What Do We Need Bosses For? with Pete Dolack

Propaganda endlessly blares, “There is no alternative” to capitalism. But there is always an alternative. Humanity need not be condemned to sit by helplessly as an uncontrollable economic and political system spanning the world brings us devastating inequality, precarious jobs, environmental destruction, and life-threatening global warming. Pete Dolack’s latest book, What Do We Need Bosses For?: Toward Economic Democracy, analyzes past and present efforts to establish systems of economic democracy on a national or society-wide basis. In this context the book dissects the mounting inequalities of capitalism and discusses theoretical ideas as to how we might organize a better world.

Working people have repeatedly sought to create such a world. They have organized to reverse their subordinate positions in capitalist production and take charge of their working lives and their workplaces through egalitarian movements. Political democracy is impossible without economic democracy. Economic democracy, in turn, is impossible under capitalism. As ever more people realize the present world system offers them nothing but more hardship, movements to create a better world inevitably will rise again.

Alternatives discussed in the book include workers’ self-management in Yugoslavia, workers’ control in Czechoslovakia, the social-property area of Allende-era Chile, the democratic confederalism of Rojava, the cooperatives of Cuba and the communes of Venezuela, with brief discussions of a few other examples, including co-management in Tanzania, Chinese industrial cooperatives and British work-ins.

In addition to What Do We Need Bosses For?, Pete Dolack is also the author of It’s Not Over: Learning From the Socialist Experiment, a book examining the 20th century’s socialist experiments so we can do it better in the 21st century. He publishes on various websites, including CounterPunch, ZNet, The Ecologist, Dandelion Salad and his own Systemic Disorder blog. As an activist, Pete has participated in efforts around human rights, environmental, trade and social issues, among them the No Spray Coalition, the Brooklyn Greens, New Yorkers Against Fascism, Amnesty International and, most recently, Trade Justice New York Metro.