Richard Swift at GritLit: “The Capitalist Regime”

Part of GritLit, author Richard Swift discusses his controversial book SOS://Alternatives to Capitalism and his assertion that finding alternatives to capitalism is no longer a leftist academic issue – it is a planetary necessity.

Financial collapse and crisis; disgust at bankers’ greed; the devastating effects of yawning inequality: all these and more have led to widespread dissatisfaction and disenchantment with capitalism. People are crying out for an alternative but are continually told that one does not exist.

Richard Swift proves this to be wrong with style and assurance. With capitalism vulnerable and out-of-step in the wake of financial crises this book investigates the alternatives that are on offer - including socialism, social democracy, anarchism, ecology and degrowth.

Combining the practical with the visionary, he shows that finding alternatives to capitalism is no longer an academic issue for the left – it is an urgent planetary necessity.