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After Capitalism
In After Capitalism, David Schweickart moves beyond the familiar arguments against globalizing capitalism to contribute something absolutely necessary and long overdue a coherent vision of a viable, desirable alternative to capitalism. He names this system Economic Democracy, a successor-system to capitalism which preserves the efficiency strengths of a market economy while extending democracy to the workplace and to the structures of investment finance. Drawing on both theoretical and empirical research, Schweickart shows how and why this model is efficient, dynamic, and superior to capitalism along a range of values."
224 pages, Paperback
First published June 28, 2002
26 people are currently reading
1406 people want to read
About the author
David Schweickart
18 books25 followers David Schweickart is an activist, mathematician & philosopher. He holds a Mathematics BS from the Univ. of Dayton, a Mathematics PhD from the Univ. of Virginia & a Philosophy PhD from Ohio State Univ. He's currently a Philosophy Professor at Loyola University Chicago.
He's taught at Loyola since 1975. He was Visiting Professor of Mathematics at the Univ. of Kentucky from 1969 to 1970 & Visiting Professor of Philosophy at the Univ. of New Hampshire from 1986 to 1987. He's lectured in Spain, Cuba, El Salvador, Italy & the Czech Republic, as well as throughout the USA. He's a contributing writer to & editor of an online journal dedicated to Economic Democracy: SolidarityEconomy.net. He was Loyola's Faculty Member of the Year in 1999.
In After Capitalism & other works Schweickart has developed a market socialism model termed Economic Democracy. It embodies: 1/Workplace self-management, including election of supervisors; 2/Democratic management of capital investment by a form of public banking; 3/A free market for most goods, raw materials, instruments of production etc; 4/Socialist protectionism to enforce trade equality between nations. Firms & factories are socially owned & worker managed. These enterprises compete in markets to sell their goods. Profit is shared by the workers. Each enterprise is taxed for the capital employed. That tax is distributed to public banks, who fund expansion of existing industries & create new ones.
Publications inclued:
>After Capitalism (Rowman & Littlefield 2002) ISBN 0742513009
>Market Socialism: The Debate Among Socialists, coauthored with Bertell Ollman, Hillel Ticktin & James Lawler (Routledge 1998)
>Against Capitalism (Cambridge Univ. Press 1993) Spanish ed., 1997; Chinese ed., 2003
>Capitalism or Worker Control? An Ethical & Economic Appraisal (Praeger 1980)
He's taught at Loyola since 1975. He was Visiting Professor of Mathematics at the Univ. of Kentucky from 1969 to 1970 & Visiting Professor of Philosophy at the Univ. of New Hampshire from 1986 to 1987. He's lectured in Spain, Cuba, El Salvador, Italy & the Czech Republic, as well as throughout the USA. He's a contributing writer to & editor of an online journal dedicated to Economic Democracy: SolidarityEconomy.net. He was Loyola's Faculty Member of the Year in 1999.
In After Capitalism & other works Schweickart has developed a market socialism model termed Economic Democracy. It embodies: 1/Workplace self-management, including election of supervisors; 2/Democratic management of capital investment by a form of public banking; 3/A free market for most goods, raw materials, instruments of production etc; 4/Socialist protectionism to enforce trade equality between nations. Firms & factories are socially owned & worker managed. These enterprises compete in markets to sell their goods. Profit is shared by the workers. Each enterprise is taxed for the capital employed. That tax is distributed to public banks, who fund expansion of existing industries & create new ones.
Publications inclued:
>After Capitalism (Rowman & Littlefield 2002) ISBN 0742513009
>Market Socialism: The Debate Among Socialists, coauthored with Bertell Ollman, Hillel Ticktin & James Lawler (Routledge 1998)
>Against Capitalism (Cambridge Univ. Press 1993) Spanish ed., 1997; Chinese ed., 2003
>Capitalism or Worker Control? An Ethical & Economic Appraisal (Praeger 1980)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
January 12, 2015
David Schweickart was my favorite professor in the philosophy program at Loyola University Chicago. He it was with whom I took Social & Political Philosophy; Capitalism, Socialism & Democracy; and Ethics & Economic Justice. The courses all had something to do with ethics and with political economy. Owing to David's doctoral training in both mathematics and philosophy as well as his extensive teaching experience, he was particularly authoritative about and good at the demystification of economics. Unlike most professors, he was visibly enthusiastic about what he taught and conveyed that enthusiasm to his students so effectively that he was--and remains--one of the most popular faculty members at the university--and this despite his unapologetic Marxist proclivities.
