"A good society," Michael Lebowitz tells us, "is one that
permits the full development of human potential." In this slim,
lucid, and insightful book, he argues persuasively that such a
society is possible. That capitalism fails his definition of a good
society is evident from even a cursory examination of its main
features. What comes first in capitalism is not human development
but privately accumulated profits by a tiny minority of the
population. When there is a conflict between profits and human
development, profits take precedence. Just ask the unemployed,
those toiling at dead-end jobs, the sick and infirm, the poor, and
the imprisoned.
But if not capitalism, what? Lebowitz is also critical of those
societies that have proclaimed their socialism, such as the former
Soviet Union and China. While their systems were not capitalist and
were capable of achieving some of what is necessary for the
"development of human potential," they were not "good
societies."
A good society as Lebowitz defines it must be marked by three
characteristics: social ownership of the means of production,
social production controlled by workers, and satisfaction of
communal needs and purposes. Lebowitz shows how these
characteristics interact with and reinforce one another, and asks
how they can be developed to the point where they occur more or
less automatically--that is, become both a society's premises and
outcomes. He also offers fascinating insights into matters such as
the nature of wealth, the illegitimacy of profits, the inadequacies
of worker-controlled enterprises, the division of labor, and much
more.
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