1st Edition

Postcapitalism Moving Beyond Ideology in America's Economic Crisis

By Raphael Sassower Copyright 2009
    176 Pages
    by Routledge

    176 Pages
    by Routledge

    Debates over the role of government have intensified in the wake of America's deepest financial crisis since the Depression. This book suggests new ways of moving forward based on the policies and principles that have worked in the past. Sassower shows how American pragmatism has guided the more successful financial policies undertaken during the past century. This means that from the workplace to foreign aid, Americans benefit when they collaborate with each other rather than only pursue their self-interest in competitive ways. Drawing on thinkers from Adam Smith to Keynes to Bernanke, Sassower shows how a new era of postideological capitalism can emerge in the wake of the current economic crisis-renewing America's leadership for the future.

    PREFACE; CHAPTER 1: From Supercapitalism to Postcapitalism; a. The Capitalist Framework Revisited: Adam Smith's Moral Sentiments; b. Planning: Complementing the Marketplace; c. The Middle Ground: Popperian influence; CHAPTER 2: The Knowledge Industry: the Academy and the Internet; a. The Production, Distribution, and Consumption of Knowledge; b. Taxing Knowledge: Why Pay Twice for GPS?; c. Academic Institutions of the Future; CHAPTER 3: Individualism and the Community: from Competition to Cooperation; a. Venture Capitalists and Angels: from Greed to Philanthropy; b. The Age of Globalization: from Resources to Ecological Hazards; c. Postmodern Recycling of Data and Insights: Intellectual Property Revisited; CHAPTER 4: Victimhood and Entitlement: Martyrs and Heroes; a. Reciprocal Altruism and the Prisoner's Dilemma; b. Rational Cooperation and the Free Rider Paradox; c. Personal Gratification and Rewards in Corporate America; CHAPTER 5: Personal and Collective Responsibility; a. Cooperation in New Corporate Structures; b. The Buck Stops Here: Government Intervention in the Marketplace; c. Building Communities to Preserve Identity; BIBLIOGRAPHY; INDEX.

    Biography

    Raphael Sassower

    “This book is written by a philosopher with substantial experience in the world of venture capital finance. Recommended."
    —CHOICE

    “Postcapitalism is a welcome antidote to Robert Reich’s Supercapitalism. Using examples ranging from immigration to Enron to the credit crunch, Sassower offers a new perspective on the classic social theory conundrum of the ‘individual vs. society,’ just as economics and sociology now are undergoing a positive re-evaluation of more ‘institutional’ approaches to social life.”
    —Steve Fuller, University of Warwick