"This book offers by far the most serious, intellectually grounded strategy for system-changing yet to appear. It could be the most important movement-building book of the new century..."
—Daniel Ellsberg, author of Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon PapersAvailable now from Chelsea Green Publishing
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"Concrete and feasible ways to reverse the ominous course of the past several decades and to open the way to a vibrant democracy with a sustainable economy… A marvelous book…I recommend it all the time"
—Noam Chomsky
"Highly readable; excellent for students…. A tonic and eye-opener for anyone who wants a politics that works."
—Jane Mansbridge, President-Elect, American Political Science Association, Adams Professor, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
"This book opens an extraordinary new vista on the moral bankruptcy of our second Gilded Age."
—Bill MoyersRecently Posted
- Gar and Martin Sherwin in the LA Times: “U.S. leaders knew we didn’t have to drop atomic bombs on Japan to win the war. We did it anyway”
- 75th anniversary of the US atomic bombing of Japan: A discussion
- A conversation with Gar Alperovitz and John McKnight
- Gar interviewed in openDemocracy
- Read Gar’s new essay, “Building a Democratic Economy: Sketch of a Pluralist Commonwealth”
- Gar Alperovitz Keynote Address to at Bioneers 2018: Why We Need a Next System—And How to Get There
- Gar Alperovitz on What Will Replace Corporate Capitalism in the US
- Centrist Think Tanks Won’t Save Our Cities
- Gar Alperovitz, Historian and Professor of Political Economy Oberlin
- Listen to Gar Alperovitz on Corporations and Democracy
- The New Economy and the Quietly Emerging Next System with Gar Alperovitz
- Black Monday, ’77, When the Mill Shutdown in Youngstown Gave Birth to the Rust Belt
- Democratic Ownership and the Pluralist Commonwealth: The Creation of an Idea Whose Time Has Come
- Pluralism vs. Authoritarianism: Gar Alperovitz with Laura Flanders
- Principles of a Pluralist Commonwealth
- Gar Alperovitz on the Ralph Nader Radio Hour
- Gar Alperovitz on Forthright Radio
- Progressive Visions: The Pluralist Commonwealth
- C-Span BookTV: Principles of a Pluralist Commonwealth
- Gar Alperovitz, co-founder, Democracy Collaborative, and co-chair, The Next System Project, speaks with Diane Horn about buying out the fossil fuel industry to address climate change
Get in touch
Upcoming events
June 2016 – November 2017
Jun29WedJun 29 @ 10:00 amThe International Society for Ecological Economics 2016 Conference will be held this year at the University of the District of Columbia. This year, the conference tackles issues surrounding “Transforming the Economy: Sustaining Food, Water, Energy and Justice.” The plenary will feature distinguished speakers from across the globe spanning multiple disciplines to discuss the topic at hand. Gar Alperovitz will speak alongside Frances Moore Lappe’, author of Diet for a Small Planet and founder of the Small Planet Institute; Marina Silva, former Minister of Environment, and contender for the presidency of Brazil; Jairam Ramesh, former Minister of the Environment, who was recently reelected to the Upper House of the Indian Parliament. and more. To register, click here.
Sep23FriSep 23 @ 4:00 pm – 5:00 pmGar Alperovitz will speak alongside Jodie Evans on “Capitalism and transition to Peace Economy” at this weekend conference at American University in Washington, D.C.
Join us to learn about and engage in working on viable alternatives to war and militarism.
Friday and Saturday events will be livestreamed at TheRealNews.com and videos posted there within three days after. All events, including Sunday’s, may possibly be livestreamed by American University.
Oct6ThuOct 6 – Oct 8 all-dayDec1ThuDec 1 @ 7:30 pm – 9:00 pmDec5MonDec 5 @ 12:00 pm – 2:15 pmFeb6MonFeb 6 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pmApr13ThuApr 13 @ 2:30 pm – 4:00 pmGar Alperovitz, historian, political economist, activist, writer, and government official, will speak on Thursday, April 13 from 2:30-4 p.m. at the Lakeside Lodge at Stockton University. His lecture, “Donald Trump, The New Historical Era, and Emerging Trajectories of Longer Term Systemic Change,” will address where we find ourselves in history, why the time is right for a new-economy movement, what it means to build a new system and how we might begin.
Apr28FriApr 28 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pmGar Alperovitz will be speaking on Metro DC Democratic Socialists of America’s (DSA) Building the Green Economy panel discussion. The panelists will discuss the intersections of economic and environmental justice. Is a meaningful reduction in carbon emissions possible under capitalism? What are the political obstacles to a fair, ecologically-sustainable society? Confirmation of other panelists is forthcoming, but look forward to academics, activists, and folks in between! Join us to start a weekend of exciting events, including the People’s Climate March on April 29th and May Day on May 1st.
A donation of $5 is suggested at the door to cover costs and support DSA environmental justice campaigns. Doors open at 6:30. Join us after the event for an open house at the Institute for Policy Studies, 1301 Connecticut Ave NW, 6th floor.
For information on other events happening that weekend, visithttp://bit.ly/2nFy5IE.
Jun1ThuJun 1 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pmJoin Gar Alperovitz and the Democracy Collaborative on June 1st at 7pm at Busboys and Poets 14th and V for the launch of Gar’s new book: Principles of a Pluralist Commonwealth.
In this time of deepening political, economic, and ecological crisis, it’s more important than ever to not only resist the current political threats, but also build a new system—the world we hope to live in. Gar Alperovitz, co-founder of the Democracy Collaborative, co-chair of the Next System Project, and former Lionel Bauman Professor of Political Economy at the University of Maryland, sees our dark times as the potential prehistory of a period of fundamental and transformative systemic change. In the new book, he outlines his vision of the “Pluralist Commonwealth,” a new political-economy that moves beyond both corporate capitalism and state socialism. The book is designed as a small, easy to use handbook with short entries on the key elements of a next system, and is packed with concrete and hopeful examples of what can be done locally to build a new truly democratic political economy from the ground up.
In response to the swell of organizing that has taken place in recent months, the book will be released online for free to make it available for use by the greatest number of activists, organizers, and practitioners working at the grassroots level. However, limited-edition print copies of the book will be available at the Busboys and Poets launch event and at other resistance gatherings throughout 2017.
Introducing Gar on June 1st will be Robert Borosage, the founder and president of the Institute for America’s Future and co-director of its sister organization, the Campaign for America’s Future.
Nov29WedNov 29 @ 4:30 pm – 6:30 pmSign up for updates
A SYSTEMIC ALTERNATIVE
What Then Can I Do? Ten Ways to Democratize the Economy
How do we build a more democratic, equal and ecologically sustainable society? What can one person do?
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