Four Futures of Democratic Socialism
Peter Frase
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Guest Introduction
My conversation today is with Peter Frase, author of Four Futures: Life After Capitalism, and member of Jacobin Magazine's editorial board.
Peter is among the most cogent writers on complex socioeconomic topics I've encountered. He dropped out of a sociology PhD program & began writing for a more popular, inclusive audience both through his personal website, and as a frequent contributor for Jacobin Magazine, a leading voice in radical left politics.
We spoke about:
- The past, present, and future of democratic socialism
- How economic frameworks create the conditions with human development
- The technocracy of John Maynard Keynes
- Universal Basic Income
- The social contract of a post-work society. What does "post-work" actually mean?
- What is leisure time for? What kinds of humans do we wish to become?
- Thomas Piketty and the new proposals for progressive taxation
- Peter's selection of reading for the foundations & futures of democratic socialism
Time Map
- 7 min – Defining 21st-century socialism and its objectives
- 14 min – Keynes' vision: merits and limitations
- 22 min – Building conditions for human development within revitalized socialism
- 27 min – Universal Basic Income discussion
- 36:30 min – UBI funding mechanisms
- 42 min – UBI as capitalist pathway to communism
- 57 min – Work ideology: transcendence versus realization through labor
- 1:00:47 – Fordist Compromise and wage-seeking evolution
- 1:04:00 – Ensuring automation benefits reach everyone equitably
- 1:08:30 – Post-work society feasibility and technological prerequisites
- 1:10:20 – Social contract in post-work contexts
- 1:11:60 – Purposes for expanded leisure
- 1:12:10 – Educational transformation needs
- 1:17:10 – Piketty and progressive taxation proposals
- 1:20:00 – RadicalxChange discussion