Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Looking Forward: Participatory Economics in the Twenty First Century by Michael Albert, Robin Hahnel ISBN: 0-89608-405-1 Publisher: South End Press Pub. Date: December, 1990 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.25 (4 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A Workable Vision of A Better Society
Comment: Yet another great book from Robin and Michael decribing a post-capitalist economic system which avoids the pitfalls of market socialism and is more in-depth and coherent than other post-capitalist economic visions (guild socialism, anarcho-syndicalism, etc.).
I highly recommend this book, along with all of Albert and Hahnel's other works.
Also, I'd like to respond to the previous reviewer's horrified proclamation that "this study involves the author's absolute ignorance regarding the freedom of musicians and artists." In actuality, both Albert and Hahnel have written extensively about this particular problem. Both authors have differing viewpoints in regard to the role of artists in a participatory economy.
Albert says, basically, that the work of an artist should be treated like any other kind of work. And they should have balanced job complexes just like everyone else (gasp!). They must, in the previous reviewer's words, "participate in menial, rote labour in an effort to further enrich society as a whole and close the gaps between [classes]."
Yeah? And? Doesn't that just make sense? If we want an egalitarian society, we can't have certain individuals doing all the meaningless, rote tasks and others living lives filled with enriching and empowering work.
Albert replies to the question of whether "parecon would limit individual artistic creativity by what art to produce by referendum or committee"...
"Do you think this because artists, like producers of vehicles, get resources to work with (outputs of other people's efforts) or are allotted income for their work (and a claim on the social product) only insofar as their work, overall, is respected in the economy? I don't see why.In fact, quite the contrary. By (1) elevating diversity and self management parecon greatly promotes exploration and attitudes conducive to it, and (2) by allocating resources and tools and time self-consciously, it removes the impact of power or misdistribution of (voting rights) on the allocations, reducing the built-in tendency for "popularity" to outweigh "innovation" without any real assessment being made of the value of innovation.If you mean to point out that it would be within the purview of society to decree that some type innovation is unwanted or unlikely to be successful and that resources shouldn't be given over to it - yes, that is true - for art as for innovation in, say, how to electrocute people better, or for that matter, how to make better ladders, say, or whatever. But the assumption that in a parecon the population would not want musical and artistic innovation pursued by those with talents and creativity, in their own manner as they evolve their dispositions and talents, seems to me very very dubious. I should think the opposite would be true, overwhelmingly. What people currently like would be part of the issue in parecon - for sure. But it isn't the whole of it, as you are about to indicate, I bet. For one thing, smaller groups can like things a lot, making them very worthwhile even though not widely appreciated. But also, at a moment in time, much of what is pursued - not only in art, but in many dimensions of life, say science, engineering experimentation, etc. - is not yet appreciated beyond those who are trying to explore it (maybe not even entirely by them). Art is not special in this respect, in fact. So there is need for exploration and elaboration of art, music, and ideas and information and innovation more generally, that moves out beyond where taste currently is. Sure. But there is nothing about parecon that precludes or even impedes this relative to any other model I am aware of, much less capitalism...quite the contrary. Imagine a workplace for musicians. Society respects this workplace and includes it as part of the economy because it values music, including innovation. To work at this institution (and in different parecons we can imagine different instances, etc.) one has to be hired which likely entails demonstrating certain knowledge, talent, etc. The institution's budget is allocated internally to various activities, by its members, and therefore certainly not only to what a mass audience outside already likes. It really isn't much different in that respect than a workplace investigating new products, if you think about it."
So, I don't think they are ignorant of this problem. I think their solution simply makes sense, in a better economy. By the way, you don't submit your art to "the masses" but, instead, to committees of your fellow artists (whereas, in capitalism, you have to submit it to publishers, record labels, etc... who are generally only concerned with making a profit).
Anyway, buy the book.
Rating: 2
Summary: obscured socialist propoganda
Comment: "Looking Forward" is an intrinsically flawed study of a prospective socialist society that relies far too heavily on misperceptions regarding human nature. At the risk of resembling an elitist, I am tempted to argue that Albert and Hahnel have utterly failed to contemplate the absolute impossibility of "elevating" certain class structures to a more uniformily productive and effecient labour structure. Parts of the presented economic theory are only possible in an imaginary world created by intellectually motivated revisionists.
Without doubt, the most frightening aspect of this study involves the authors' absolute ignorance regarding the freedom of musicians and artists. Our planet would suffer immensely in a system that so blatantly places publishing and distribution decisions so entirely on the masses. The authors go so far as to suggest, theoretically, that a genius the likes of Mozart must sacrifice artistic productivity and expression...participate in menial, rote labour...in an effort to further enrich society as a whole and close the gaps between class-systems. This would only further create the archetype for Marx's "self-alienated" man. Human beings are born with the innate right to create and share deeply emotional art without fear of persecution by a council which seeks to project supply, etc.
Creative use of quotations to validate an otherwise poor piece of literature. A particularly premature and underdeveloped stance on socialized health. Roll over Beethoven, roll over Marx.
Rating: 5
Summary: Anarchist visions...
Comment: Looking Forward is the introductory manifesto of the participatory economics movement. The book is meant to give anarchists, socialist-libertarians, and idealists in general a positive alternative to capitalism, centralized economies, and market socialism.
It is always interesting how one can draw comparisons between the far right and the far left. Milton Friedman, in Capitalism and Freedom, told us that the way to preserve freedom is to centralize information and disperse power. This is the essence of participatory economics.
Power is dispersed among all citizens, even to the extent that all have equally empowering job complexs (referring to the amount of authority and conceptual work). This way there is a double check against the libertarian fear of power players-- equal access to resources and equal empowerment.
And, the more novel feature of this system, information is centralized and avaliable to all. This is for the purpose of planning one's consumption bundle and work proposal. If, for example, I discover that there is a shortage of steel, I might postpone the purchase of a car, in order to get a better (artificially determined) price next year and also to relieve the strain on the workers in the industry.
But why would anyone care about the workers? This is one of the key contrasts between PE and capitalism. Hahnel and Albert argue that if people have the information and the power to help and consider others, then it will be done. In capitalism, we need know nothing about the conditions under which most of what we consume is made. Under PE, we would. By removing the disincentives to human compassion, our social nature is allowed to flourish.
While Looking Forward gives a clear outline of PE, it is too ambiguous at points. Hahnel and ALbert seem to respond to difficulties with generalizations. They do, however, refer the reader to other works meant to fill the gaps-- The Political Economy of Participatory Economics, Liberating Theory, and The Quiet Revolution in Welfare Economics.
If you want to know what the modern anarchist ideal looks like, in which poverty is no longer "necessary" and human sociality is cultivated, read this book.
 |
Title: The Political Economy of Participatory Economics by Michael Albert, Robin Hahnel ISBN: 069100384X Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr Pub. Date: 20 March, 1991 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
 |
Title: Moving Forward: Program for a Participatory Economy by Michael Albert ISBN: 1902593413 Publisher: AK Pr Distribution Pub. Date: September, 2001 List Price(USD): $11.95 |
 |
Title: Parecon: Life After Capitalism by Michael Albert ISBN: 185984698X Publisher: Verso Books Pub. Date: April, 2003 List Price(USD): $21.00 |
 |
Title: Why Read Marx Today? by Jonathan Wolff ISBN: 0192803352 Publisher: Oxford Press Pub. Date: September, 2002 List Price(USD): $22.00 |
 |
Title: Karl Marx: Selected Writings by David McLellan, Karl Marx ISBN: 0198782659 Publisher: Oxford Press Pub. Date: July, 2000 List Price(USD): $31.95 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
