Creative Construction - (Alternatives to Capitalism in the 21st Century) by Jan Groos & Christoph Sorg (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Democratic planning allows us to effectively address the multiple crises of our time through cooperative modes of collective coordination. Given the destructive consequences of contemporary capitalism, such a structural alternative to market economies is needed more than ever.

This accessible work examines various approaches that theorise, practise and nurture a creative construction towards varieties of democratic planning. Drawing from current socio-economic and ecological movements, it explores what future non-capitalist democratic planning could look like.

Bringing together important voices in the ongoing debates from scholars to activists, this volume proposes an interdisciplinary and innovative approach to democratic planning in the 21st century and beyond.

Review Quotes

"Modern capitalism is a system of such concentrated economic and political power that its opponents often feel helpless when they consider how it might be replaced. Creative Construction helps to address this issue by exploring varied approaches to the democratization of critical social institutions - and the challenges involved in this process of democratization - to empower those seeking to challenge capitalism while developing creative solutions to the multiple, overlapping crises capitalist systems have created."

Grace Blakeley, author of Vulture Capitalism

"This is a brilliant and inspiring book about visions and the urge to imagine and create a socially and ecologically just and viable future. A refreshing exercise at a time of despair that pushes us to rethink democratic planning and how it can transform security and freedom into collective values. A must-read even - especially - for those that cannot avoid but thinking that planning is either authoritarian or doomed to failure."

Cecilia Rikap, University College London

"In the face of the climate emergency, war and financial crisis, a democratically planned economy is the only way to a more just and sustainable future. This book is an essential contribution to that project from some of its leading thinkers. Ranging from concrete models for organising production and reproduction, to pieces that address the challenges facing democratic planning, this is a must-read for activists, students and scholars alike."

Nick Srnicek, King's College London

"This is the book that forms the starting point for anyone wishing to engage in contemporary debates on planning in/outside of contemporary capitalism. It brings to life what might be imagined in terms of how we use new technologies to re-engage the question, and actuality, of what a planned alternative to capitalism might look like." David J. Bailey, University of Birmingham

About the Author

Jan Groos is Researcher at the Centre for Sociological Theory, Kiel University.

Christoph Sorg is Researcher at Humboldt University Berlin.