Gar Alperovitz – A New Economic Paradigm (interview)
When something doesn’t work you either get it fixed or replace it. Makes sense right? Take capitalism. It careens from crisis to crisis. It has systemic structural problems. The traditional remedies, such as legislative reform, don’t work or if they do they are soon outflanked by power brokers who know how to game the rules. The Great Recession continues. Discontent and anger are growing. The Occupy movement has illuminated how deeply the deck is stacked against the ordinary citizen. It is past time to look at alternatives in how the economy is organized. Fundamental changes are required. It may take a long time but seeds are now being sown. There are bottom-up grassroots efforts quietly going on that suggest a different model. There is an emerging “new economy” which empower communities and workers, not corporations.
Gar Alperovitz is Professor of Political Economy at the University of Maryland and co-founder of the Democracy Collaborative. He is the author of numerous books, including “Making a Place For Community,” and “America Beyond Capitalism.”