In this age of overlapping and mutually reinforcing deep global crises (financial convulsions, global warming, mass migrations, militarism, inequality, selfish nation-states, etc.), there needs to be more realistic dialogue about radical alternatives to the status quo. Most literature produced heretofore has focused on the surface causes of these crises without much attention given to the sorts of major societal changes needed in order to deal with the crises we face. This book moves the debate beyond the critiques and the false or not fully realised alternatives, to focus on what can be termed "practical utopias". The contributors to this book outline a range of practical proposals for constructing pathways out of the global economic, ecological and social crisis. Varieties of Alternative Economic Systems eschews a single blueprint but insists on dealing directly with the deep structural problems and contradictions of contemporary global capitalism. It provides a diverse array of complementary proposals and perspectives that can inform both theoretical thinking and practical action. This volume will be of interest to academics and students who study political science, ecological economics, international politics and socialism.

Kozo Uno influenced a whole generation of marxian political economists in post World War II Japan. Thomas Sekine worked closely with Uno in Japan and later came to York University in Toronto, where he introduced Uno's ideas to Canadian scholars. Sekine has significantly enlarged and refined Uno's work, and in the process has influenced scholars in both Japan and Canada. This anthology is a collection of essays in marxian political economy by scholars who have been influenced by Sekine's particular appropriation of Uno's ideas.

This book uses the levels of analysis approach first developed by Japanese political economist Kozo Uno to theorize stages of capitalist development. Stage theory is understood as a mid-range theory informed both by the theory of a purely capitalist society and by historical analysis. The four stages of mercantilism, liberalism, imperialism, and consumerism are theorized according to an abstract type of capital accumulation, which is understood broadly to include mutually supporting economic, ideological, legal, and political practices.

It is increasingly apparent that capitalism cannot stave off the truly frightening ecological disasters that threaten the future of life on earth. Is it an accident that the strongest and most capitalist economic force in the world, the US, is also that force that is most prone to the denial of the enormous dangers of global warming? While capitalism is a global force, it is not supported by the majority of the world, and much more thought and action is needed to integrate and globalize movements against oppression, injustice and ecological destruction. While changes at a local level are important and more feasible in our current world, ultimately changes at a global level may have greater long-term importance, and we need to greatly expand theorizations and mobilizations in this direction now. Robert Albritton proposes 'practical utopias' as a process of thinking by which short-term changes tend in the direction of desirable changes in the long term.

This book offers a novel treatment of one of the most important and long-standing research agendas in critical political economy: the theorizing of stages of capitalist development. Albritton advances the work of Japanese economist, Kozo Uno, to explore capital accumulation and its ideological, legal and political supports, not only in the stages of mercantilism, liberalism and imperialism, but also in the post-World War II capitalist stage of consumerism. The power of Albritton's adoption of this Japanese approach resides in the crisp clarity it achieves over the way stage theorizing of capitalism draws on both economic theory and historical analysis. In the new, fully revised edition, written with Richard Westra, two new chapters are added. One meticulously examines the tendencies of capitalism euphemized as globalization and financialization which followed the crisis of the stage of consumerism. The other deals with current threats to civilization posed by burgeoning militarism, environmental destruction and climate apocalypse. The concluding chapter argues for the necessity of major social change to ensure a liveable future for humanity. The book will be of interest to researchers and students of political economy and the history of economic thought, as well as a wider audience interested in the transformation and crises of capitalism.

This volume brings together original and timely writings by internationally renowned scholars that reflect on the current trajectories of global capitalism and, in the light of these, consider likely, possible or desirable futures. It offers theory-informed writing that contextualizes empirical research on current world-historic events and trends with an eye towards realizing a future of human, social and economic betterment.

The Future of Capitalism After the Financial Crisis: The Varieties of Capitalism Debate in the Age of Austerity contains thirteen world leading political economists writing from within eight different countries who critically analyze the current crisis tendencies of capitalism both globally and in particular countries. Given the likelihood of an increasingly crisis prone future for capitalism, it is important not only to rethink capitalism in its current manifestations or varieties. It is also important to rethink research methods and conceptual frameworks in preparation for understanding an increasingly rocky future in which capitalism itself could go the way of the many species that in the past were endangered only to become extinct. More and more titles of books and articles are suggesting that capitalism or perhaps civilization itself is endangered if we do not make radical changes in the near future. This book breaks with academic path dependency and attempts to open new vistas of political economy and of multidisciplinary analysis that are crucially important if our thought processes are to be effective in a world in jeopardy. The varieties of capitalism (VoC) debate itself came into being as the Soviet Union unraveled. It drew in scholarship from a cross-section of Marxian and heterodox political economy. The key argument of VoC was that if capitalism was the only global option then those on the Left must get involved in policy discussions on how capitalist economies can be fashioned to become competitive as well as progressive. However, the financial crisis has seen policy across the advanced economies veer toward competitiveness coupled with austerity. The lesson for the Left is that alternatives to capitalism must be sought in the here and now.

Writings by international scholars that reflect on the current trajectories of global capitalism and consider likely, possible or desirable futures. It tries to develop new mediations between theory and history.