Of all my teachers at Loyola, David is the only one I've remained actively friendly with. Indeed, he gave me After Capitalism on the occasion of my most recent birthday. After Capitalism is, he said recently, one of the more recent incarnations of a book which he began as his second doctoral dissertation and continued in Capitalism and Worker Control? (1980) and in Against Capitalism (1998). I haven't read the dissertation yet, that's next, but of the other two, this is the most readable. The others were written more with the classroom in mind. This one is written with the general public as its intended audience. It is also the most personal, its author and his experiences explictly present in the text. Normally, I'd say "too present", but in this case the repeated self-reference serves as a kind of personable witness to David's life-work. He writes here as he speaks: clearly, simply and convincingly.
I thought of myself as being a socialist long before I met David, but my vision of socialism has been significantly clarified by the years of interaction with him and his work. Others, generations of them now, less politically involved in childhood, have told me that studying him made them into socialists. The pity is that his visionary work, all of which is supremely relevant and quite plausibly practical, is so little broadcast to the public outside of the academy. This accessible book, which should be soon appearing in an updated edition, would make an excellent gift for pretty much anyone.
Post script: I have since read (and indexed) the second edition which has been updated to include the currect (2011/12) global economic crisis.
Of all my teachers at Loyola, David is the only one I've remained actively friendly with. Indeed, he gave me After Capitalism on the occasion of my most recent birthday. After Capitalism is, he said recently, one of the more recent incarnations of a book which he began as his second doctoral dissertation and continued in Capitalism and Worker Control? (1980) and in Against Capitalism (1998). I haven't read the dissertation yet, that's next, but of the other two, this is the most readable. The others were written more with the classroom in mind. This one is written with the general public as its intended audience. It is also the most personal, its author and his experiences explictly present in the text. Normally, I'd say "too present", but in this case the repeated self-reference serves as a kind of personable witness to David's life-work. He writes here as he speaks: clearly, simply and convincingly.
I thought of myself as being a socialist long before I met David, but my vision of socialism has been significantly clarified by the years of interaction with him and his work. Others, generations of them now, less politically involved in childhood, have told me that studying him made them into socialists. The pity is that his visionary work, all of which is supremely relevant and quite plausibly practical, is so little broadcast to the public outside of the academy. This accessible book, which should be soon appearing in an updated edition, would make an excellent gift for pretty much anyone.
Post script: I have since read (and indexed) the second edition which has been updated to include the currect (2011/12) global economic crisis.
December 26, 2009
Schweickart is genius. Next time someone tells you the left doesn't have any ideas after the Soviets crashed point them this way. I loved how concise and readable this book is too--in that sense it's very much like the Communist Manifesto quoted. What is presented is more or less the best of Soviet economy and modern Social Democratic economies. Brilliant.
September 11, 2007
There Is An Alternative:
Market Socialism
with Radical Democracy
Some Notes On Reading
‘After Capitalism’
By David Schweickart
In this short book, building on his earlier work, ‘Against Capitalism,’ David Schweickart has given us an excellent breakthrough in finding the road to a new socialism for the 21st century. Using both practical and ethical arguments, his main objective is to take on the ‘TINA’ argument-‘There Is No Alternative’-of the neoliberals. He convincingly shows there is at least one alternative, a ‘successor system’ that he calls ‘Economic Democracy.’ His critics will find it hard to dismiss his ideas lightly.
First, Schweickart’s Economic Democracy alternative is a working hypothesis, and not a rigid or doctrinaire model. While rooted in historical materialism, Schweickart’s Marxian notions of science are more in tune with the ‘open systems’ and critical instrumentalism of modern pragmatism. He casts a wide net to draw lessons from practice-from the failed Soviet-led command economies, to the ongoing surge of China’s market socialism, to the new smaller and more tentative projects in Spain’s Mondragon Cooperatives and Brazil’s Worker’s Party projects. He uses all these as resources, but he returns to American soil to work out his basic ideas and proposals....
For a full review, go to www.thirdwavestudygroup.blogspot.com
Market Socialism
with Radical Democracy
Some Notes On Reading
‘After Capitalism’
By David Schweickart
In this short book, building on his earlier work, ‘Against Capitalism,’ David Schweickart has given us an excellent breakthrough in finding the road to a new socialism for the 21st century. Using both practical and ethical arguments, his main objective is to take on the ‘TINA’ argument-‘There Is No Alternative’-of the neoliberals. He convincingly shows there is at least one alternative, a ‘successor system’ that he calls ‘Economic Democracy.’ His critics will find it hard to dismiss his ideas lightly.
