About this Book Manuscript

In hindsight, the term "capitalism" was always a misnomer, coined paradoxically by its critics in the nineteenth century. The term misleadingly suggests that capital inherently functions in certain ways and is governed by economic laws. That's an illusion. Capital is just a man-made artifact, shaped by law and politics. Its code is entirely artificial. In truth, we do not live today in a system in which capital dictates our economic circumstances. Instead, we live under the tyranny of what I would call "tournament dirigisme": a type of state-directed gladiator sport where our political leaders bestow spoils on the wealthy, white, privileged elite.

We need to displace this tournament dirigisme with a new legal, economic, and political framework that favors coöperation and collaboration between those who create, invent, produce, work, and serve others. Rather than corporations that extract capital for the few shareholders and managers, we need coöperatives, mutuals, and nonprofits that distribute the wealth they create widely to everyone in the shared enterprise.

The COVID-19 pandemic and economic crash must not prevent us from working together to address the other crisis—climate change—still looming on the horizon. On the contrary, these times call for a legal, political, and economic revolution to ring in a new epoch of coöperationism. This will demand political will. It will not come from our political leaders, so beholden now to corporate contributions. It will have to come from us all united.

This is a first draft, but the issues are too pressing to wait. Comments and reactions are welcome. Please sign-up and add your thoughts and reactions.

Bernard E. Harcourt, New York, September 1, 2020