Capitalism has transformed the world and increased our productivity, but at the cost of enormous human suffering. Our shared values-equality and fairness, democracy and freedom, community and solidarity-can both provide the basis for a critique of capitalism, and help to guide us towards a socialist and democratic society. In this elegant book, Erik Olin Wright has distilled decades of work into a concise and tightly argued manifesto analyzing the varieties of anti-capitalism, assessing different strategic approaches, and laying the foundations for a society dedicated to human flourishing. How to Be an Anticapitalist is an urgent and powerful argument for socialism, and a unparalleled guide to help us get there. Another world is possible. Read less
177 pages September 3, 2019
Editorial Reviews
Review “Deserves to be widely read. In 150-odd pages, Wright makes the case for what’s wrong with capitalism, what would be better, and how to achieve it. This is the rare book that can speak to both the faithful and the unconverted. You could buy it for your skeptical uncle or your militant cousin: there is something here for the reader who needs persuading that another world is possible, and the reader who wants ideas for bringing that world into being.” —Ben Tarnoff, Guardian
“His ideas captured the imagination of audiences, intellectuals and activists across the globe … Wright reinvented the meaning of socialism.” —New York Times
“Erik Olin Wright was a visionary writer gifted with the imagination to foresee what life after capitalism might look like, but he was much more than that. He embodied an entire way to think about capitalism and the world: clear, precise, and free of bullshit. This book, his last, should be an indispensable reference point for those who want to change the world for the better.” —Bhaskar Sunkara, founder and publisher of Jacobin magazine
“Erik will be remembered as the most important theorist of class in the second half of the twentieth century, and the greatest Marxist sociologist of his time.” —Vivek Chibber, author of Postcolonial Theory and the Specter of Capital
“Possessed of an unlimited capacity to render his ideas precise and simple, without diluting them, Erik gave activists a vision of a collective project to which each could contribute. Given the resurgent interest in ‘socialism’ among a new generation of thinkers and activists, Erik had an ever-increasing following.” —Michael Burawoy, from the afterword
“[An] eloquent and accessible volume.” —Tom Mayer, Colorado Daily
“An urgent and powerful case for socialism, Wright analyses different sorts of anticapitalism, assessing different strategic approaches, and laying the groundwork for a society dedicated to human flourishing.” —Dazed --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author Erik Olin Wright (1947–2019) was Vilas Distinguished Professor of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin. He authored many books, including Classes, Interrogating Inequality, Class Counts, Deepening Democracy (with Archon Fung), and Envisioning Real Utopias. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
please, i am begging you. you can download a free pdf, read it free in your browser, or even go to an independent bookstore and purchase it there. make mr. wright proud!!
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Allan D. Timke
5.0 out of 5 stars A practical travel guide on the road to democratic socialism.
Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2020
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Wright provides clear guideposts for the activist with a sound, adaptive theoretical base oriented by values essential to the evolution of democratic socialism.
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Mary Ann Reynolds
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, thought inspiring book.
Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2019
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I gave this to my grandson and he likes it very much. Well written.
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Christopher James Martin
5.0 out of 5 stars Than you, EO Wright
Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2021
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The arguments for hope and human flourishing are set up in a clear and concise framework that inspire us to analyze our living conditions an how we can improve and change them. Of course, we still need to develop our strategies and tools in our own specific reality.
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amazonfan83
1.0 out of 5 stars Lots of faults in this text
Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2021
So many flaws in the ideas in this book I don't know where to start. The author fails to acknowledge the human nature and capitalism and that in order to make a profit you must meet the needs of another individual. The author assumes all capitalists are evil and equates their transactions to bribery and dictatorships. When in reality the vast majority are Equitable and fair. The author has the presumption that in a free Society people can't work hard make good decisions and take responsibility for themselves and make a great life as is the case for the vast majority of people in the Free World especially America.
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Robert S Bogner
4.0 out of 5 stars A Spark of Light
Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2020
For those of us who have lost our way in the current political, economic, and social situation; Eric Wright's book gives a glimmer of hope. He explains clearly the problems inherent in the capitalist system, and novel ways for solving them. Although I do not agree with all of is views, I feel that his book is well worth the short time it takes to read it.
Bob Bogner-author
Wilder: A Social Justice Phantasy
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AutonomeusTop Contributor: Classic Rock
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5.0 out of 5 stars Wright's last book, a strategic synthesis for anti-capitalist activists
Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2020
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This short (145-page) book is to some extent a summary of Wright's excellent "Envisioning Real Utopias" (see my review). However, there are significant changes -- an update to his thinking.