First, Schweickart’s Economic Democracy alternative is a working hypothesis, and not a rigid or doctrinaire model. While rooted in historical materialism, Schweickart’s Marxian notions of science are more in tune with the ‘open systems’ and critical instrumentalism of modern pragmatism. He casts a wide net to draw lessons from practice-from the failed Soviet-led command economies, to the ongoing surge of China’s market socialism, to the new smaller and more tentative projects in Spain’s Mondragon Cooperatives and Brazil’s Worker’s Party projects. He uses all these as resources, but he returns to American soil to work out his basic ideas and proposals....
For a full review, go to www.thirdwavestudygroup.blogspot.com
September 26, 2012
In 'After Capitalism', Schweickart is proposing a form of 'market socialism', whereby worker owned companies will compete in a market economy. Schweickart presents a compelling case for such a system, and if we were to create such a system de novo, I have every confidence that it would work admirably. That occupies approximately the first 9/10ths of his book. The problem, however, is in the last 1/10th: in how we get from A to B.
Schweickart's presentation of likely scenarios all suffer from the fatal flaw of being top-down solutions originating from within the political system. Which is to say, it requires a left-wing political party to win sufficient control as to be able to legislate such a system from the top of the national political apex, while glossing over the inevitable resistance parties with a vested interest in the maintenance of the present system would put up. In short, Schweickart's proposal suffers from the flaws every Marxist oriented system in requiring the seizure of political power before the revolution can be implemented, universally, upon everybody.
Needless to say, such an approach is a futile endeavor. Short of an extraordinary set of circumstances, it will never happen. I stand by the approach of the 19th century 'utopian socialists.' Their approach toward revolutionary change was not to aim for the top, but to start at the bottom of society. Their goal was to build worker-owned communities within the existing social order. Communities which only affected their own members and did not disturb the established power structures. As such, they do not provoke a backlash from the established powers, as would any movement aiming for nation-wide change. They would operate 'beneath the radar' of the capitalist order, so to speak.
As such communities would change the social relations of only the people voluntarily joining them, there is no imposition of wills upon unwilling parties, either of workers being forced to live under capitalist despotism, or of capitalists being shorn of their dominance of the political system. Such an arrangement would be free to grow unhindered until a certain critical mass has been reached, at which point worker owned businesses would be the norm, instead of the exception. (more later)
Schweickart's presentation of likely scenarios all suffer from the fatal flaw of being top-down solutions originating from within the political system. Which is to say, it requires a left-wing political party to win sufficient control as to be able to legislate such a system from the top of the national political apex, while glossing over the inevitable resistance parties with a vested interest in the maintenance of the present system would put up. In short, Schweickart's proposal suffers from the flaws every Marxist oriented system in requiring the seizure of political power before the revolution can be implemented, universally, upon everybody.
Needless to say, such an approach is a futile endeavor. Short of an extraordinary set of circumstances, it will never happen. I stand by the approach of the 19th century 'utopian socialists.' Their approach toward revolutionary change was not to aim for the top, but to start at the bottom of society. Their goal was to build worker-owned communities within the existing social order. Communities which only affected their own members and did not disturb the established power structures. As such, they do not provoke a backlash from the established powers, as would any movement aiming for nation-wide change. They would operate 'beneath the radar' of the capitalist order, so to speak.
As such communities would change the social relations of only the people voluntarily joining them, there is no imposition of wills upon unwilling parties, either of workers being forced to live under capitalist despotism, or of capitalists being shorn of their dominance of the political system. Such an arrangement would be free to grow unhindered until a certain critical mass has been reached, at which point worker owned businesses would be the norm, instead of the exception. (more later)
September 6, 2024
Presented many interesting ideas for a potential world after capitalism, however the book fell into many classic leftist brain rot pit falls.
The book presents compelling arguments for the immorality of capitalism but in my view fails to produce a compelling alternative, unlike many other democratic socialist works.
The book presents compelling arguments for the immorality of capitalism but in my view fails to produce a compelling alternative, unlike many other democratic socialist works.
September 28, 2019
The current Socialism is not radical enough and people still do have some ownership. For David Schweickart that is a bad thing and he has the solution to bring "democracy" into your home.
January 24, 2008
There Is An Alternative:
Market Socialism
with Radical Democracy
Some Notes On Reading
‘After Capitalism’
By David Schweickart
Published by:
Rowman & Littlefield, 2002
PB: $23.95; 193pp.
Reviewed By Carl Davidson
In this short book, building on his earlier work, ‘Against Capitalism,’ David Schweickart has given us an excellent breakthrough in finding the road to a new socialism for the 21st century. Using both practical and ethical arguments, his main objective is to take on the ‘TINA’ argument-‘There Is No Alternative’-of the neoliberals. He convincingly shows there is at least one alternative, a ‘successor system’ that he calls ‘Economic Democracy.’ His critics will find it hard to dismiss his ideas lightly.
