Dear Friends,
I would like to invite you to sign up to receive our new
Newsletter. It focuses on an alternative
economy that ever more of us see as a key next step beyond capitalism. In this
newsletter you
will find interesting and also useful materials to help explain, develop, and
share these ideas with
the increasing audiences
for them.
To get the newsletter without cost, just click on thejoin our mailing list line
near the bottom of
this page.
Rick Wolff
ps: Please feel free to resend this email to possibly interested folks.
February 2012
Gar Alperovitz on Economic Update
In December, historian and political economist Gar Alperovitz met with
Wolff to discuss an issue they both work on heavily: worker-managed and
worker-owned companies. Wolff and Alperovitz are at the forefront of
advocacy and education for worker-ownership as a solution to the failure of
capitalism. Listen to recording or read transcript here.
Wolff and Alperovitz, along with philosopher David Schweickart, will host a
panel entitled “The Next System: Exploring Economic Alternatives to Capitalism”
at the Left Forum in New York City, a conference from March 16 through the
18th.
Manifesto for Economic Democracy and Ecological Sanity
A new society can be built on the basis of democratically reorganizing
our workplaces, where adults spend most of their lifetimes. Over recent
centuries, the human community dispensed with kings, emperors, and
czars in favor of representative (and partly democratic) parliaments
and congresses. The fears and warnings of disaster by those opposed to
that social change were proved wrong by history. The change we advocate today
takes democracy another necessary and logical step: into the
workplace. Those who fear (and threaten) that it will not work will
likewise be proven wrong. read more
Capitalism and Its Discontents
David Barsamian, founder and director of Alternative Radio, interviews
Professor Wolff in this comprehensive discussion of the
failures of capitalism and the fundamental change necessary to avoid
future collapses.
The Sun Magazine | Feb 2012 | Issue 434
“If you want to understand capitalism,” Wolff says, “you need to talk to
people who think it’s wonderful, but you also need to expose yourself to the
arguments of those who don’t think it’s wonderful, who think we
could do better.” read more
Your voice
In every issue, we will post a message we have received. Some will include
responses or commentary. Others stand on their own. This issue, we have a
letter from a woman in California that is shocking but inspriational. No one
should have to live like this.
"It can only be called an electronic sweatshop. The company does mostly
digital TV commerical work and they have 100 employees who are non union labor.
Those employees are monitored electronically every minute they are on the
premisses. They are monitored in their movements on the
actual physical poperty by identification badges passing through
security doorways, they are monitored at their computers not only by a
camera pointed at them but also by a feature that records their computer
activity and will pop up a warning is they have not done anything on
the computer for 15 minutes. They get a "free" lunch at their desk but
no real break as they are required to have I-Chat on at all times so the boss
can give them directives via a computer all day.
They are required to be at work from 9:30am to 7:30pm six days a week with no
overtime pay - and many of them stay later than that. Not the real
kick - non of these employees has a permanent job with the company -
they are hired like a migrant worker, on a per project basis - no
benefits, of course. I know other types of workers in other industries
have it much worse - but it is relatively new for this to come to
Hollywood. Not sure how this is not a violation of Califronia Law. These people
have no lives outside of work and there is a huge tunrover of
employees as they burn out pretty quick. If this is the future of our
work, we are all in trouble...
I have been reading your outlines for a more democratic workplace and I hope
that there will be a blueprint for a better world that future
generations will enjoy. Not sure how we are going to get from where we
are now to there..."
Join our mailing list Important Events
February 25, 2012 | 12 noon
WBAI 99.5fm NYC or Listen live online
Weekly radio show Economic Update with special guest Richard McIntyre more info
________________________________
March 6, 2012 | 6:30pm
Brecht Forum, New York, NY
Global Capitalism - A Monthly Update & Discussion. more info
________________________________
March 16-18, 2012
Pace University, New York, NY
The Left Forum 2012 Occupying the System: Confronting Global Capitalism. more
info
________________________________
March 27, 2012 | 6:30pm
Columbia College Chicago, Chicago, IL
Occupying Our Future: Solutions to Capitalist Crisis. more info
________________________________
Co-opoly
The game where everyone wins or everyone loses.
________________________________
DAW in Greece
Health workers in Kilkis, Greece, have occupied their local hospital and have
issued a statement saying it is now fully under workers control. read more
________________________________
Occupy the Economy: Challenging Capitalism
By Richard D. Wolff and David Barsamian
City Lights | May 2012
Occupying the Economy not only clarifies and analyzes the crisis in U.S.
capitalism today, it also points toward solutions that can shape a far
better future for all. read more
________________________________
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Richard Wolff
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