Brundenius Reflections on Socialism in the Twenty-First Century

Facing Market Liberalism, Rising Inequalities and the Environmental Imperative
1. Auflage 2020
ISBN: 978-3-030-33920-3
Verlag: Springer International Publishing
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 252 Seiten

Reihe: Economics and Finance (R0)

In this volume, the authors reflect on the question 'what is socialism' as it pertains to today's economy. There is particular emphasis on democratic socialism models as a potential alternative to classic authoritarian socialism. A number of topical questions are addressed such as: What is democratic socialism and is it feasible, or even viable? What can be learnt from existing democratic socialist experiences? What would an ideal democratic socialist society look like today? Under what circumstances, and where, could such a model emerge today? In exploring these questions, several themes arise within these chapters such as the role of socialist values and inspirations in capitalist societies; and how capitalism and socialism relate to the knowledge economy. The contemporary world is showing many contradictions with uncertain future scenarios that preoccupy mankind. The global capitalist system as we know it is in deep crisis-and some even predict its slow death, because of its inability to handle the environmental imperative. At the same time, classic socialism as experienced in the Soviet Union and its proxies is a stone dead alternative to capitalism today. So what options remain? The book considers this question as it examines a range of countries where socialism (in one form or another) has arisen, or where democratic socialism could be possible, including Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Sweden and the United States.

Claes Brundenius is Professor Emeritus at the Lund School of Economics and Management, Lund University, Lund, Sweden. He is also Professorial Fellow at UNU-MERIT, Maastricht, the Netherlands. His research field is economic development and the political economy of science and technology. He has worked at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris, France and also for international agencies in Latin America, Africa and Asia. He has written extensively on economic and social development in Latin America, Africa and Asia, especially on the role of science, technology and innovation.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Brundenius, Claes