First, Schweickart’s Economic Democracy alternative is a working hypothesis, and not a rigid or doctrinaire model. While rooted in historical materialism, Schweickart’s Marxian notions of science are more in tune with the ‘open systems’ and critical instrumentalism of modern pragmatism. He casts a wide net to draw lessons from practice-from the failed Soviet-led command economies, to the ongoing surge of China’s market socialism, to the new smaller and more tentative projects in Spain’s Mondragon Cooperatives and Brazil’s Worker’s Party projects. He uses all these as resources, but he returns to American soil to work out his basic ideas and proposals.
‘Successor-system theory’, Schweickart explains, ‘is meant to be theory with practical intent. If it cannot offer a plausible projection as to how we might get from here to there, successor-system theory remains an intellectual exercise in model building-interesting in its own right, perhaps, and capable of providing a rejoinder to the smug apologists for capital, but useless to people trying to change the world.’ So what is ‘Economic Democracy’? The core idea is that the workers themselves democratically elect the managers of their firms. They also share the wealth they create by sharing the profit among themselves. They make their money the old-fashioned way: by finding consumer needs, meeting those needs with decent products, and selling them to satisfied customers at reasonable prices.
But how are things like costs, prices, new products and production goals determined? Here Schweickart departs from traditional socialist conceptions; he affirms the primary role of the market rather than relying on nationally centralized planning. What to produce is shaped mainly by consumer demand; what to charge for products or services is determined by competition for market share with other worker-controlled or private enterprises; and what to pay the workforce is limited by what’s left over after total costs are deducted from total sales.
What about ownership? Each Economic Democracy plant or workplace is controlled by each respective group of workers, but the firm is not owned by each particular group. The firms are socially owned by the public at large. Because of this public ownership, the local workers are also required to meet the cost of paying into two funds: a depreciation fund, to be used locally by the firm for capital expenditures, and a government-controlled capital investment fund. This latter payment is in the form of a capital assets tax also added to the firm’s costs. In a sense, the workplace is leased by the workers from the government. But what’s left after all the costs are met, the profit, the workers divide among themselves as they see fit. The capital assets taxes that the government takes in is used to finance new enterprises, to maintain and develop infrastructure projects, and other costs spread across the whole of society.
That’s the bare-bones model. Naturally, it has further implications and raises many more questions, not the least of which is how we get from today’s globalized capitalism to the ‘successor system’ of Economic Democracy . In the course of the book, Schweickart addresses a good deal of these problems; but for some issues, he has only hints or open possibilities...
For the full review, go to carldavidson.blogspot.com
Market Socialism
with Radical Democracy
Some Notes On Reading
‘After Capitalism’
By David Schweickart
Published by:
Rowman & Littlefield, 2002
PB: $23.95; 193pp.
Reviewed By Carl Davidson
In this short book, building on his earlier work, ‘Against Capitalism,’ David Schweickart has given us an excellent breakthrough in finding the road to a new socialism for the 21st century. Using both practical and ethical arguments, his main objective is to take on the ‘TINA’ argument-‘There Is No Alternative’-of the neoliberals. He convincingly shows there is at least one alternative, a ‘successor system’ that he calls ‘Economic Democracy.’ His critics will find it hard to dismiss his ideas lightly.
First, Schweickart’s Economic Democracy alternative is a working hypothesis, and not a rigid or doctrinaire model. While rooted in historical materialism, Schweickart’s Marxian notions of science are more in tune with the ‘open systems’ and critical instrumentalism of modern pragmatism. He casts a wide net to draw lessons from practice-from the failed Soviet-led command economies, to the ongoing surge of China’s market socialism, to the new smaller and more tentative projects in Spain’s Mondragon Cooperatives and Brazil’s Worker’s Party projects. He uses all these as resources, but he returns to American soil to work out his basic ideas and proposals.
‘Successor-system theory’, Schweickart explains, ‘is meant to be theory with practical intent. If it cannot offer a plausible projection as to how we might get from here to there, successor-system theory remains an intellectual exercise in model building-interesting in its own right, perhaps, and capable of providing a rejoinder to the smug apologists for capital, but useless to people trying to change the world.’ So what is ‘Economic Democracy’? The core idea is that the workers themselves democratically elect the managers of their firms. They also share the wealth they create by sharing the profit among themselves. They make their money the old-fashioned way: by finding consumer needs, meeting those needs with decent products, and selling them to satisfied customers at reasonable prices.
But how are things like costs, prices, new products and production goals determined? Here Schweickart departs from traditional socialist conceptions; he affirms the primary role of the market rather than relying on nationally centralized planning. What to produce is shaped mainly by consumer demand; what to charge for products or services is determined by competition for market share with other worker-controlled or private enterprises; and what to pay the workforce is limited by what’s left over after total costs are deducted from total sales.
What about ownership? Each Economic Democracy plant or workplace is controlled by each respective group of workers, but the firm is not owned by each particular group. The firms are socially owned by the public at large. Because of this public ownership, the local workers are also required to meet the cost of paying into two funds: a depreciation fund, to be used locally by the firm for capital expenditures, and a government-controlled capital investment fund. This latter payment is in the form of a capital assets tax also added to the firm’s costs. In a sense, the workplace is leased by the workers from the government. But what’s left after all the costs are met, the profit, the workers divide among themselves as they see fit. The capital assets taxes that the government takes in is used to finance new enterprises, to maintain and develop infrastructure projects, and other costs spread across the whole of society.
That’s the bare-bones model. Naturally, it has further implications and raises many more questions, not the least of which is how we get from today’s globalized capitalism to the ‘successor system’ of Economic Democracy . In the course of the book, Schweickart addresses a good deal of these problems; but for some issues, he has only hints or open possibilities...
For the full review, go to carldavidson.blogspot.com
November 30, 2017
This is a fantastic read for anybody interested in imagining a realistic socialist future. The material is appropriate for readers of all levels of sophistication, from those simply curious about contemporary political economy to those with a firm grounding in Marx. Schweikart’s writing is easygoing but incisive; he speaks to the writer in a friendly, witty tone that feels like a great conversation.
Schweikart carries out precisely the urgent task that is necessary for the Left today: he defines the current system, the things that are wrong with it, proposes a coherent alternative, and explains how and why his alternative addresses those problems.
In short, Schweikart’s program of Economic Democracy proposes a system of market socialism that is both easy to imagine, and strikingly close to genuine communism in some thrilling ways. The main difference is that Schweikart is ready to give up on central planning, unlike some leftists, and instead allow for market mechanisms to calibrate supply and demand via pricing.
These are the features of his plan: (1) worker ownership and control of all firms via one-worker, one-vote cooperatives, (2) a capital assets tax on all business property, essentially a “rent” on borrowing society’s means of production, and (3) political control and administration of all new investment, with capital asset tax proceeds flowing through public banks to promote growth, stability, and even geographic development.
And there you have it. It’s a fascinating proposal, and one that is as down-to-Earth as it is deeply Marxian. Get your hands on this book, and then put it in someone else’s hands. This is the kind of thinking the Left has been waiting for.
Schweikart carries out precisely the urgent task that is necessary for the Left today: he defines the current system, the things that are wrong with it, proposes a coherent alternative, and explains how and why his alternative addresses those problems.
In short, Schweikart’s program of Economic Democracy proposes a system of market socialism that is both easy to imagine, and strikingly close to genuine communism in some thrilling ways. The main difference is that Schweikart is ready to give up on central planning, unlike some leftists, and instead allow for market mechanisms to calibrate supply and demand via pricing.
These are the features of his plan: (1) worker ownership and control of all firms via one-worker, one-vote cooperatives, (2) a capital assets tax on all business property, essentially a “rent” on borrowing society’s means of production, and (3) political control and administration of all new investment, with capital asset tax proceeds flowing through public banks to promote growth, stability, and even geographic development.
And there you have it. It’s a fascinating proposal, and one that is as down-to-Earth as it is deeply Marxian. Get your hands on this book, and then put it in someone else’s hands. This is the kind of thinking the Left has been waiting for.
June 23, 2019
Lazily, I still have not finished the last chapter or two on implementation. Schweickart has made this study (and writing books about it) his career. He is exceptionally logical and clear. Every once in a while, he will withhold an objection that will crop up in your mind if you are paying attention. With no exception I can recall, he will address these later. Some will find him too much of an apologist for the Marxist tradition. Many have dismissed the thinking as "the best argument possible for a system that will not work." The effect the book has had on me, aside from introducing me to more of the underpinnings of capitalism (perhaps as only an excellent writer with a PhD in economics, and another in philosophy, can do), is to break me free of the feeling that thinking along these lines is somehow naughty. At the beginning, I definitely felt I was reading something somehow forbidden, and got a bit of a thrill from it. Afterwards, I felt I was much in line with Schweickart's perspective: we both want something that really, truly works, whatever element or amalgam that turns out to be.
May 5, 2020
Vijf sterren voor de wijze lessen. Dit boek heeft me heel veel geleerd door twee dingen te doen: uit te leggen wat kapitalisme is en een voorstel te doen voor democratische aanpassingen aan het economisch systeem. Prettig vond ik ook dat de auteur begint met een definitie van kapitalisme; iedereen gaat er maar vanuit te weten wat dit is, maar zo vanzelfsprekend is dit niet.
Door dit boek leerde ik:
- Waarom werkloosheid een structureel onderdeel is van een geliberaliseerd kapitalisme
- Hoe groot de inkomensongelijkheid wereldwijd precies en waarom ook dit verergerd is in de laatste decenna
- Wat de grootste contradicties zijn in onze economie (personeel is een kostenpost EN bron van inkomsten door consumptie)
- Waarom een vrije markt niet perse slecht is
- Waarom de manier waarop we organisaties financieren dat wél is
- Waarover Keynes en Marx het eens waren
- Hoe het nou zat met die bankencrisis (oké, dit snap ik nog steeds niet helemaal) en waarom hoogconjunctuur en recessies elkaar altijd zullen afwisselen als we niks veranderen
- Waarom veel mensen hun baan niet leuk vinden
Door dit boek leerde ik:
- Waarom werkloosheid een structureel onderdeel is van een geliberaliseerd kapitalisme
- Hoe groot de inkomensongelijkheid wereldwijd precies en waarom ook dit verergerd is in de laatste decenna
- Wat de grootste contradicties zijn in onze economie (personeel is een kostenpost EN bron van inkomsten door consumptie)
- Waarom een vrije markt niet perse slecht is
- Waarom de manier waarop we organisaties financieren dat wél is
- Waarover Keynes en Marx het eens waren
- Hoe het nou zat met die bankencrisis (oké, dit snap ik nog steeds niet helemaal) en waarom hoogconjunctuur en recessies elkaar altijd zullen afwisselen als we niks veranderen
- Waarom veel mensen hun baan niet leuk vinden
April 11, 2013
This is one of the few pragmatic guides for the Left in print. Not only is it pragamatic, but it does an admirable job of admitting the socialist concept of economic democracy is flawed yet likely superior to free market capitalism. The nuts and bolts of economics are addressed in the opening chapters, while evidence-based arguments discrediting neoliberal capitlism appear in the second half. The writing is succinct, but dense interconnected concepts make Schweikart's work a heavy yet worthwhile read.
February 6, 2024
I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in alternatives to neoliberal capitalism. Whilst other takes along democratic lines (e.g. Albert and Hahnel's "Participatory Economics") are overly utopian and contrived (and centralised, repeating mistakes of the Soviet years), Schweickart's "Economic Democracy" is not only realistically achievable, but achievable through grass-roots action and incremental structural reform—he even provides a blueprint for "Getting from Here to There" (Chapter 6).
Schweickart's argument is thorough. Departing from the usual justifications of capitalism, he proposes Economic Democracy as an alternative (there is an alternative!), describing what it is in detail, and addressing potential criticisms thereof. His model harnesses the strengths of the market guided by the power of democracy and active participation in economic planning at the local scale.
Schweickart's argument is thorough. Departing from the usual justifications of capitalism, he proposes Economic Democracy as an alternative (there is an alternative!), describing what it is in detail, and addressing potential criticisms thereof. His model harnesses the strengths of the market guided by the power of democracy and active participation in economic planning at the local scale.
December 20, 2016
As an economist, it is evident that the author is not an economist. That isn't necessarily a bad thing. But chapter 2 is the crux of his book for it details why capitalism is problematic. The argument appears circular to me though:
He describes capitalism as positive-sum because "investment income, the reward to those who have "risked" their money by channeling it into financial institutions...is possible only because those who produce the goods and services of society are paid less than the value of the goods and services they produce." --there would be nothing left over for the capitalist who merely "provided capital".
This is the key critique of the capitalist system, and I believe it is ignorant of the contribution to "production" that capitalists play. Very much so. I know it is tempting to consider lending money a passive act, and in many cases it is, but that is partly because of FDIC insurance as he points out. But there is risk involved, and there are plenty of capitalists who fail, and if they fail and lose money, they don't go back and extract the losses from the workers they used. Webvan, for example, was not a positive contribution to the economy, and its owners paid the price. But according to the author, if these workers and entrepreneurs are paid according to their value of what they produce, then they should all suffer, and yet the workers who participated do not owe back the wages they took. The capitalists, meanwhile, lost their money in this venture.
He doesn't get this point right, but it is crucial. His proposed economic system relies on this part of capitalism being irrelevant, yet he never dives deep enough to explore and prove the "surplus value" point. Economists have investigated this, and thus this book reads as an ignorant outsider's take.
He describes capitalism as positive-sum because "investment income, the reward to those who have "risked" their money by channeling it into financial institutions...is possible only because those who produce the goods and services of society are paid less than the value of the goods and services they produce." --there would be nothing left over for the capitalist who merely "provided capital".
This is the key critique of the capitalist system, and I believe it is ignorant of the contribution to "production" that capitalists play. Very much so. I know it is tempting to consider lending money a passive act, and in many cases it is, but that is partly because of FDIC insurance as he points out. But there is risk involved, and there are plenty of capitalists who fail, and if they fail and lose money, they don't go back and extract the losses from the workers they used. Webvan, for example, was not a positive contribution to the economy, and its owners paid the price. But according to the author, if these workers and entrepreneurs are paid according to their value of what they produce, then they should all suffer, and yet the workers who participated do not owe back the wages they took. The capitalists, meanwhile, lost their money in this venture.
He doesn't get this point right, but it is crucial. His proposed economic system relies on this part of capitalism being irrelevant, yet he never dives deep enough to explore and prove the "surplus value" point. Economists have investigated this, and thus this book reads as an ignorant outsider's take.
September 21, 2016
Currently at Loyola University so I had the chance to read this with Dr. Schweickart himself, and I must say it's a great read. It talks about radically changing the system, however, Schweickart is aware of what a replacement system needs to look like, and has a lot of great ideas. Great for any open minded reader, and not nearly as radically left wing as it may seem - an element of the free market remains!
July 25, 2018
In a sea of incomprehensible economics books and pop theories about our economic system that don't seem to offer any real solutions, this book provides not only clear explanations but insights and a viable alternative system. This book gave me hope that another future is possible.
January 22, 2019
Great intro to thinking critically about capitalism, and thinking about viable alternatives.
Very clear, logical writing style that doesn't resort to anecdotes and diatribes like other capitalist critiques.
Very clear, logical writing style that doesn't resort to anecdotes and diatribes like other capitalist critiques.
September 3, 2007
I love this book it makes me think everytime
January 30, 2011
Exellent book. I also suggest to visit the Facebook page of this book: http://www.facebook.com/pages/After-C...
February 6, 2013
A good text concerning the possibilities for overcoming capitalist economics and replacing it with a more vibrant socialist economic model based on workplace democracy.
October 3, 2013
One of the top 5 books that has informed my thinking in recent years.
November 30, 2013
Really great economics book, describes an apparently workable market-based system which is not "capitalism", nor is it a "command economy". The author calls it "economic democracy".
November 11, 2023
Decent read with some solid ideas, but for a book with Marx’s face plastered on it, it has a very loose understanding of Marxism, and in no way shows us a world after capitalism.
July 19, 2025
I never thought I could actually enjoy a book about economic theory until I read After Capitalism. This is an extremely approachable work of mature scholarship regarding an arcane subject. Schweickart's claims are presented with evidence and he anticipates and analytically addresses criticisms.
Unlike other radical visions and utopian theorizing, the author demonstrates how his vision relates to our current system, presenting rational plans for transitioning from capitalism to various gradations of his model for economic democracy, using many lucid examples and scenarios. Furthermore, he demonstrates how this transition could be potentially achieved without bloodshed, coercion, or civil disruption. Instead of suggesting we violently exterminate the capitalist class, he creates space where inequality is not eliminated, but lessened to the point where poverty is eliminated and the gap between the wealthy and the poor does not sour relations between them. He has also found a way to strip oligarchs of their obscene wealth and power while leaving them rich enough to enjoy the privileges of the materialist lifestyle they demand.
He creates this system not for love of minutia or to defend the rich, but to show how we can transcend the deleterious effects of class hierarchy and social stratification without conducting internecine class war.
His key suggestions include the following: one worker, one vote cooperative work control of factories and the means of production. He doesn't propose eliminating management, but making it subservient to workers' will by having management positions voted on. By taxing and eliminating inheritance rights, by ending market speculation, "old money" families will cease to exist as a class. People can still obtain wealth, but they will no longer be able accrue insane amounts of money from investments. With state-controlled campaign financing, the investor class will no longer be able to control and manipulate our government for their own ends.
The genius of Economic Democracy is that it already aligns with our publicly-declared shared values. From the point of view of the investor class, radical change is being promoted here, but everyday life wouldn't change much for them. They would keep their precious property even if their invisible assets go up in smoke. For everyone else: guaranteed work, a massive middle class where cooperation reaps more rewards than competition driven by endless unsustainable consumption foisted upon us from the vortex of artificially-driven supply and demand.
While consumption is the only point of capitalism, work, dignity, ending poverty, and a steady-state economy are the end goals of Economic Democracy. Although Schweickart proposes Economic Democracy as a final alternative capitalism, his model could also serve as a bridge between capitalism and the end of currency and market economics as we know it--not a world in which nothing of value is traded, but one where value is returned directly to goods and the labor deployed to produce goods and services rather than an arbitrary symbolic representation of their value.
All in all, a brilliantly plotted and extraordinarily down to earth economic proposal that successfully melds humanistic values with economic necessity--and one with enough utilitarian punch to give capitalism well...a run for its money (sorry, I couldn't resist).
Unlike other radical visions and utopian theorizing, the author demonstrates how his vision relates to our current system, presenting rational plans for transitioning from capitalism to various gradations of his model for economic democracy, using many lucid examples and scenarios. Furthermore, he demonstrates how this transition could be potentially achieved without bloodshed, coercion, or civil disruption. Instead of suggesting we violently exterminate the capitalist class, he creates space where inequality is not eliminated, but lessened to the point where poverty is eliminated and the gap between the wealthy and the poor does not sour relations between them. He has also found a way to strip oligarchs of their obscene wealth and power while leaving them rich enough to enjoy the privileges of the materialist lifestyle they demand.
He creates this system not for love of minutia or to defend the rich, but to show how we can transcend the deleterious effects of class hierarchy and social stratification without conducting internecine class war.
His key suggestions include the following: one worker, one vote cooperative work control of factories and the means of production. He doesn't propose eliminating management, but making it subservient to workers' will by having management positions voted on. By taxing and eliminating inheritance rights, by ending market speculation, "old money" families will cease to exist as a class. People can still obtain wealth, but they will no longer be able accrue insane amounts of money from investments. With state-controlled campaign financing, the investor class will no longer be able to control and manipulate our government for their own ends.
The genius of Economic Democracy is that it already aligns with our publicly-declared shared values. From the point of view of the investor class, radical change is being promoted here, but everyday life wouldn't change much for them. They would keep their precious property even if their invisible assets go up in smoke. For everyone else: guaranteed work, a massive middle class where cooperation reaps more rewards than competition driven by endless unsustainable consumption foisted upon us from the vortex of artificially-driven supply and demand.
While consumption is the only point of capitalism, work, dignity, ending poverty, and a steady-state economy are the end goals of Economic Democracy. Although Schweickart proposes Economic Democracy as a final alternative capitalism, his model could also serve as a bridge between capitalism and the end of currency and market economics as we know it--not a world in which nothing of value is traded, but one where value is returned directly to goods and the labor deployed to produce goods and services rather than an arbitrary symbolic representation of their value.
All in all, a brilliantly plotted and extraordinarily down to earth economic proposal that successfully melds humanistic values with economic necessity--and one with enough utilitarian punch to give capitalism well...a run for its money (sorry, I couldn't resist).
September 16, 2023
A must-read for any democratic socialist. If you're often frustrated by the lack of clear vision or enunciation of a possible future on the Left, this is the book to read. It frames the struggle for the Left as an expansion of democracy into the workplace. It lays out how firms could be funded, how taxes could be applied, and how we can win. Schweickart calls this the "counterproject", a life after capitalism where the world may not be perfect, but it could be radically more democratic and free.
August 23, 2023
Definitely dense, but just because the author is so thorough in his reasoning, he wastes no words, it’s so worth it to push through. Schweickart is really brilliant. Highly, highly, highly recommend if you’re wondering how a socialist system could be applied in today’s world, and not just in theory, he provides great examples. I read the version that had been updated following the 2008 financial crisis.
March 18, 2024
Better than I expected, and I already had high expectations given how highly recommended this book is. Not only did Schweickart provide a feasible model of market socialism, he provides one of the most accessible intros of basic Marxian and Keynesian economics I've ever read in a book. A well argued and logically sound read, I can't endorse it enough.
October 13, 2025
Disappointing really, was a slightly disingenuous title as the policy proposal is much more in the camp of 'social democracy' than anything that could be described as 'Marxist'. There are acknowledgements of Capitalism's contradictions but they're not delved into or fully reckoned with leaving this book feeling like a weak engagement with theory and more polemical than a structural analysis.
May 29, 2025
Terrible book. Read it based on a recommendation but a lot of his ideas makes very little economic sense. Doesn't matter if he tried to dumb it down for the masses, it actually just shows it makes no sense. Even the last 15-20 years after he wrote this shows this is absolute nonsense
May 3, 2020
Wow
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