SOS Alternatives to Capitalism

by Richard Swift

With capitalism vulnerable and out-of-step in the wake of financial crises this book investigates the alternatives that are on offer—including socialism, anarchism, and deep ecology. It picks its way through the pockets of resistant thinking and emerges with paths to changing the world that rest less on rigid ideology imposed from above than on practical transformation from below.

Richard Swift is former editor of New Internationalist magazine and author of the No-Nonsense Guide to Democracy. In 2011, he won the Daniel Singer Millenium Prize for an original essay which helps further socialist ideas.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics

208 pages, Paperback

First published April 21, 2014

About the author

Richard Swift was co-editor for the New Internationalist magazine from1984 to 2007 and is based in Toronto. He has written and broadcast on questions of ecology and democracy for many years. In 2011 he won the Daniel Singer Millennium Prize for an original essay which helps further socialist ideas.

Reviews

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

An economics ignorant and the catechism of his Socialist sect.

[Lucille · Rating 4 out of 5]

A chapter entitled Eco-divide states "It is now pretty obvious that both inequality and growth are built into the very DNA of the capitalist system. Capitalism can never be about selling us less, living in a more modest way, or reducing inequalities to allow us to share with our own societies -- let alone the planet as a whole -- in a sustainable fashion. The 'me first' ethics that underpin consumer culture are in sharp contradiction to the mutuality needed if we are to find a collective way to live more lightly on the earth." Some of Swift's recommendations: prioritize the local in everything, downshift, reduce working hours, revitalize political life, lessen profit seeking and speculative economic activity. These alternatives to capitalism suggest hope for a more appealing future and a chance for collective survival.

[Edwin B · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're an old socialist like me, and haven't had a chance to think much about alternatives to capitalism that lie beyond the discredited dictatorship of the proletariat and the limited vision of social democracy, then here's a book for you.

There's a radical future out there, a better society, an alternative to profit-hungry neo-liberalism. And no, it doesn't involve violently overthrowing the state. But, as you'll discover from reading the book, it does involve an expansion of vision, and an even greater level of commitment, for socialists.

[Joel Schaefer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to learn about viable alternatives and be inspired with a call to action from this book. Instead it seemed to be mostly a rant about the inequalities and problems of our current s stream of economics and being very short on viable or implementable solutions. The rebirth of the commons and a philosophy of degrowth are good starting points for discussion, and I would have likened a longer discussion on how to implement these ideas. The author is clearly very knowledgeable on the subject and did a lot of research, but did not do an adequate job of passing on his knowledge.

[Hailee Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone should be reading this right now.

[Mel Stead]

Review from the March 2017 issue of the Socialist Standard:

https://socialiststandardmyspace.blog...

[rabble.ca]

http://rabble.ca/books/reviews/2014/0...

Review by Errol Sharpe

Richard Swift's book, SOS: Alternatives to Capitalism, is a much needed antidote to the myriad of political clap trap that spouts from our daily newspapers and much of our "left" journalism which suggests that capitalism can be reformed and regulated in such a way that an ecological and economic disaster can be avoided.

Right of the bat, Swift speaks of "species suicide" in reference to what we are doing to the planet, which sets a tone of urgency that is carried throughout the book. Swift says that we need alternatives to capitalism that go beyond economic change and points out that "When our best natures are not suppressed, we can be loving, funny, carefree, courageous, thoughtful and capable of wondrous acts of generosity." The implication clearly is that under capitalism such traits as greed, selfishness, individualism and meanness are promoted. Capitalism thrives on them. The former, not the latter, traits, must drive alternatives to capitalism.

Swift leads us on an exploration of our pre-capitalist roots pointing to the historical reality of different ways of living without falling into the idealistic trait of simply glorifies the past. Following Polanyi he points to an earlier time when the economy was embedded in, and thus in service to, the society. This is in contrast to the present day era of advanced capitalism where society is embedded in and thus in service to, the economy. "Advocates of an alternative to wasteful capitalism," says Swift, "have their roots in past human experience."

In a short chapter, Swift traces the historical roots of capitalism and cautions us that a reading of capitalism that suggests that the bad old days of 'primitive accumulation' and the 'enclosures' are gone avoids the truth that new forms of primitive accumulation have taken their place. The latter stages of capitalism -- neoliberalism and financialization -- are referred to as "casino capitalism" and that there is "no meaning outside the cold calculus of the market."

Swift does not limit his scathing criticism to capitalism, but also to erstwhile versions of socialism.

Read more here: http://rabble.ca/books/reviews/2014/0...

[Mills College Library]

330.122 S9776 2014