Post-capitalism

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Post-capitalism includes a number of proposals for a new economic system to repl
ace capitalism. According to some Classical Marxist and some social evolutionary
theories, post-capitalist society may come about as a result of spontaneous evo
lution as capitalism becomes obsolete. Others propose models to intentionally re
place capitalism. The most notable among them are socialism and anarchism.
Transition Forces
The rise of income inequality, repeating cycles of unemployment and inflation, a
nd capitalism s contributions to global warming had lead both economists and philo
sophers to begin seriously considering post-capitalistic societies. Post-capital
ism is expected to arise with further advances in automation and information sha
ring both of which cause production costs to approach zero.[1]
In 1993, Peter Drucker outlined a possible evolution of capitalistic society in
his book Post-Capitalist Society.[2] The book stated that knowledge, rather than
capital, land or labor, is the new basis of wealth. The classes of a fully post
-capitalist society are expected to be divided in knowledge workers or service w
orkers, in contrast to the capitalists and proletarians of a capitalist society.
In the book, Drucker estimated the transformation to post-capitalism would be c
ompleted in 2010 2020.
Drucker also argued for rethinking the concept of intellectual property by creat
ing a universal licensing system.[3] Consumers would subscribe, for a cost, and
producers would assume that everything is reproduced and freely distributed thro
ugh social networks.
Socialism
Socialism often implies public ownership of companies and centralized planning o
f the economy. For anti-socialists, this sounds like totalitarianism where the g
overnment controls every aspect of a citizen s life. For pro-socialists, socialism
holds the hope of eliminating class divisions, economic exploitation, and the c
easeless drive for profit. The failure of the Soviet Union to successfully manag
e production, the economy, or social issues has led many to be, at least, cautio
us or, at most, outright opposed to socialism.
It is argued whether both public ownership and centralized planning are needed f
or a successful post-capitalist economy. In his book PostCapitalism: A Guide to
our Future, Paul Mason argues that centralized planning, even with the advanced
technology of today, is unachievable.[1] Alternatively, Michael Albert and Robin
Hahnel argue that central planning is key to creating a Participatory Economy.
For post-capitalism to come from a socialist standpoint, a political and cultura
l transformation would need to occur alongside the economic transformation.[4][5
][6]
As Robin Hahnel states:[7]
Our defense strategy and we will need one
must be centered on organizing for mas
sive resistance and non-compliance since no elite, no matter how well armed, can
rule unless we, the people, carry out their orders.
Helpful definitions involving socialism:
Socialism, an economic system based on public or cooperative ownership of the me
ans of production where production is carried out to directly produce use-value,
that includes a moneyless form of accounting such as physical resource accounti