The normative foundations for the anti-capitalist project are equality/fairness, democracy/freedom, and community/solidarity.
Wright rejects the strategy of "smashing" capitalism through a Leninist revolution. His argument is that the evidence is strong that this will not lead to a democratic outcome. But rather than select one, he promotes the use of all four of the other strategies in combination. Two are state-centered, what he calls strategies that aim to change the "rules of the game" -- dismantling capitalism involves building up socialist institutions that replace capitalist institutions, while taming capitalism involves creating safety nets like social security to protect people from the harms of capitalism. Two are autonomous from the state and act on the level of "moves in the game" -- escaping capitalism by creating cooperatives, while social movements engage in resisting capitalism.
Wright promotes combining all four strategies into one, which he calls "eroding" capitalism. Key to his theoretical logic is the idea that "capitalist society" is not entirely capitalist, and that the non-capitalist sectors of the "ecosystem" can be expanded -- they don't have to be created out of nothing.
One long chapter addresses socialism as economic democracy. Another addresses democratizing the state. And in a key shift, Wright addresses the "agents of transformation," emphasizing the importance of not only interests (as in class interest), but identities and values. He argues that class has turned out to be far more complex than Marx foresaw, and that both coalitions of identities and common values are key in the 21st century movement against capitalism.
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We lost Erik to cancer in 2019. He was 71. He leaves a valuable legacy in the form of his many publications researching class. And with "Envisioning Real Utopias" and "How to be an Anti-capitalist in the 21st Century," he leaves us with some hard-fought insights into how to create a more just, egalitarian world.
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Herman Norford
4.0 out of 5 stars Hail the New Democratic Utopia
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 10, 2021
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In the preface to this engaging book, How to be an Anti-capitalist in the 21st Century, Eric Olin Wright tells the reader that the book was originally conceived as a streamlined distillation of arguments in what appears to have been a more academic book – namely Envisioning Real Utopias. In another twist of the book Wright points out that he is arguing in favour of “democratic market socialism”. He chose the title of the book because an important part of his argument is relevant to people who oppose capitalism but in regards to socialism they are sceptical.
In order to make a case against capitalism, the book begins by setting out the pros and cons of capitalism. From a positive perspective, capitalism has provided technological innovation, a wide availability of consumer goods, etc. On the negative side, capitalism has increased inequality of wealth, a precarious life for many, destruction of the environment, etc. A fundamental question arises as to whether it is possible to have the positive aspects of capitalism without the harms it engenders? Margaret Thatcher’s dictum that “there is no alternative” is simply false. According to Wright another way is possible so the main aim of the book is to show how human beings can flourish under a different way of living.
In his diagnosis and critique of capitalism, Wright strives to show that pitted against his criteria of values (that is equality/fairness, democracy/freedom, community/solidarity), capitalism fails badly. To some extent that is true as anyone interested in matters such as the operation and dynamics of capitalism would realize that some of the criticisms raised by Wright are well known. For example, we know that the dynamics of economic growth can be disruptive and devastating to workers who may be laid off work because of competition and technological change. Nonetheless, the usefulness of How to be an Anti-capitalist is that some of the common placed knowledge that we take for granted and never consider until they are directly relevant to us are clearly and cogently argued.
When it comes to what is to be done to realize a different social order from that of capitalism, Wright again undogmatically argues for a synthesis of different strategies that have historically been presented as a means of getting rid of capitalism. He calls his approach “eroding capitalism”. This approach Wright believes, “offers the most plausible strategic vision for transcending capitalism in the twenty-first century”. However, although Wright is good at revealing the intricacies and problems of the different strategies that aim to tackle the ill effects of capitalism, nonetheless, just as the strategies are complex and messy so too the message that Wright conveys becomes complex and messy.
Socialism carries a heavy weight of negative baggage. So understandably Wright wants to rethink the idea of socialism. His reformation of socialism is “a power-centred socialism” in which power is: “rooted in the capacity to mobilize people for cooperative, voluntary collective action”. In order to realize this reformation of socialism, I would have liked Wright to explore an aspect of the psychology of humans. A psychology that, despite the ill effects of capitalism, still motivates us to support and maintain it. Some questions to ask would be: can we break free from the shackles of a capitalist psychology that binds us to its operation? Are we doomed to be forever caught up in the nexus of capitalism? Is it individual greed that motivates us to maintain capitalism? I suspect that these profound issues were outside the scope of Wright’s short book.