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1;Acknowledgements;5
2;Contents;6
3;Contributors;8
4;Chapter 1: Introduction;9
4.1;Widening Income and Wealth Gaps;10
4.2;Sustainable Development and the Environmental Imperative;11
4.3;Neoliberalism: From Casino Capitalism to Voodoo Economics;11
4.4;Is There a Nordic Model?;13
4.5;The Nordic Countries in Comparison with other OECD Countries - 2018;14
4.6;So Why Socialism?;16
4.6.1;The Book Project;17
4.6.2;Democratic Socialism and Karl Polanyi;18
4.6.3;What This Volume Is About;19
4.7;References;23
5;Chapter 2: Possible Socialisms and the Challenges of the Globalizing Learning Economy in the Anthropocene Age;25
5.1;Introduction;25
5.2;Why Socialism? Classical Arguments;26
5.2.1;Ending the Exploitation of the Working Class;26
5.2.2;Socializing the Means of Production;26
5.2.3;Preventing Economic Crises and Unemployment;27
5.2.4;Planning for the Future;28
5.2.5;Building Science-Based Societies;28
5.2.6;Are the Classical Arguments Still Valid in the Globalizing Learning Economy?;29
5.3;Why Socialism? Contemporary Reasons;30
5.3.1;Ending Exploitation (in and) Between Countries;30
5.3.2;Inclusive Political and Socioeconomic Systems;31
5.3.3;Social Democracy in One Country?;31
5.3.4;Constructive Answers to Global Challenges;32
5.3.5;Planning in the Anthropocene;33
5.3.6;Democracy and Planning;36
5.3.7;On the Role of Innovation, Knowledge, and Learning in Socialist Planning;38
5.4;What Kind of Socialism?;39
5.4.1;China: A Flexible Autarchy?;40
5.4.2;China’s Attempts to Build a Knowledge-Based Economy;41
5.4.3;China Engages in Developing Green Technologies;43
5.4.4;Lessons to Be Learned from the China Case;44
5.4.5;China and the Outside World;44
5.5;How to Get There;45
5.5.1;Revolution and Reform;45
5.5.2;Can Socialism Grow Within and Behind The Back of Capitalism?;46
5.5.3;The UN Sustainable Development Goals;48
5.6;Conclusion;49
5.7;References;51
6;Chapter 3: Social Democracy and the Fate of the Swedish Model;54
6.1;Introduction;54
6.2;Seeds of the Early Century;56
6.2.1;1917: On the Brink of a Swedish Revolution?;57
6.2.2;October 1917: Coalition Government with the Liberal Party;58
6.2.3;The 1920 Party Congress: A Radicalized Social Democratic Party;58
6.2.4;Incipient Struggle for Industrial and Economic Democracy;59
6.3;The Birth of a Swedish Model;60
6.3.1;Family Policy;61
6.3.2;The Beginning of a Housing Policy;61
6.3.3;“The Saltsjöbaden Spirit”: A Historical Compromise;62
6.4;The Postwar Program and the Debate on “the Planned Economy”;63
6.4.1;The Debate on “the Planned Economy”;64
6.4.2;Did Social Democracy Change Ideology at This Point: Or a Tactical Retreat?;65
6.4.3;Lewin’s Dissenting View on SAP’s Ideological Development;66
6.5;“Harvest Time”: The Golden Welfare Years (1945–1975);68
6.5.1;The Rehn-Meidner Model: Equality and Full Employment with Low Inflation;69
6.5.2;ATP: A General but Targeted Pension System;70
6.5.3;The “Guest Workers”;71
6.6;Wage Earner Funds and the End of Social Democratic Hegemony;73
6.6.1;The Wage Earner Funds: The Quest for Economic Democracy;74
6.6.1.1;The 1971 LO Congress;75
6.6.1.2;The Report to the LO Congress in 1976;76
6.6.1.3;A Government Committee to Study the “The Viability of Wage Earner Funds in Sweden”;77
6.6.1.4;The SAP-LO Joint Proposals in 1978 and in 1981;79
6.6.2;The Fate of the Wage Earner Funds;79
6.6.3;Why Did the Original Wage Earner Fund Idea Fail?;80
6.6.4;What Was Palme’s Position?;81
6.6.5;Historical Precedents of Collective Wage Earner Funds;82
6.6.6;Debates on the Law on Wage Earner Funds Outside Sweden;82
6.7;The 1980s: “The Market” Takes Over;83
6.7.1;From Public Expenditure to Household Debt;84
6.7.2;Deregulation of Credit Markets;84
6.7.3;The End of the Rehn-Meidner Model;85
6.7.3.1;Overhaul of the Tax System;86
6.8;Systemic Change;86
6.8.1;SAP’s Return to Power;87
6.8.2;Decentralizing School Management and the Beginning of Privatization of Education;88
6.8.2.1;An Unexpected Inspirer;89
6.8.3;Retrenchment of Entitlements;90
6.8.3.1;The Stop Law;91
6.8.4;The Freedom of Choice Law;91
6.8.5;A New Pension System;92
6.8.6;From Housing as an Entitlement to Housing as a Market;93
6.8.6.1;Increasing Income and Wealth Concentration;94
6.8.7;Privatization and the Reduction of the Public Sector;97
6.8.8;The Transformation of the Health Sector;98
6.8.8.1;A New Labor Market;99
6.9;Whither Swedish Social Democracy?;100
6.9.1;How Could It End Up Like This?;100
6.9.2;The New Reformists;101
6.10;Annex Tables;103
6.11;References;105
7;Chapter 4: The Rise of Socialism in the United States: American “Exceptionalism” and the Left After 2016;110
