategy, particularly how the powerless can get the upper hand. And it’s written for everyone—not a specialized, self-selected audience. Tom Wetzel carefully explains how capitalism works and how the structure is stacked against us with an eye toward where power lies and how we can tip the scales.
The book is a twenty-first century reworking of the approach to unionism. The United States has a dramatic history of workers organizing on the job. In the last 70-odd years labor organizations have made peace with owners, and wages, various protections, and safety has diminished. All during an era that, despite its ups and downs, has been extremely profitable for the ownership class. Wetzel provides a solution to that failure by showing how a democratic outcome can be built into the method of struggle for social change, giving working people the means to ensure they will end up in control of the labor process and the larger society. But this isn’t the old white guy in a hard hat unionism of the previous century. The working class has changed. Life under capitalism has changed. How we think about unionism must also change.
While the political and capitalist class wring their hands over the environmental crisis and economic inequality we can see the immediate appeal of a union movement with an expanded mission to wrest control from the wealthy and powerful before they cost-shift us into extinction.
The book is a twenty-first century reworking of the approach to unionism. The United States has a dramatic history of workers organizing on the job. In the last 70-odd years labor organizations have made peace with owners, and wages, various protections, and safety has diminished. All during an era that, despite its ups and downs, has been extremely profitable for the ownership class. Wetzel provides a solution to that failure by showing how a democratic outcome can be built into the method of struggle for social change, giving working people the means to ensure they will end up in control of the labor process and the larger society. But this isn’t the old white guy in a hard hat unionism of the previous century. The working class has changed. Life under capitalism has changed. How we think about unionism must also change.
While the political and capitalist class wring their hands over the environmental crisis and economic inequality we can see the immediate appeal of a union movement with an expanded mission to wrest control from the wealthy and powerful before they cost-shift us into extinction.
400 pages, Paperback
Published April 19, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 23, 2022
Overcoming Capitalism is a book that offers information about working class struggle without expecting the reader to come away from it with a bunch of theory without any praxis. I don't have any issue with theory alone, but it can often leave the reader thinking, "ok, I agree with you totally/partly/a little, but how?" This is something I appreciate about Wetzel's effort here. I cannot say this book was really "for me" though. Part of it is purely that I am not incredibly interested in reading more about working class struggle, but part of it is that I didn't really see myself in this book. I also believe that it could have achieved its goal in about 1/2-2/3 of its over 400 page size.
It's clear that this book was a labor of love for Wetzel and as a result, it seems he put everything he had into it a couple of times. There is a lot of repetition. Sometimes repetition can make sense if the ideas are new, but most of these aren't. Did I need to read Wetzel's version of this Berkman quote repeated more than once when someone probably said some version of it even before Berkman did? Did I need multiple other examples repeated to me throughout the book? That said, this book could be good to hand to someone who had never read anything about working class struggle for this reason. Repetition like this can keep a reader engaged and referring back to the rest of the text if the information is new to them.
When I say I did not see myself in this book, it's because I felt like an outlier. Wetzel does indeed make an effort to include women and marginalized people throughout the text. He has examples of the ways syndicalist struggle and tactics can be used to combat sexism, racism, etc in workplaces. But, it didn't feel to me like these things were properly centered. It was not for lack of trying. I do believe the effort was there, but this has always sort of been why a lot of worker ideology doesn't appeal to me. It seems like everyone is a worker first (if they can work,) and everything else second. That's just not the way my life has been.
The things that I really liked that Wetzel touched upon were the issues with all of the hot button words that end up tied into working class struggle. Medicare for all when medicare sucks. Unions, when they've become corrupt corporate tools of control in many places. Communism as owning the means of production when authoritarian communism is nothing but and is a total shitshow. (I can't really blame ignorant USA reactionaries for hating auth-comm and thinking capitalism is their only other option.) These are all my versions, not his words, but you get the point. This isn't a vapid repetition of buzz words without context and I want to make sure that my critiques of the length and repetitiveness in other places are separate from this.
Wetzel also does well to describe- in detail and in accessible ways- the various environmental, social, health, human, and other costs of capitalism. He shows how these effects are far reaching and extinction-level problematic. There is a lot of analysis of how to gauge what work is, how much one should need to work, what constitutes "skilled" and "hard" labor, and so on. There is discussion about unpaid labor such as stereotypically feminized labor and discussions of various conflicts that will arise when trying to balance environmental preservation with working class needs and struggles. I did feel like he went further than many workers struggle ideologies go regarding environmental topics (if they go there at all,) but it still wasn't enough for me.
There is a very brief inclusion of elder and disabled people, but the little time given to these topics. This was another reason I didn't really see myself fitting into this. I appreciate that he thinks that disabled people who cannot work in stereotypical ways should still receiving livable income and so on, but this felt like a marginalizing afterthought where it would be the same thing as now with a little more money.
