The Defetishized Society: New Economic Democracy as a Libertarian Alternative to Capitalism PDF
Preview The Defetishized Society: New Economic Democracy as a Libertarian Alternative to Capitalism
THE DEFETISHIZED SOCIETY THE DEFETISHIZED SOCIETY NEW ECONOMIC DEMOCRACY AS A LIBERTARIAN ALTERNATIVE TO CAPITALISM CHRIS WYATT 2011 Continuum International Publishing Group 80 Maiden Lane, New York, NY 10038 Th e Tower Building, 11 York Road, London SE1 7NX www.continuumbooks.com © 2011 by Chris Wyatt All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publishers. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. EISBN: 978-1-4411-8171-8 Typeset by Newgen Imaging Systems Pvt Ltd, Chennai, India Printed and bound in the United States of America For my mother; in loving memory, my father Contents Acknowledgements ix Introduction 1 Th e Problem 11 Th e Solution 14 Th e Solution in Organizational Terms 16 Sociological Tendencies that Prefi gure New Economic Democracy 21 Structure of the Book 25 SECTION I COMMODITY FETISHISM, ANTIFETISHISM AND NEW ECONOMIC DEMOCRACY 31 Chapter 1 Th e Fetish Character of the Commodity Form and Defetishization 33 Part One: Marx and Commodity Fetishism 33 Part Two: Anti-Fetishism 40 Chapter 2 Radical Political Economy and the Constitution of New Economic Democracy 48 Part One: Th e Mondragon Cooperative Experience 49 Part Two: Th e Organizational Bases to New Economic Democracy 60 Part Th ree: Th e Plan-Market Synthesis 69 SECTION II DEFETISHIZATION IN THE ECONOMY OF NEW ECONOMIC DEMOCRACY 95 Chapter 3 Superseding Alienation 97 Part One: Alienation and Dealienation 97 vii viii CONTENTS Part Two: Creative Labour in New Economic Democracy 114 Part Th ree: Dealienated Consumption 135 Chapter 4 Towards a New Economic Democracy Critique of Oligarchy 143 Part One: Oligarchy Inevitable 144 Part Two: G. D. H. Cole and Functional Democracy 147 Part Th ree: Rationale 151 Chapter 5 Th e Th eories of Transaction Costs and Membership Lethargy 153 Part One: Th e Entrenchment of Oligarchic Control 154 Part Two: Th e Division of Function, Monopoly of Expertise and the Indispensability of Leadership 156 Part Th ree: Expertise 163 Part Four: Membership Lethargy 169 Chapter 6 A Th eory of Elite Control 176 Part One: Autocratic Tendencies of Leadership 176 Part Two: Th e Exercise of Power and its Psychological Reaction upon the Leaders 182 Part Th ree: Th e Social Councils 192 Chapter 7 Conclusion 200 Part One: Th e Political Economy of the Defetishized Society Reiterated 201 Part Two: New Economic Democracy: Th e Defetishized Society 210 Bibliography 222 Index 231 Acknowledgements I would fi rst like to acknowledge Neil Stammers, Mark Erickson and Neil Curry for reading through early draft s of the introductory chapter, their comments on the outline of the book proved to be invaluable, and were gratefully received. My many conversations with Darrow Schecter served a similar purpose; Darrow’s work and teachings continue to be a great source of inspiration to me and all who know him. I am indebted to all four. Further thanks goes to Marie-Claire and all at Continuum for their ongoing support and encouragement during the process of writing the book. On a personal note, I would like to extend my gratitude to Andy Winter, Jewls Wingfi eld and Sarah Miles for the laudable work they do; their teachings have helped make the stress of writing the book (almost) manageable. Finally, my thanks go to all my colleagues and students at the School of Applied Social Science for making the University of Brighton such a stimulating, and humorous, place to work. ix
Description:The list of books you might like