How to be an Anti-capitalist is a carefully mapped out plan and one senses a comprehensive approach to another way of living. Along the road one encounter signs pointing to the structures in which the new economy would function. By way of example, there are unconditional basic income, a cooperative market economy, an economy where the emphasis is social solidarity and democratizing capitalist firms.
Sections of the book give a feeling that one is reading a manifesto. It gives a detailed outline of what should replace capitalism. If the book is to be called a manifesto, it is a broadly optimistic one. Wright seems to have answers for all the criticisms and obstacles that he might come up against when implementing his ideas. However, worthwhile and laudable as Wright’s ideas may be, I fear that the optimism they contain when faced with reality might just dissipate.
How to be an Anti-capitalist in the 21st Century is an engaging and worthwhile read. Anyone interested in ideas and another way of living should read this book.
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Iwao
5.0 out of 5 stars Outstandingly clear, concise, and thorough
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 8, 2021
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This is an exceptionally lucid treatment of its subject. It is thorough yet concise. Wright defines his concepts clearly and avoids bombast or oversimplification. His understanding of socialism is one in which markets continue to play an important role, and he considers that moving away from an economy dominated by capitalism is likely to be a gradual rather than revolutionary process. He discusses practical processes and well as ideas. Readers might be surprised to discover how easy it is to be an anti-capitalist, in Wright's terms. They might even discover that they have been anti-capitalists without knowing it! Highly recommended.
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kerstin bjorkquist-murray
5.0 out of 5 stars Perfection
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 23, 2020
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Pleased with quick delivery and perfect product.
All the best. Kerstin
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Alex Markadonis
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books on the subject I have ever read
Reviewed in Canada on February 4, 2020
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Books like Wright's have driven me to contribute to the cooperative and solidarity economies. It is well-written, concise, logical, accessible, and inspiring. I recommend buying and reading Wright's works to anyone interested in living more freely and ethically.
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Cliente Amazon
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing book
Reviewed in Germany on August 25, 2021
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Just read it, please
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How to Be an Anticapitalist in the 21st Century by Erik Olin Wright – review https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/aug/29/how-to-be-anticaptialist-in-21st-century-erik-olin-wright Socialism on the rise? Bernie Sanders holds a rally in New York, 2016. Photograph: Spencer Platt/Getty Images An essential study of what is wrong with capitalism – and how to create a new socialist society
As long as there have been people who called themselves socialists, there have been people arguing about what socialism is. Socialism is a large, fractious family. Many of its members are not on speaking terms, or have a history of killing one another. Meltdowns are common. Differences of opinion that may seem microscopic to outsiders often serve as the basis for centuries-long shouting matches. Yet even in the most dysfunctional family, there are certain resemblances. Whether Fabian or Maoist, Eurocommunist or anarcho-syndicalist, socialists share the desire to create a world without capitalism.
What would such a world look like? And how might we get from here to there? Until recently, very few people in the US and the UK were interested in debating these questions. Socialist movements were in deep retreat. The possibility of a world without capitalism seemed preposterous. In recent years, this possibility has started to look less preposterous. New leftwing momentum in both countries, propelled by popular upheavals and the campaigns of politicians such as Bernie Sanders and Jeremy Corbyn, has put socialist ideas back into circulation. Poll after poll demonstrates the rising popularity of the term. Forty per cent of Americans now say they would rather live in a socialist country than a capitalist one.
One could ask what the respondents mean by socialism – but this is always the question. Competing answers are currently being hashed out in spaces large and small: presidential campaign speeches, Twitter threads, big newspapers, little magazines. Now an important contribution to the conversation has arrived in the form of a new book by the recently deceased Erik Olin Wright, one of America’s best known and most beloved Marxist intellectuals.
How to Be an Anticapitalist in the 21st Century deserves to be widely read. In 150-odd pages, Wright makes the case for what’s wrong with capitalism, what would be better, and how to achieve it. This is the rare book that can speak to both the faithful and the unconverted. You could buy it for your sceptical uncle or your militant cousin: there is something here for the reader who needs persuading that another world is possible, and the reader who wants ideas for bringing that world into being. Monument to Karl Marx in Theatre Square, Moscow. Photograph: Alamy
Wright writes with an unusual combination of clarity, depth and warmth. He engages generously with opposing arguments. He acknowledges difficulty and complexity. He exudes a democratic respect for his reader. Democracy, in fact, is the essence of his socialism. For him, a just society would enact democracy in its deepest sense. He wants a world where everyone has access to the “material and social means necessary to live a flourishing life” and the opportunity “to participate meaningfully in decisions about things that affect their lives”. Capitalism, he argues, prevents us from creating such a world. So he proposes a two-pronged plan for “eroding” it, using the state to shrink capitalism from above while cultivating democratic structures of social ownership from below.