Contents:
Introduction
Robert Albritton and Richard Westra Towards Democracy Through Socialisms
Part One: Governance and Law
1. Robert Albritton Socialism and Individual Freedom
2. Marjorie Griffin Cohen Globalization's Challenge to Feminist Political Economy and the Law
Part Two: Reembedding
3. Vandana Shiva Earth Democracy
4. Daniel Drache The Imperative of the Social Bond After the Triumph of Markets
5. Colin Duncan Adam Smith's Greeb Vision and the Future of Global Socialism
6. John Bell Marx's Anti-Authoritarian Ecocommunism
Part Three: Pleasure
7. Kate Soper Hedonist Revisionism
8. Shannon Bell Post-Porn/Anti-Porn: Queer Socialist Pornography
Part Four: Development Visions
9. John Saul The Failure of African Socialisms and Their Future
10. Richard Westra The Impasse in Development Theory
Part Five: Political Agency
11. Ariel Salleh Theorizing the Meta-Industrial Class in an Era of Bio-Colonialism
12. William Corlett Postscript on the Surplus Population
Part Six: Possible Worlds
13. Tom Sekine Socialism Beyond Market and Productivism
14. Teresa Brennan From Socialists to Localists

This book offers a novel treatment of one of the most important and long-standing research agendas in critical political economy: the theorizing of stages of capitalist development. Albritton advances the work of Japanese economist, Kozo Uno, to explore capital accumulation and its ideological, legal and political supports, not only in the stages of mercantilism, liberalism and imperialism, but also in the post-World War II capitalist stage of consumerism. The power of Albritton’s adoption of this Japanese approach resides in the crisp clarity it achieves over the way stage theorizing of capitalism draws on both economic theory and historical analysis. In the new, fully revised edition, written with Richard Westra, two new chapters are added. One meticulously examines the tendencies of capitalism euphemized as globalization and financialization which followed the crisis of the stage of consumerism. The other deals with current threats to civilization posed by burgeoning militarism, environmental destruction and climate apocalypse. The concluding chapter argues for the necessity of major social change to ensure a liveable future for humanity.  The book will be of interest to researchers and students of political economy and the history of economic thought, as well as a wider audience interested in the transformation and crises of capitalism. 

This book uses the levels of analysis approach first developed by Japanese political economist Kozo Uno to theorize stages of capitalist development. Stage theory is understood as a mid-range theory informed both by the theory of a purely capitalist society and by historical analysis. The four stages of mercantilism, liberalism, imperialism, and consumerism are theorized according to an abstract type of capital accumulation, which is understood broadly to include mutually supporting economic, ideological, legal, and political practices.

The Future of Capitalism After the Financial Crisis: The Varieties of Capitalism Debate in the Age of Austerity contains thirteen world leading political economists writing from within eight different countries who critically analyze the current crisis tendencies of capitalism both globally and in particular countries. Given the likelihood of an increasingly crisis prone future for capitalism, it is important not only to rethink capitalism in its current manifestations or varieties. It is also important to rethink research methods and conceptual frameworks in preparation for understanding an increasingly rocky future in which capitalism itself could go the way of the many species that in the past were endangered only to become extinct. More and more titles of books and articles are suggesting that capitalism or perhaps civilization itself is endangered if we do not make radical changes in the near future. This book breaks with academic path dependency and attempts to open new vistas of political economy and of multidisciplinary analysis that are crucially important if our thought processes are to be effective in a world in jeopardy. The varieties of capitalism (VoC) debate itself came into being as the Soviet Union unraveled. It drew in scholarship from a cross-section of Marxian and heterodox political economy. The key argument of VoC was that if capitalism was the only global option then those on the Left must get involved in policy discussions on how capitalist economies can be fashioned to become competitive as well as progressive. However, the financial crisis has seen policy across the advanced economies veer toward competitiveness coupled with austerity. The lesson for the Left is that alternatives to capitalism must be sought in the here and now.

This is the first book to analyse the food industry from a Marxist perspective.Respected economist Robert Albritton argues that the capitalist system, far from delivering on the promise of cheap, nutritious food for all, has created a world where 25% of the world population are over-fed and 25% are hungry. This malnourishment of 50% of the world's population is explained systematically, a refreshing change from accounts that focus on cultural factors and individual greed. Albritton details the economic relations and connections that have put us in a situation of simultaneous oversupply and undersupply of food.This explosive book provides yet more evidence that the human cost of capitalism is much bigger than those in power will admit.

The great academic scandal in the modern world is the prestige that has generally been accorded economic 'science'. Never has there been a social science so confident about its scientificity, while its practitioners were ideologically biased in the extreme.Robert Albritton brings to life the classic concepts in Marx's economic thought. As well as examining these essential points of Marxist theory, he shows that they offer great potential for further study. Deeply critical of the way economics is taught and studied today, this is a textbook that will appeal to anyone who wants a forward-thinking approach to the discipline that's free from the constraints of neo-classical orthodoxy. Written with style and clarity, it is perfect for economics undergraduates.

Kozo Uno influenced a whole generation of marxian political economists in post World War II Japan. Thomas Sekine worked closely with Uno in Japan and later came to York University in Toronto, where he introduced Uno's ideas to Canadian scholars. Sekine has significantly enlarged and refined Uno's work, and in the process has influenced scholars in both Japan and Canada. This anthology is a collection of essays in marxian political economy by scholars who have been influenced by Sekine's particular appropriation of Uno's ideas.