(Prepared for the 2010 U.S. Social Forum)
Wherever we progressives look, there are signs of hope. The world economic crisis -– terrible though it undoubtedly is for so many –- has undermined the public faith in free-market fundamentalism. At the same time, new communications media are creating new methods both of coordinating political activity and of mobilizing support. And the withering of old Cold-War tensions is making it possible to close some of the deadly political fissures which weakened the progressive community in the last century. It is not too much to hope that we are on the verge of a “social-democratic” period.
While non-socialist progressive conceive of their reform program as a series of specific proposals to deal with particular problems –- though many of them are fully aware that the corporate elite presents the key roadblock to progress –- we socialists see our program as part of systematic struggle to impose democratic, pro-social control on the economic system. The logical conclusion of this struggle, in our eyes, is a program of full-fledged economic restructuring and democratization. That belief is why we’re socialists –- and why Barack Obama isn’t.
As a practical matter, we have generally put off consideration of this ultimate goal while concentrating on immediate political goals -– a “left” or “advanced” version of mainstream liberalism. We have also been reluctant to say out loud that the classic socialist goal of a state-owned economy has to be given up – too “divisive.” But on the rare occasions when we think about the ultimate goal, we tend to foresee worker-, consumer-, or community-owned enterprises, operating in a more or less “free” market -– to be achieved by some combination of creating new enterprises and converting existing ones.
Meanwhile, what might be called a “solidarity economy movement” has been building up. The various “alternative” economic activities have begun coalescing, often under the auspices of the various social fora, including the previous USSF in Atlanta. “Solidarity economy networks” have formed at various levels. One of the first tasks has been to develop “maps” –- in practice, databases –- to show what is where; from these, it is hoped that SE supply chains can be formed and institutions designed to support an SE “sector.” (It is hoped that decisions will be made this week about how to proceed with the “mapping.”)
If the drive to build up an SE sector can be joined to the political drive for social democratic reforms, full-fledged socialism will finally be on the table. It is therefore in the interests of the existing socialist movement that concrete plans for the growth and, ultimately, the rapid expansion of the SE sector be laid. We socialists, hopefully, have contacts throughout the progressive community whose support for the nascent sector can be encouraged. And above all, we have the consciousness that the SE sector should not only grow, but be in a position to take over most of the economy.
Building an SE sector can be analyzed into a number of tasks. We can begin with the “mapping” project. The initial set-up may be paid for through a foundation grant, but sooner rather than later it should be put on a self-sustaining basis. Based on the “map,” we can begin to develop (1) infrastructure to support the sector, such as financing systems, design to be rapidly scalable if the sector expands, (2) infrastructure that can be created now in an embryonic form, again prepared for rapid expansion, (3) more speculative institutions, which can be rapidly created when the time comes, and (4) relatively concrete plans to convert existing capitalist firms, including large ones, into SE forms. The point is that there should be relatively concrete and realistic plans ready to be put in motion in the event of a political opening.
So what we need is a mechanism for generating business plans. We will need people capable of drawing up a proper plan who are willing to put in the work on something that will have to be put on the shelf indefinitely. One possibility that occurs to me -– people are more than welcome to come up with others –- is to find a way to get business students to do this for academic credit; that would require reaching out to the relevant professors who can turn the process into a legitimate educational exercise.
This will not necessarily be done in the existing socialist organizations. We don’t have the skill sets; there aren’t a great many MBA’s in our present ranks. Perhaps more important, our organizational culture doesn’t really fit into this. For example, if and when the capital structure of existing firms is re-organized, someone stands to make obscene amounts of money. For many life-long socialists, this is a dispiriting, if not downright squalid prospect. I, on the other hand, figure that if someone can make money doing it … it might actually get done. (And there may be ways for us to pick up a few bucks.)
That does not mean, however, that the existing organizations don’t have a role to play. We can do things that play to our strengths, such as doing public education about the existence of economic alternatives and supporting policies that favor them — though such policies will have to wait until we have a sense of where things are going. We may also be able to mine our contacts to find people able to take part in the process. Most importantly, however, we are the ones who are most determined to see a full-scale reorganization of the economy carried out; we -– or perhaps a unit within one or more of our organizations -– should be the ones always trying to make sure that the next step in the process goes forward.
Our goal should be to have fairly concrete plans, embryonic institutions, and lists of people to carry plans out if and when favorable political situations -– “people power” uprisings in non-democratic countries or even crises in democratic ones -– make it possible to move. (“Fortune favors the prepared mind.”) If we can come out of this week with a handful of people committed to finding and mobilizing the skills necessary to do the planning, we may be on our way.
