How to be an anticapitalist for the 21st century Erik Olin Wright University of Wisconsin – Madison April 2017

the central question Is it possible to have a viable strategy for transforming and transcending the fundamental structures of capitalism as an economic system? Hayek’s warning in the fatal conceit

Strategic logics of Anti-Capitalism Goal of Strategy Neutralizing harms Transcending structures Primary locus of strategy The state Taming capitalism Smashing Capitalism Civil Society Escaping Capitalism Eroding capitalism

Strategic logics of Anti-Capitalism Transcending structures Goal of Strategy Neutralizing harms Transcending structures Primary locus of strategy The state Taming capitalism Smashing Capitalism Civil Society Escaping Capitalism Eroding capitalism

Strategic logics of Anti-Capitalism Transcending structures Goal of Strategy Neutralizing harms Transcending structures Primary locus of strategy The state Taming capitalism Smashing Capitalism Civil Society Escaping Capitalism Eroding capitalism

Strategic logics of Anti-Capitalism Transcending structures Goal of Strategy Neutralizing harms Transcending structures Primary locus of strategy The state Taming capitalism Smashing Capitalism Civil Society Escaping Capitalism Eroding capitalism

Strategic logics of Anti-Capitalism Transcending structures Goal of Strategy Neutralizing harms Transcending structures Primary locus of strategy The state Taming capitalism Smashing Capitalism Civil Society Escaping Capitalism Eroding capitalism

Strategic logics of Anti-Capitalism Transcending structures Goal of Strategy Neutralizing harms Transcending structures Primary locus of strategy The state Taming capitalism Smashing Capitalism Civil Society Resisting Capitalism Eroding capitalism

Strategic logics of Anti-Capitalism Transcending structures Goal of Strategy Neutralizing harms Transcending structures Primary locus of strategy The state Taming capitalism Smashing Capitalism Civil Society Resisting Capitalism Escaping capitalism

Strategic logics of Anti-Capitalism Transcending structures Goal of Strategy Neutralizing harms Transcending structures Primary locus of strategy The state Taming capitalism Smashing Capitalism Civil Society Resisting Capitalism Escaping capitalism Communist movement

Strategic logics of Anti-Capitalism Transcending structures Goal of Strategy Neutralizing harms Transcending structures Primary locus of strategy The state Taming capitalism Smashing Capitalism Civil Society Resisting Capitalism Escaping capitalism Social Democracy & Labor movement Degradation of socialdemocracy comes from severing the anchor in resistance

Strategic logics of Anti-Capitalism Transcending structures Goal of Strategy Neutralizing harms Transcending structures Primary locus of strategy The state Taming capitalism Smashing Capitalism Civil Society Resisting Capitalism Escaping capitalism Social movements

Strategic logics of Anti-Capitalism Transcending structures Goal of Strategy Neutralizing harms Transcending structures Primary locus of strategy The state Taming capitalism Smashing Capitalism Civil Society Resisting Capitalism Escaping capitalism logic of eroding: ecosystem, dominance, eroding dominance. Requires: taming capitalism in ways that expand the potential of building noncapitalist alternatives within an economic structure still dominated by capitalism. Eroding Capitalism

Three additional issues to be resolved: Introduction Three additional issues to be resolved: The destination: what is the alternative? The theory of the state: Can a capitalist state contribute to eroding capitalism? Agency: Who are collective agents for struggle?

Introduction 1. The Destination Socialism as radical, heterogeneous economic democracy: Replace a market-conforming democracy with a democracy-conforming market Expand and deepen the cooperative market economy, the social/solidarity economy, and the peer-to-peer collaborative economy Protect the commons and expand the array of publicly provided goods and services Democratize the corporation

Introduction 1. The Destination Socialism as radical, heterogeneous economic democracy: Replace a market-conforming democracy with a democracy-conforming market Expand and deepen the cooperative market economy, the social/solidarity economy, and the peer-to-peer collaborative economy Protect the commons and expand the array of publicly provided goods and services Democratize the corporation

Introduction 1. The Destination Socialism as radical, heterogeneous economic democracy: Replace a market-conforming democracy with a democracy-conforming market Expand and deepen the cooperative market economy, the social/solidarity economy, and the peer-to-peer collaborative economy Protect the commons and expand the array of publicly provided goods and services Democratize the corporation

Introduction 1. The Destination Socialism as radical, heterogeneous economic democracy: Replace a market-conforming democracy with a democracy-conforming market Expand and deepen the cooperative market economy, the social/solidarity economy, and the peer-to-peer collaborative economy Protect the commons and expand the array of publicly provided goods and services Democratize the corporation

Introduction 1. The Destination Socialism as radical, heterogeneous economic democracy: Replace a market-conforming democracy with a democracy-conforming market Expand and deepen the cooperative market economy, the social/solidarity economy, and the peer-to-peer collaborative economy Protect the commons and expand the array of publicly provided goods and services Democratize the corporation

Introduction 2. The Capitalist State Democratizing democracy to expand the limits of socialist relations within capitalism. The capitalist state is not an optimal instrument for expanding socialist relations in ways that erode the dominance of capitalism, but struggles to deepen the democratic character of the capitalist state are nevertheless possible, and this, in turn can enlarge the space for democratic egalitarian alternatives.

Introduction 3. Agency Constructing a democratic egalitarian coalition for multilayered collective action. There is no ready-made coherent historical subject capable of acting politically to undermine capitalism. This must be constructed by linking diverse non-class identities with the critique of capitalism and the class interests harmed by capitalism. The working class, broadly understood, is at the center of this coalition; but the collective actor is not defined exclusively in class terms.

Introduction Thanks

Introduction

Introduction The Problem We live in a world in which capitalism generates enormous harms and yet to most people it seems like the only way of organizing a complex economic system.

Four Tasks Normative foundations Diagnosis and critique of capitalism Alternatives Transformation: how to get form here to there. Three tasks to resolve this problem A few comments: Diagnosis and critique: this is where the main effort of critical social science has gone. Alternatives Transformation. I am going to focus on the third of these here.