7.1;A New Socialist Movement?;110
7.2;Origins of the Socialist Revival;111
7.3;Why Was There No Socialism in America?;118
7.4;Labor and the Welfare State in Postwar America;120
7.5;Social Democratic Decline and the Future of the Left;123
7.6;Challenges for an Emerging Left;127
7.7;Conclusion;130
7.8;Annex: What Is Democratic Socialism?;130
7.8.1;Doesn’t Socialism Mean that the Government Will Own and Run Everything?;130
7.8.2;Hasn’t Socialism Been Discredited by the Collapse of Communism in the USSR and Eastern Europe?;131
7.8.3;Private Corporations Seem to Be a Permanent Fixture in the USA, So Why Work Toward Socialism?;132
7.8.4;Won’t Socialism Be Impractical Because People Will Lose Their Incentive to Work?;132
7.8.5;Why Are There No Models of Democratic Socialism?;132
7.8.6;But Hasn’t the European Social Democratic Experiment Failed?;133
7.8.7;Aren’t You a Party That’s in Competition with the Democratic Party for Votes and Support?;133
7.8.8;If I Am Going to Devote Time to Politics, Why Shouldn’t I Focus on Something More Immediate?;134
7.8.9;What Can Young People Do to Move the USA Toward Socialism?;134
7.8.10;If So Many People Misunderstand Socialism, Why Continue to Use the Word?;135
7.9;Bibliography;135
8;Chapter 5: The Allende Government’s Attempt to Achieve Major Transformations in Chile: Lessons from Hope and Failure;138
8.1;What Does This Experience Teach Us?;140
8.1.1;Valuing Memory;140
8.1.2;From Where Does One Observe History?;140
8.1.3;Three Main Questions;141
8.2;Yes, Allende’s Program Was Viable;142
8.2.1;Why the Program Became Unviable;143
8.2.2;Five Factors That Deviated the Course from Originally Planned;143
8.2.3;Main Lessons from a Unique Historical Event;147
8.2.4;History and the Future;148
8.3;Annex 1;149
8.3.1;Extracts from the Popular Unity Government Program;149
8.3.1.1;What Has Failed in Chile Is the System;149
8.3.1.2;The Strengthening of Democracy and Working Class Progress;149
8.3.1.3;The Construction of the New Economy;150
8.3.1.4;Intensification and Extension of the Agrarian Reform;150
8.3.1.5;The Popular Unity Government Foreign Policy;151
8.4;Annex 2;151
8.4.1;First 40 Measures of the Popular Unity Program;151
8.5;Further Reading;154
9;Chapter 6: Reflections on Socialism;156
9.1;The Utopia;156
9.2;The Pathways to Socialism;157
10;Chapter 7: Tribute to Paul Singer (1932–2018): A Socialist Activist;161
10.1;Lula’s Government and PT Socialism (“Socialismo Petista”);163
10.2;Comments on Paul Singer’s Socialism;166
11;Chapter 8: Cuban Socialism at 60: Old Aspirations and New Realities;172
11.1;Introduction;172
11.1.1;The Transition Phase 1959–1961;172
11.1.2;Utopian Phase 1962–1970;174
11.1.3;1970–1985 Growth with Equity;176
11.1.4;Cuba a New Taiwan?;177
11.1.5;Stagnation 1986–1989;177
11.2;1990–1993: A Disastrous Collapse of the Economy;178
11.3;1994–2010: “The Special Period” and Erratic “Wait and See” Reforms;179
11.4;2011–2018: “Updating” the Cuban Economic Model;179
11.5;A Thaw in the US–Cuban Relations: A New Opportunity?;181
11.6;From Sugar Dependency to Dependency on Tourism and Medical Services;184
11.7;Impact of the Venezuelan Crisis on Cuba;185
11.8;A New Great Debate?;186
11.9;The New Constitution in 2019—A Step in the Right Direction?;187
11.10;Some Reflections on Cuban Socialism and Its Future;190
11.11;References;192
12;Chapter 9: Who Can Save Us from Ourselves?;194
12.1;References;201
13;Chapter 10: Ecosocialism: A Radical Alternative;203
13.1;Introduction;203
13.2;Democratic Ecological Planning;204
13.3;The Growth Question;206
13.4;Intellectual Roots;208
13.5;Why Environmentalists Need to Be Socialists;210
13.6;Why Socialists Need to Be Environmentalists;212
13.7;Ecosocialism and a Great Transition;213
13.8;References;214
14;Chapter 11: Towards a Socialist Technology;215
14.1;Introduction;215
14.2;On the Difficulties of Thinking on Technology of Socialist Inspiration;218
14.3;Technology of Socialist Inspiration in the Making: Technology and Work;220
14.4;Technology of Socialist Inspiration in the Making: Technology and Everyday Life;226
14.5;Looking Ahead: Promising Trends and Fields of Action;229
14.6;References;231
15;Chapter 12: The Socialism of Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow;233
15.1;What Was Socialism About?;233
15.2;What Is Left?;235
15.3;A Point of Entry: Values Come First;236
15.4;From Values to Struggles: And Back;237
15.5;Some Elements for a Factual Approach;238
15.6;About Trends and Challenges;242
15.7;On Democracy;244
15.8;A Look at Ideological Power;247
15.9;Some Elements for Proposals;248
15.10;A New Opportunity?;250
15.11;References;251