Posted by:
John Duda
Highlights trend towards cooperative and community based solutions
Gar Alperovitz, Democracy Collaborative co-founder, made the case for a transition to a new economy, characterized by more democratic forms of ownership, in an op-ed which appeared in the New York Times on December 14th. In the piece, “Worker-Owners of America, Unite!”, he argues:
The Occupy Wall Street protests have come and mostly gone, and whether they continue to have an impact or not, they have brought an astounding fact to the public’s attention: a mere 1 percent of Americans own just under half of the country’s financial assets and other investments. America, it would seem, is less equitable than ever, thanks to our no-holds-barred capitalist system.
But at another level, something different has been quietly brewing in recent decades: more and more Americans are involved in co-ops, worker-owned companies and other alternatives to the traditional capitalist model. We may, in fact, be moving toward a hybrid system, something different from both traditional capitalism and socialism, without anyone even noticing.
As he argues in his book, America Beyond Capitalism, this system would be built in a decentralized fashion over decades, building on the new models emerging for coops, community development financial institutions, community development corporations, community land trusts, publicly owned enterprises, and all the other new strategies for building sustainable and stable place-based economies.
Dr. Alperovitz has been making numerous appearances in the media to discuss his thesis and argue, at this moment in history, that it is not only possible, but imperative, to think big and imagine a future based in the wealth and well-being of communities. Here’s his discussion with Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzales of Democracy Now!: