Would it be possible to create a Parecon in a capitalist environment? Prefigurative politics is the idea to create alternative structures to capitalism right now. Maybe start with a cooperative and slowly transform it. You have to get people on board. My idea would be to create a cooperative and regularly do lectures and discussions about Parecon so that people get to know it. If you sell products of your cooperative for example you could put on them the “normal” price of the commodity and beneath it a social cost price on display. People will be familiar with the concept over time.
A more general take:
Capitalism has a tendency to colonise other economic systems and turn them into capitalist ones. What if these social costs could do this too? More people get to know it and more businesses will use it.
To finally seceed from capitalism I think you need to have parecon structures that fullfill the basic needs of people in, let’s say, try first in a small reagion. There should be parecon businesses for:
- food, clothes and daily commodities
- housing
- care work institutions
With this in place people can switch to the parecon businesses and leave the capitalist market structures and parecons can grow.
That’s why I think it’s not much of a help to start parecons for things like books, because a new alternative needs to fullfill the basic needs of people so that they can exit the capitalist systems and they are no longer dependend on them.
What do you think?
btw: Foucault talks about how liberalism has it’s own “liberal governmentality”, and he asks what a socialist governmentality would be? And I think social costs/social benefits is the answer.