ng or labor-time, and based on the direct production of utility rather than on t

he capitalist laws of accumulation and value. Some models of socialism imply eco
nomic planning for the allocation of the factors of production in place of capit
al markets, while other models of socialism retain market-based allocation of ca
pital goods. Some Marxists believe Socialism would eventually in turn evolve int
o Communism.
Planned socialism, a type of socialism where some form of economic planning subs
titutes markets for allocating the factors of production and for coordinating th
e economy. There are various types of planning, including central planning and d
ecentralized planning; material balance planning, input-output planning and comp
uterized planning.
Market socialism, a type of socialism based on socialization and public or coope
rative ownership of the means of production, but retains monetary calculation an
d market competition and utilizes markets as the primary way of allocating the f
actors of production.
Communalism, a political theory based on the writings of Murray Bookchin. Bookch
in developed Communalism after he broke with anarchism believing it to be indivi
dualist and lifestylist. It is based on libertarian municipalism, confederalism,
and social ecology.
Participatory Economy
In his book Of the People, By the People: The Case for a Participatory Economy,
Robin Hahnel describes a post-capitalist economy called the Participatory Econom
y.[8] The book ends with the proposal of the Green New Deal, a package of polici
es that address climate change and financial crises.
The Participatory Economy focuses on the participation of all citizens through t
he creation of worker councils and consumer councils. Hahnel emphasizes the dire
ct participation of worker and consumers, rather than appointing representatives
. The councils are concerned with large-scale issues of production and consumpti
on, and are broken into various bodies tasked with researching future developmen
t projects.
In a Participatory Economy economic rewards would be offered according to need,
the amount of which would be determined democratically by the workers council. H
ahnel also calls for economic justice by rewarding people for their effort and dil
igence rather than accomplishments or prior ownership. A worker s effort is to be
determined by their co-workers. Consumption rights are then rewarded according t
o the effort ratings. The worker has the choice to decide what they consume usin
g their consumption rights. Hahnel does not address the idea of money, currency,
or how consumption rights would be tracked.
Planning in a Participatory Economy is done through the councils. The process is
horizontal across the committees, as opposed to vertical. All council members,
the workers and consumers, participate directly in planning, unlike in Soviet-ty
pe economies and other democratic planning proposals in which planning is done b
y representatives. Planning is an iterative procedure, always being changed and
improved upon, that is accomplished at the level of either work or consumption.
All information and proposals are freely available to everyone, those inside and
outside of the council, so that the social cost of each proposal can be determi
ned and voted on. Long-term plans such as structuring public transportation, res
idential zones, and recreational areas, are to be proposed by delegates and appr
oved by direct democracy (i.e. voting by the population).
Hahnel argues that a Participatory Economy will return empathy to our purchasing
choices. Capitalism removes the knowledge of how and by whom a product was made
: When we eat a salad the market systematically deletes information about the mig
rant workers who picked it. [9] By removing the human element from goods, consumer
s only consider their own satisfaction and need when consuming products. Introdu
cing worker and consumer councils would reintroduce the knowledge of where, how,

and by whom products were manufactured. A Participatory Economy is expected to

also introduce more socially oriented goods, such as parks, clean air, and publi
c health care, through the interaction of the two councils.
For those that call the Participatory Economy utopian, Albert and Hahnel counter
:[9]
Are we being utopian? It is utopian to expect more from a system than it can pos
sibly deliver. To expect equality and justice or even rationality from capitalism i
s utopian. To expect social solidarity from markets, or self-management from cen
tral planning, is equally utopian. To argue that competition can yield empathy o
r that authoritarianism can promote initiative or that keeping most people from
decision making can employ human potential most fully: these are utopian fantasi
es without question. But to recognize human potentials and to seek to embody the
ir development into a set of economic institutions and then to expect those inst
itutions to encourage desirable outcomes is no more than reasonable theorizing.
What is utopian is not planting new seeds but expecting flowers from dying weeds
.
Anarchism
Anarchist communism, a hybrid of communism and anarchism advocating (among other
s) decision making by direct and/or consensus democracy, abolition of the state,
and abolition of private ownership of the means of production.
Post-scarcity anarchism, an economic system based on social ecology, libertarian
municipalism, and an abundance of fundamental resources.
Anarcho-syndicalism, an ideology centred on self-management of labour, socialism
, and direct democracy.
Other
Economic democracy, a socioeconomic philosophy that retains a market economy, bu
t establishes democratic control of firms by their workers, and social control o
f investment by a network of public banks.[10]
Heritage Check System, a socioeconomic plan that retains a market economy, but r
emoves fractional reserve lending power from banks, and limits government printi
ng of money to offset deflation with money printed being used to buy materials t
o back the currency, pay for government programs in lieu of taxes, with the rema
inder to be split evenly among all citizens to stimulate the economy (termed a "
heritage check" for which the system is named). As presented by the original aut
hor of the idea, Robert Heinlein, in his book For Us, The Living: A Comedy of Cu
stoms, the system would be self-reinforcing, and eventually result in a regular
heritage checks able to provide a modest living for most citizens.[11]