Book Prescribes Community Development for Revitalization of US Economy & Democracy
Just out in paperback, the book "America Beyond Capitalism" describes a mission critical blueprint that uses community as an economic foundation for the rebuilding of our American economy and democracy.
Washington, DC (PRWEB) May 31, 2006 -- Just out in paperback, America Beyond Capitalism, by noted political economist and historian Gar Alperovitz, argues that the first decade of the 21st Century is producing conditions that will force the United States to undergo historic changes. Neither Democrats nor Republicans have had coherent responses to these challenges.
One of the most important factors reshaping America is an increasingly feudal distribution of wealth ownership:
- The top 5% of Americans own just under 70% of all financial wealth.
- The top 1% of Americans now claim more income per year than the bottom 100 million Americans taken together.
- The top 2/10th of 1% makes more on the sale of stocks and bonds in one year than everyone else combined.
Alperovitz asserts that this widening gap is deeply corrosive of our democracy. But, he says, the growing concentration of wealth is not inevitable, and he offers a broad range of innovative models and policies that begin to point the way toward more equitable ownership of wealth by individuals, workers, and various forms of community.
America Beyond Capitalism is not simply another indictment of our national ills. It builds upon the latest scholarship, as well as practical developments at the state and local level, to produce systematic proposals for the rebuilding of democracy in America.
• Juliet Schor, author of "The Overspent American: Why We Want What We Don't Need," hails the book as "[The kind of careful, well researched, and practical alternative progressives have been seeking. And it's more visionary, hopeful, even inspirational. I highly recommend it."
• Jeremy Rifkin, author of "The End of Work," says, "This book succeeds brilliantly in taking the Jeffersonian spirit into the last bastion of privilege in America, offering workable solutions for making the American economy one that is truly of, by, and for the people."
• Howard Zinn, author of "A People's History of the United States" states, "America Beyond Capitalism comes at a critical time in our history when we all know our system isn't working, but we are not sure what can be done about it. This book takes us outside the confines of orthodox thinking, imagines a new way of living together, and then brings that vision back into reality with a set of eminently practical ideas that promise a truly democratic society."
• The Christian Century advises, “Be prepared for a mind-opening experience.”
America Beyond Capitalism describes a mission critical blueprint that uses community as an economic foundation for the rebuilding of our American democracy. It is a timely and important book.
About Gar Alperovitz
Gar Alperovitz is currently the Lionel R. Bauman Professor of Political Economy at the University of Maryland and is a former Fellow of Kings College, Cambridge University; Harvard’s Institute of Politics; the Institute for Policy Studies; and a Guest Scholar at the Brookings Institution.
He is the author of critically acclaimed books on the atomic bomb and atomic diplomacy and his articles have appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, the New Republic, The Nation, and the Atlantic among other publications. Alperovitz has been profiled by the New York Times, the Associated Press, People, UPI, and Mother Jones and has been a guest on numerous network TV and cable news programs, including Meet the Press, Larry King Live, The Charlie Rose Show, Cross Fire, and The O’Reilly Factor.
About America Beyond Capitalism
The paperback edition has just been published by John Wiley & Sons (May 2006), with a suggested retail price of $14.95.
For more information, please visit www.americabeyondcapitalism.com
To interview, Gar Alperovitz, please contact Katherine Nelson at (202) 986-1373.
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