Boston Democratic Socialists of America

Boston DSA Forum
After Capitalism - Socialist Alternatives
A Talk and Discussion with David Schweickart
(Professor of Philosophy, Loyola Univerisity, Chicago)
plus a panel of discussants:
Harris Gruman (Neighbor to Neighbor & DSA), Chris Mackin & Noémi Gizspenc (Ownership Associates), Pasqualino Colombaro (labor & community activist)

Thursday, Mar 3, 2005
at Tellus Institute, 11 Arlington St., Boston, MA

David Schweickart presented his work on defining a feasible "successor system" to global capitalism.  A "successor system" is an economic system that could follow and replace capitalism.  In Schweickart's proposed system, which he refers to as "Economic Democracy", markets would be used for efficient distribution of, and assessment of demand for, consumer and capital goods, but not for allocating investment funds.  Investment spending would be socially planned through a system of democratically accountable, public banks, and all capital equipment would be socially owned.  Most or all business enterprises would be cooperatively run.  (One of the main real-life models for Schweickart’s system is the Mondragon system of cooperative businesses in Spain).  Schweickart argues that the three foundation stones of capitalism are wage labor, markets, and private control of (and profit from) investment, and he claims his system eliminates two of the three: wage labor, by making all enterprises worker controlled, and private investment by nationalizing capital.

Professor Schweickart's presentation was followed by a lively critique by the panel of discussants, who brought a nice balance, overall, of theory and "in the trenches" practice to the debate.  The tone of the evening was collegial, constructive, upbeat.  There was a sense of a group of people bringing different experience and skill sets jointly to the effort of finding a solution to the problem of "after capitalism".

The author:

David Schweickart is a Professor of Philosophy Department at Loyola University Chicago, with earned Ph.D.’s in Mathematics and Philosophy.  His primary areas of research are Social and Political Philosophy, Philosophy and Economics, and Marxism. He also has major interests in Feminist Theory, Existentialism, Critical Theory, and Race and Racism.  He has published several books, chapters, and articles on these topics.  His primary exposition of Economic Democracy, Against Capitalism, has been translated into both Spanish and Chinese.  Dr. Schweickart has served as faculty advisor of Loyola's Amnesty International chapter and the Loyola Organization in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador, and has co-chaired the Committee on the Racial Climate at Loyola.  He is an active member and program organizer for the Conference of North American and Cuban Philosophers and Social Scientists, held annually in Havana, as well as for the Radical Philosophy Association.

Books:
After Capitalism by David Schweickart (Rowman & Littlefield, June 2002, ISBN 0742513009).
Against Capitalism (Westview Press, September 1996 ISBN 0813331137)
A paper ("Ten Theses on Marxism and the Transition to Socialism") summarizing some of Prof. Schweickart's views is online here .

The panelists:

Massachusetts Neighbor to Neighbor Director Harris Gruman is a former Boston DSA Chair, and former DSA National Political Committee member - as well as a former professor of history.

Chris Mackin is the founder of Ownership Associates Inc, a consulting firm addressing the needs of companies with employee ownership.

Noémi Giszpenc graduated from MIT in 1998 with degrees in economics, science journalism, and chemistry.  After graduating she worked as a research assistant at the World Bank and as an associate editor at the Nonprofit Quarterly (a national publication for non-profit managers).  She currently works at Ownership Associates Inc., and is a coordinating member of the Sustainable Future Forum, an action and discussion group on issues of sustainability.

Pasqualino Colombaro is a labor and community activist.  A representative of the Service Employees International Union, Local 509, and a native of Pescara, Italy, he is a founding member of Jobs with Justice, the Italian American Labor Council, Working Massachusetts and the Center for International Social Studies in Rome.  He has been among the first in Boston to organize events to promote debate locally, nationally and internationally on the role of organized labor and of independent worker initiative on issues of economic empowerment and social entitlements in the globalized economy.