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A review by fionamclary
How to Be an Anticapitalist in the Twenty-First Century by Erik Olin Wright
3.25
This was a good introduction to anticapitalist ideas from the perspective of a sociologist/economist for someone who is very much neither of those things. Sometimes it went a little too into the technical weeds for me, but those moments were brief and didn't really hamper my understanding. I liked how the concept of "eroding capitalism" provides opportunities for any kind of anticapitalist to participate, whether your tendency is to form a commune or disrupt the government from the inside. I also liked that he provided lots of varied and concrete examples rather than talking in broad terms or pushing a single specific framework.
That said, I found his writing to be a bit dry and uninspired, which is probably why it took me about a year to actually finish this book. His suggestions also rely on government in ways that I didn't love, but I can grudgingly understand why it makes sense to involve existing structures, perhaps appearing to support them in the short term, but ultimately weakening them.
In short, I'd say this is a good jumping-off point for people interested in what anticapitalism is all about, or who are already anticapitalists but lack the background to form coherent and grounded explanations for and solutions to the problems they observe.
That said, I found his writing to be a bit dry and uninspired, which is probably why it took me about a year to actually finish this book. His suggestions also rely on government in ways that I didn't love, but I can grudgingly understand why it makes sense to involve existing structures, perhaps appearing to support them in the short term, but ultimately weakening them.
In short, I'd say this is a good jumping-off point for people interested in what anticapitalism is all about, or who are already anticapitalists but lack the background to form coherent and grounded explanations for and solutions to the problems they observe.