Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 8, 2017)
News Page 10 G.A.: A systemic crisis is one in which the basic trends — like inequality, incarceration, civil liberties, ecological sustainability and climate change — get worse decade by decade by decade no matter who is elected, so that the crisis is much deeper than simply politics. What are the fundamental institutions in the system driving the long trends? You can’t change the trends in a positive direction unless you change the institutional design. I think we are in the midst of a profound systemic crisis, and I think it’s time to debate alternatives and begin building many variations on the next system. The renowned historian and economist’s new book calls for a new democratic political economy BY ALEX BECKER CONTRIBUTING WRITER “Ideas are important, but unless you can bring that vision down to earth, it’s just pie- in-the-sky,” Gar Alperovitz said. This philosophy seems to guide much of his work. A distinguished historian, political economist, activist and writer, Alperovitz is well known for his critically acclaimed books on the atomic bomb and atomic diplomacy. He has also written extensively on the subject of building alternative economic systems and, among his many achievements, he was the architect of the first modern steel industry attempt at worker-ownership in Youngstown, Ohio. His latest book, “Principles of a Pluralist Commonwealth,” builds on his vision for a new economy — one that goes “beyond corporate capitalism and state socialism” to create a democratic political economy “from the ground up.” Released online for free by The Next System Project, where Alperovitz serves as cochair, “Principles” is a handbook for activists, organizers and practitioners, weaving together theory and practice and highlighting many examples of “institution building projects” already underway in communities across the country. Alperovitz argues that these projects - which include public banks, worker cooperatives, municipal land trusts and urban farms - can serve as the building blocks for the new democratic society and economy that we so desperately need: the “next system.” In this time of deepening political, economic and ecological crisis, Alperovitz’s vision and extensive research helps readers imagine what is possible and inspires them to roll up their sleeves and get to work making change in their local communities. Alperovitz spoke by phone, discussing his newest book and his perspective on the current political moment. A .B .: What is The Next System Project? G .A .: The Next System Project is an attempt to open a big debate. If you don’t like corporate capitalism and you don’t like state socialism, what really do you want, and how do we get there? On one hand, we have people debating design for systems beyond capitalism and socialism. On the other hand, we look at very specific institutions like public banks in cities or community-owned land or nonprofit structures that provide services - institutions that would, if you build them up piece by piece, begin to look like pieces of a next system. A .B .: In “Principles of a Pluralist Commonwealth,” you argue that we are in the midst o f a “systemic crisis. ” Please explain. Street Roots • Dec 8-14, 2017 Whereas Exxon, for example, as a matter of inherent design of the institution, must sell more oil and must create more problems for the climate. That’s what we mean by institutional or system change - changing the inherent property of institutions. A .B .: You write about the importance of establishing a new institutional basis for progressive politics. In the past, you point out, labor unions provided the backbone for progressive movements. G .A .: M ost progressives who are alive today come out of a progressive vision that assumed corporate capitalism as the fundamental design of the system, but it was A .B.: What is the “Pluralist reformed by politics that would try to Commonwealth ”? establish regulation of the environment or labor laws or Social Security and so forth G.A.: The vision of what I call the without changing the nature of the system. Pluralist Commonwealth is that any viable It wasn’t just politics at the core of the democratic and ecologically sustainable next reform programs, there were also system is going to have plural forms of institutions that gave it real muscle. common ownership. So, for example, Throughout the Western world and the starting at the bottom, the ordinary United States, the cooperative is a most important of particular form of these institutions common or were labor unions. democratic ownership. " Y oh ean*t change the trends They supported A neighborhood land In a positive direction nnless liberalism and they trust in which the supported social yon chang e the Institutional neighborhood owns democracy even housing and land is a design® 1 think we are In the when there were neighborhood form of midst of a profonnd systemic fights within common ownership. A crisis, and I thlnfc I f s time to movements. When I city public utility is a debate alternatives and begin was much younger I larger form. A state worked for Sen. b n lld ln g many variations on bank, as in North Gaylord Nelson, the the n e it system®" Dakota, is somewhat founder of Earth Day. larger. The Tennessee And he was a great Valley Authority, which environmentalist, but covers seven states he was also strongly backed by labor unions and has both power and environmental and could not have been elected without aspects, is a larger publicly owned wealth or labor-union backing. Most people who think utility form. State ownership of nationalized about movement-building forget about the industry, such as the French railroads, or importance of institutions. Now labor unions the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), would be an example. Rather than the vision have gone from 34 percent of the labor force down to 6 percent in the private of state-owned companies in the socialist sector. So one of the tasks of the future vision, I look for different forms of politics, and particularly system change, is democratic ownership based on what is to build new institutions that can also help appropriate to the specific function. So, for build the politics at the same time they example, in land-use it’s probably a change the nature of the institutions. It’s neighborhood or a small cooperative store. both movement-building and institution [It’s important to] look at the functions that building. make sense at different scales, and in all cases honor the principle of democracy while building out a community vision from the ground up. A .B.: How does this vision relate to and intersect with the goals and efforts of social movements? G .A .: It intersects directly, but I think in some cases it’s the next step. It’s not either/ or. For instance, in the environmental movement and the climate change movement, on the one hand there’s a resistance to various forms of institutions that pour CO^ into the environment, and on the other hand there’s installation of solar panels by a worker co-op, or a community- owned windmill, or state-owned windmills. It’s not only resisting and not only legislation and not only movement-building, but also simultaneously generating new institutions that are built to support the vision rather than, as in the Big Oil companies, opposing the vision. We’re trying to build institutions that support democracy and ecological sustainability as a matter of inherent design of the institution. A .B .: Let’s talk about the 2016 U.S. election. A lot o f people are still trying to understand the outcome. G .A .: I think the dangers of real repression or a very right-wing government were always there. One of the reasons is that there is just too much anger and too much loss of power. Labor unions are too weak to support progressive politics, and there’s too much upset and anger available to fuel right-wing politicians all over the world. I think that is why we’ve had this kind of election. In one sense, it’s the collapse of the old traditional liberal alternative — what’s called social democracy in Europe — and part of that is the loss of labor unions. That means that the power balance changes radically in the favor of big corporations and in favor of people with very right-wing politics. We need to change the institutional power balance as well as the politics. We also have to go beyond resistance. Resistance is very important, but See ALPEROVITZ, page 11
