The 99 Percent Economy: How Democratic Socialism Can Overcome the Crises of Capitalism (Clarendon Lectures in Management Studies)

"We live in a time of crises -- economic turmoil, workplace disempowerment, unresponsive government, environmental degradation, social disintegration, and international rivalry. In The 99 Percent Economy, Paul S. Adler, a leading expert on business management, argues that these crises are destined to deepen unless we radically transform our economy. But despair is not an option, and Adler provides a compelling alternative: democratic socialism. He argues that to overcome these crises we need to assert democratic control over the management of both individual enterprises and the entire national economy. To show how that would work, he draws on a surprising source of inspiration: the strategic management processes of many of our largest corporations. In these companies, the strategy process promises to involve and empower workers and to ensure efficiency and innovation. In practice, this promise is rarely realized, but in principle, that process could be consolidated within enterprises and it could be scaled-up to the national level. Standing in the way? Private ownership of society's productive resources, which is the foundation of capitalism's ruthless competition and focus on private gain at the cost of society, the environment, and future generations. Adler shows how socialized, public ownership of our resources will enable democratic councils at the local and national levels to decide on our economic, social, and environmental goals and on how to reach them. The growing concentration of industry makes this socialization step ever easier. Democratic socialism is not a leap into the unknown, Adler shows. Capitalist industry has built the foundations for a world beyond capitalism and its crises." -- Jacket Cover Series The 99 Percent Economy Copyright Contents Introduction: The Argument 1. Six Crises Economic Irrationality Workplace Disempowerment Unresponsive Government Environmental Unsustainability Social Disintegration International Conflict 2. The Root Cause Private Enterprise and Production for Profit Wage Employment within Firms Government’s Subservience to Business Capitalist Enterprise’s Natural Externalities Capitalist Enterprise’s Social Externalities A Hierarchical World Economy 3. A Growing Tension Growing Interdependence of Production Socialized Production versus Private Property 4. The Promise and Limits of Reform Ethical Capitalism? Regulated Capitalism? Social Democracy? Betting on Technology? 5. Managing Our Economy, Democratically and Effectively Managing the Whole Economy Learning from Capitalist Enterprises Collaborative Strategizing Collaborative Innovating Collaborative Learning Collaborative Working From High-​Road Capitalism to Democratic Socialism 6. A Democratic-​Socialist Society Images from Around Us Images from Our Past Overcoming Economic Irrationality Ownership: Beyond Private Enterprise Strategic Management of the Economy: Beyond Market Myopia Finance: Beyond Profitability Production: Beyond Growth at All Costs Innovation: Beyond Venture Capitalism Overcoming Workplace Disempowerment Enterprise: Beyond Hired Hands Work and Income: Beyond Insecurity Overcoming Government Unresponsiveness Overcoming Environmental Unsustainability Overcoming Social Disintegration Education: Beyond Human Capital Care: Beyond the Family Criminal Justice: Beyond Incarceration Housing: Beyond Home Ownership Overcoming International Conflict 7. Getting There Growing Opportunity Increasing Motivation Strengthening Capabilities Three Scenarios A Strategy In Politics In Our Workplaces In Our Schools In Our Communities Instead of a Conclusion Acknowledgments Notes References Index A pragmatic vision of how democratic socialism can overcome the economic, workplace, political, environmental, social, and international crises that we face today.