Michael Albert
![Stop the Killing Train: Radical Visions for Radical Change Michael Albert]( "Stop the Killing Train: Radical Visions for Radical Change Michael Albert")
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Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Politics -> Ideologies -> General AAS
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Politics -> General
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Politics -> General AAS
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ideas vital to understanding and changing society 4 out of 5 stars.
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Michael Albert's political writings are not well known, but this collection of articles from Z Magazine demonstrates that they deserve to be. Concentrating on foreign policy and economics but commenting as well on subjects from feminism to postmodernism, Albert analyzes the current obstacles to a just world, develops ways to overcome them, and urges us to think more about what institutions and norms we want.Albert argues that most of our problems come from contemporary institutions, which are set up to reproduce privilege and maintain the position of those in power. It follows that organizing around specific issues, e.g. particular victims of the criminal justice system, a particular war, or a particular environmental outrage, will always fall short of the fundamental institutional change that is necessary.
But this recognition is not enough. Rather, Albert argues, we must offer a vision of alternative institutions that can accomplish goals of democracy, equality, diversity, and solidarity as well as the current ones defeat them. Albert's own contribution to addressing this "vision problem" is participatory economics, an alternative to capitalism that gets the job done without exploitation, poverty, or powerlessness.
Finally, Albert comments on how we get there. Asking nicely that those in power implement our program will never work: arguments are irrelevant to those who work only to maintain their privilege (and will believe only those arguments that serve this end). Confrontation is the answer -- we must "raise the social costs" for elites, steadily increasing our numbers and militancy, until they give in from fear. And then we must keep pushing until we're the ones making the decisions are there are no more privileged classes.
The book's nature as a compilation is somewhat unsatisfying as the subject matter tends to change every five pages and well-developed arguments are difficult. Some of Albert's arguments, particularly the idea that elites oppose things like universal health care in order to keep workers weak, are plausible but suffer from a lack of concrete evidence. In addition, the topics covered are somewhat dated. Yet these are minor complaints against an overall analysis and vision that is as compelling as it is rare.
Readers interested in Albert's thought might be better off picking up two books set to come out later in 2002 (The Trajectory of Change (South End Press) and an updated participatory economics book from Verso), or reading through the many articles by Albert on ZNet .... But without question anyone interested in economics, corporate issues, or left organizing can learn much from Albert's ideas.