Some of the particulars are more persuasive than others – I don’t share his enthusiasm for universal basic income – but the overall strategy is appealing. It’s an ecumenical approach to social transformation, one in which everyone has a role to play. Those with a more social-democratic sensibility can canvass for candidates and ballot measures; labour-minded people can build unions and worker co-ops; anarchists can run free clinics and community kitchens.
Wright thus brings the warring factions of the socialist family together and sets them to work towards the same goal. He stresses that this goal can’t be precisely known in advance: the specific contours of a socialist society must emerge from democratic experimentation. The “fundamental strategic problem”, he writes, is “how to create the conditions in which sustained democratic experimentalism is possible”. His pluralism is designed to foster those conditions, by seeding new sites of collective decision-making within the cracks of capitalist society.
Yet there is one method that Wright pointedly excludes: revolution, or what he calls “ruptural transformation”. He foresees a gradual transition, not a sharp break. Rupture is too risky, he warns: it never results in “the creation of a democratic, egalitarian, emancipatory alternative”. For evidence, he points to the revolutions of the past. The past is a humbling place for Marxists. While some of the revolutions made in Marx’s name resulted in real achievements, others led to totalitarianisms and atrocities. All failed to “produce the kind of new world envisioned in revolutionary ideology”, as Wright puts it. Forty per cent of Americans now say they would rather live in a socialist country than a capitalist one
The crisis of 20th-century Marxism didn’t just occur at the level of practice, however, but at the level of theory. In the years after Marx’s death, a particular packaging of his ideas had grown dominant under the influence of Friedrich Engels and others. It took a mechanistic view of social dynamics and a deterministic view of historical ones. This crude machinery became synonymous with Marxism in the late 19th century, then cracked under the weight of the 20th, as history unfolded in directions that the old dogmas couldn’t explain. And as Marxism became the official ideology of communist states, it deteriorated further, becoming a devotional relic in a mausoleum, like Lenin’s embalmed corpse.
Different thinkers attempted to resolve this crisis in different ways. Some returned to Marx’s texts to develop new readings of his work. Others borrowed techniques from the mainstream social sciences and analytical philosophy to reconstruct Marxism on what they believed to be a more empirical basis. These were the analytical Marxists, and this was the tradition to which Wright belonged.
The analytical Marxists were famous for discarding large chunks of Marxism that didn’t meet their standards for scientific rigour – “no-bullshit Marxism”, they called their approach. The philosopher GA Cohen, a founder of the school, claimed that Marxism would emerge stronger for “having gone through the corrosive acid of analysis”. But the acid of the analytical Marxists was often so corrosive that not much Marxism remained afterwards. Erik Olin Wright. Photograph: Mike Young
The influence of analytical Marxism can be felt throughout Wright’s book. And, like his colleagues, he arrives at some very unorthodox conclusions, most crucially on the question of class. Class is a subject he knew extremely well: he devoted much of his career to examining its complexities. Here, he concludes that those complexities make class an unsuitable edifice on which to build a socialist movement. In his view, the working class has become too fragmented to play the historic role that Marxism traditionally assigns it. Rather, socialism must be an ethical project. Class is less important than a shared commitment to moral values.
It’s a debatable point, particularly in our present moment. Class is indeed a complicated phenomenon, and Wright’s own scholarship is indispensable for interpreting it. Yet this hasn’t prevented a new class politics from taking shape in recent years. In 2018, more US workers engaged in work stoppages than in any year since 1986. Teacher strikes in several states have helped to nurture a new mood of militancy, while leaders of the working class, such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, are speaking the language of class on the national stage.
This isn’t enough to make socialism, but it suggests that class struggle is far from a spent force. The critical question in the coming years will be how to intensify that struggle before capitalism takes us off a cliff. Climate crisis is discussed only briefly in Wright’s book, but it presents the single largest obstacle to pursuing his slow road to socialism: we may not have the time. While Wright correctly calls our attention to the dangers of rupture, something like rupture may be the least dangerous option for the planet and most of the people living on it.
The challenge will be to avoid replaying the nightmares of the 20th century while facing down the nightmares of the 21st. Wright’s final book embodies the qualities we will need to make it through with our habitat and humanity intact: a clear mind, a generous spirit and a faith in the capacity of people to govern themselves.
How to Be an Anticapitalist in the Twenty-First Century by Erik Olin Wright (Verso Books, £12.99). To order a copy go to guardianbookshop.com. Free UK p&p on all online orders over £15.
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