The last chunk of the book was probably the most interesting, even if I didn't agree with it all. Reading Wetzel's ideas for what a large scale anti-capitalist, less authoritarian society could look like to him was a good thought exercise. I do think there were too many things that resembled or would quickly lean right back into capitalism. He also admits that a lot of it is basically a form of government but with less authoritarianism, which I can also appreciate, but still don't find to be ideal. As a person who lives in the real world of 8 billion-ish humans hurtling toward extinction, I can appreciate imperfect but practical solutions for the meantime. I think that any form of anti-authoritarianism will need to cover more of the big-tent than this did. But, for someone new to these ideas or someone looking for practical examples of working class anticapitalism in practice, this book offers some valuable contributions.
This was also posted to my blog.
It's clear that this book was a labor of love for Wetzel and as a result, it seems he put everything he had into it a couple of times. There is a lot of repetition. Sometimes repetition can make sense if the ideas are new, but most of these aren't. Did I need to read Wetzel's version of this Berkman quote repeated more than once when someone probably said some version of it even before Berkman did? Did I need multiple other examples repeated to me throughout the book? That said, this book could be good to hand to someone who had never read anything about working class struggle for this reason. Repetition like this can keep a reader engaged and referring back to the rest of the text if the information is new to them.
When I say I did not see myself in this book, it's because I felt like an outlier. Wetzel does indeed make an effort to include women and marginalized people throughout the text. He has examples of the ways syndicalist struggle and tactics can be used to combat sexism, racism, etc in workplaces. But, it didn't feel to me like these things were properly centered. It was not for lack of trying. I do believe the effort was there, but this has always sort of been why a lot of worker ideology doesn't appeal to me. It seems like everyone is a worker first (if they can work,) and everything else second. That's just not the way my life has been.
The things that I really liked that Wetzel touched upon were the issues with all of the hot button words that end up tied into working class struggle. Medicare for all when medicare sucks. Unions, when they've become corrupt corporate tools of control in many places. Communism as owning the means of production when authoritarian communism is nothing but and is a total shitshow. (I can't really blame ignorant USA reactionaries for hating auth-comm and thinking capitalism is their only other option.) These are all my versions, not his words, but you get the point. This isn't a vapid repetition of buzz words without context and I want to make sure that my critiques of the length and repetitiveness in other places are separate from this.
Wetzel also does well to describe- in detail and in accessible ways- the various environmental, social, health, human, and other costs of capitalism. He shows how these effects are far reaching and extinction-level problematic. There is a lot of analysis of how to gauge what work is, how much one should need to work, what constitutes "skilled" and "hard" labor, and so on. There is discussion about unpaid labor such as stereotypically feminized labor and discussions of various conflicts that will arise when trying to balance environmental preservation with working class needs and struggles. I did feel like he went further than many workers struggle ideologies go regarding environmental topics (if they go there at all,) but it still wasn't enough for me.
There is a very brief inclusion of elder and disabled people, but the little time given to these topics. This was another reason I didn't really see myself fitting into this. I appreciate that he thinks that disabled people who cannot work in stereotypical ways should still receiving livable income and so on, but this felt like a marginalizing afterthought where it would be the same thing as now with a little more money.
The last chunk of the book was probably the most interesting, even if I didn't agree with it all. Reading Wetzel's ideas for what a large scale anti-capitalist, less authoritarian society could look like to him was a good thought exercise. I do think there were too many things that resembled or would quickly lean right back into capitalism. He also admits that a lot of it is basically a form of government but with less authoritarianism, which I can also appreciate, but still don't find to be ideal. As a person who lives in the real world of 8 billion-ish humans hurtling toward extinction, I can appreciate imperfect but practical solutions for the meantime. I think that any form of anti-authoritarianism will need to cover more of the big-tent than this did. But, for someone new to these ideas or someone looking for practical examples of working class anticapitalism in practice, this book offers some valuable contributions.
This was also posted to my blog.
July 14, 2022
Overcoming Capitalism provided me with the most comprehensive understanding of Syndicalism of anything I've read on the topic, which admittedly hasn't been much. It almost made me want to get a job or move to a city so I could help organize a union. Almost.
I often get frustrated at books that describe issues with the way society is organized, but don't offer any kind of way forward. I appreciate that Wetzel took the time to lay out his path towards his utopia. I don't agree with the vast majority of it (I don't think I even necessarily agree with having a "plan") but it's nice that it exists and that other people will probably take inspiration from it. He writes in a very accessible yet thorough way.
Some things I didn't like:
1. He provides answers to arguments that may be presented by people on the right and communists, but doesn't bring up any of the myriad issues an anarchist might have with his proposals.
2. His plan is pretty much capitalism with more people power. I think it would be better for every living thing, but still not ideal.
3. Although AK Press just released this book, it feels like it was written at least three years ago. Wetzel writes about unions and organizing, but doesn't make any mention of Amazon, Starbucks, or any of the most recent, very prevalent examples; he brings up health issues in workplaces without mentioning COVID; and he talks about police oppression and the way people have fought back, but makes no mention of the 2020 George Floyd uprising.
Maybe he finished writing the book in 2019 and it just didn't get published until recently. I don't know.
I often get frustrated at books that describe issues with the way society is organized, but don't offer any kind of way forward. I appreciate that Wetzel took the time to lay out his path towards his utopia. I don't agree with the vast majority of it (I don't think I even necessarily agree with having a "plan") but it's nice that it exists and that other people will probably take inspiration from it. He writes in a very accessible yet thorough way.
Some things I didn't like:
1. He provides answers to arguments that may be presented by people on the right and communists, but doesn't bring up any of the myriad issues an anarchist might have with his proposals.
2. His plan is pretty much capitalism with more people power. I think it would be better for every living thing, but still not ideal.
3. Although AK Press just released this book, it feels like it was written at least three years ago. Wetzel writes about unions and organizing, but doesn't make any mention of Amazon, Starbucks, or any of the most recent, very prevalent examples; he brings up health issues in workplaces without mentioning COVID; and he talks about police oppression and the way people have fought back, but makes no mention of the 2020 George Floyd uprising.
Maybe he finished writing the book in 2019 and it just didn't get published until recently. I don't know.
July 10, 2022
Very interesting book about how to counteract the destructive forces of capitalism by forming worker-led unions. I gave it 3/5 stars because it could be 3/5 as long as it is.
October 31, 2022
As a primer for understanding our current capitalist system through the eyes of an informed socialist perspective, this book is powerfully understated and erudite. Symptoms of inequality and historical attempts at socialist endeavours are well-represented and researched. Indeed, the reader comes away with a damning indictment of all the things wrong under our current form of capitalism. In this way, the book is quite an education.
Unfortunately, where the argument falls down is in what is required for transition to such a system. Even though Wetzel provides detailed, systematic suggestions for how cooperative, socialist structures of governance, education, defence and economy might be created, the entire possibility of application relies upon one major event: revolution.
While we never fully know if or when a revolution may occur – particularly in the American context – that transition to a socially just society relies upon the pretext of some form of societal breakdown remains a troubling premise. Toward the end, I found myself skimming through several of the suggested applications, because, even as promising as they are as an ethos, I just don’t see the political will in the American populace at large.
3 stars (but more like 3.5). The scholarship is solid. Also, the book’s main strengths lie within its first half. The details of Leninism never quite grabbed me, and the solutions section, while viable, seems overly dependent upon several factors that are unlikely to materialise. An interesting premise, and excellent for those seeking a better understanding of socialist organising principles.
Unfortunately, where the argument falls down is in what is required for transition to such a system. Even though Wetzel provides detailed, systematic suggestions for how cooperative, socialist structures of governance, education, defence and economy might be created, the entire possibility of application relies upon one major event: revolution.
While we never fully know if or when a revolution may occur – particularly in the American context – that transition to a socially just society relies upon the pretext of some form of societal breakdown remains a troubling premise. Toward the end, I found myself skimming through several of the suggested applications, because, even as promising as they are as an ethos, I just don’t see the political will in the American populace at large.
3 stars (but more like 3.5). The scholarship is solid. Also, the book’s main strengths lie within its first half. The details of Leninism never quite grabbed me, and the solutions section, while viable, seems overly dependent upon several factors that are unlikely to materialise. An interesting premise, and excellent for those seeking a better understanding of socialist organising principles.
August 29, 2024
I will first say that I agree with the key arguments Wetzel makes in this book. An overview of how a radically democratic socialist society might be organised is necessary and timely. It is generally well-researched and does a good job of situating Wetzel’s socialism amongst alternative forms of socialism.
However, it was a real slog to read. It is unbelievable how repetitive this book is. At several points, entire paragraphs are lifted from earlier chapters. To me, that’s not just lazy, but is bordering on violating certain ethical standards of scholarship. The same phrases are repeated again and again, sometimes on the very next page. In some ways, this would be a good text for someone with no familiarity with syndicalism to read, if only because you are beaten over the head with its basic tenets dozens of times. It’s 350 pages, when it could have easily been 150. I’m not sure how a book could go through all the necessary steps of editorial oversight and come out looking like this. I’m really relieved to finish it so that I can move onto something which isn’t such a chore to read.
If it weren’t for my endorsement of Wetzel’s politics, this would get 0 stars. From a literary point of view, it has very few redeeming qualities.
However, it was a real slog to read. It is unbelievable how repetitive this book is. At several points, entire paragraphs are lifted from earlier chapters. To me, that’s not just lazy, but is bordering on violating certain ethical standards of scholarship. The same phrases are repeated again and again, sometimes on the very next page. In some ways, this would be a good text for someone with no familiarity with syndicalism to read, if only because you are beaten over the head with its basic tenets dozens of times. It’s 350 pages, when it could have easily been 150. I’m not sure how a book could go through all the necessary steps of editorial oversight and come out looking like this. I’m really relieved to finish it so that I can move onto something which isn’t such a chore to read.
If it weren’t for my endorsement of Wetzel’s politics, this would get 0 stars. From a literary point of view, it has very few redeeming qualities.
January 1, 2023
Interesting and provides historical perspective but has this author never read Orwell’s “Animal Farm”? All these systems break down in application due to the flaws inherent in human nature
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews