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In his new book, Gar Alperovitz, the renowned scholar of politics, economics, and history, predicts that we’ve reached a major turning point in history. America Beyond Capitalism argues that the first decade of the twenty-first century–challenged by growing economic inequality, the devaluing of civil liberties, and a government unresponsive to the people–is already producing conditions that will force the United States to undergo historic changes.
There have been five major political realignments in American history, from before the Progressive Era to beyond the New Deal. All have occurred in the face of the argument that major change was impossible. America Beyond Capitalism shows that increasing numbers of citizens are also quietly beginning to take meaningful local and national action that can ultimately give explosive force to a new approach.
The fall of communism and the painful ramifications of a globalized market free-for-all have left many yearning for a realistic alternative. Alperovitz makes clear that capitalism and socialism are academic ideas that have never existed in their purest forms anywhere. Our nameless current system, which is a haphazard one, mostly controlled by the largest corporations, is not the only one possible.
If we look closely, America Beyond Capitalism suggests, the basic outlines of an achievable and community-sustaining vision are quietly taking shape–a vision that offers far better market-based ways to use our vast wealth to realize equality, democracy, and liberty.
The rapid changes of the early 1960s, a time of explosive ferment and new ideas, seemed to come out of nowhere. So, too, did the modern conservative revolution–which once was seen as a marginal political project. Fundamental change, Alperovitz suggests, is the rule, not the exception, in history, including in our own time, here and now.
Eloquently reasoned, passionately argued, and grounded in a wealth of irrefutable facts and data, America Beyond Capitalism offers anyone who wants to take part in this momentous enterprise a new way to think about–and then get to work to help build–a new future.
"At a time when the national media’s been transfixed by the imperalist adventures and crony capitalism of the Bush administration, Gar Alperovitz discovers that not only have the seeds of a legitimately democratic political economy been planted, they are bearing fruit. Addressing a range of necessary changes, from urban design to health care to the distribution of wealth, Alperovitz’s Pluralist Commonwealth is the kind of careful, well-researched, and practical alternative progressives have been seeking. And it’s more–visionary, hopeful, even inspirational. I highly recommend it."
–Juliet Schor, author of The Overspent American: Why We Want What We Don’t Need, and Professor of Sociology, Boston College
"An important guidebook to the future. First, Alperovitz leads a grim tour of the deteriorated values at the core of the American experience–equality, liberty, democracy, and the wise use of our collective wealth. Then he takes us to the mountaintop with a broad and optimistic mapping vision of how Americans can remake their economy and society to restore those values. A compelling and convincing story of the future."
–William Greider, author of The Soul of Capitalism: Opening Paths to a Moral Economy
"Succeeds brilliantly in taking the Jeffersonian spirit into the last bastion of privilege in America, offering workable solutions for making the American economy one that is truly of, by, and for the people."
–Jeremy Rifkin, author of The End of Work
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