Capitalism.

• Position: FROM READERS - Letter to the Editor

Concerning Gar Alperovitz's "You Say You Want a Revolution?" [November/December 2005], I certainly agree that we need to build democracy at the grass roots, but it cannot be done through "market economics."

The problem is this: "the system" is inherently kleptocratic because generic capitalism--commitment to economic inequality and work--deprives us of both democracy and freedom. By "work," I mean Robert Heilbroner's definition: "The essence of work is that these tasks are carried out in a condition of subordination imposed by the right of some members of society to refuse access to vital resources to others" (Behind the Veil of Economics, 1988). Although Heilbroner never says so, this right is based on theft. Market economics assumes the right to private property--the right to theft. This contradicts the basic idea of democracy, and work itself, so defined, is the antithesis of freedom.

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Generic capitalism began with the ancient Sumerians; it is embodied in all forms of political economy (the channeling of power to control the production and distribution of wealth) since then.

RICHARD E. EDGAR

Athens, Ohio, U.S.A.

Gar Alperovitz responds: Implicit in Richard Edgar's critique is the idea that capitalism itself must be transcended. But the problem is that both market capitalism and state...