Dennis, do you really want to get the market socialist debate started again? I'm out of it, too busy right now. I will say that the analytical Marxists, or whatever they are now, have started a "real utopias" project, and are issduing a series of books describing institutional alternatives. So far, Phillipe van Parijs has a book on Real Freedom for All, sort of a basic income proposal; there's a thing by Roemer that I have but haven't read, on equality; and Bowles and Gintis have a book I haven't even bought yet.
Personally, apart from thinking that Schweickartian market socialism is our best alternative, my view is this: capitalism is not foreover, no social system is. It's probably around for the long haul, though, this century anyway; we might be surprised, but it's pretty resilient. It's facing some pressure from antiglobalization, but I am still enough of a historical materialist to think that it won't be in real trouble till enough of the working classes get fed up with it. For them to do so will require what Gorby used to call thinking in a new way; recycling Marxist pieties, repeated asservations that the old man got everything right the first time, and yearning for the days of mass Marxist parties is a recipe for political irrelevance. And we do need credible alternative models, or no one's gonna listen. I also think that alternatives that leave the major productive assets in private hands, like basic income proposals, are doomed; as long as that obtains, there will be ruling classes that can make sure that the reforms never really go too far, or far enough.
jks
>
>I'd be glad to read some intelligent, probing answers to DP's questions.
>
>JS
> > Questions for the room: Is capitalism permanent? Is there another
>economic
>model beyond capitalism, apart from socialism (which seems to lag behind
>its
>tormentor)? Has capitalism absorbed the socialist critique to the degree
>that the socialist critique no longer matters outside academic circles? I'm
>no economist or economic thinker, but I've been thinking about this quite a
>lot lately, and knew that many of you here would provide intelligent,
>probing answers. Thanks.
>
> DP
_________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp.