David Schweickart
Economic democracy
Worker control, social investment, markets.
Reformist Market SocialistOne of 729 ideologies · enter the Market Socialist hall →- Role
- Philosopher
- Era
- b. 1942
- Region
- United States
- Social band
- Reformist
- Placement
- −72 · −2 · +50
§ Where David Schweickart stands
3 axesSchweickart rejects private ownership of productive capital: under Economic Democracy each enterprise is run democratically by its workers, and new investment is financed by a tax on capital assets channelled through public investment banks, as set out in After Capitalism (2002). He stops short of central planning, keeping competitive markets for goods and services, which is why he sits clearly on the left without reaching the command-economy pole.
His model is democratic rather than statist or anarchist. Workplaces elect their own management, investment funds are distributed to regions and communities by elected bodies rather than by a central planning ministry, and the whole system operates within ordinary parliamentary democracy and civil liberties. His reforms decentralise economic power without abolishing the state or enlarging its coercive reach.
Schweickart's case is moral as well as economic: from Against Capitalism (1993) onward he argues that capitalism's inequalities and its exclusion of workers from decisions about their working lives are unjust. His egalitarianism and his proposal for 'socialist protectionism', under which tariff revenue would be returned to poor exporting countries, place him firmly on the progressive side.
How close are you to David Schweickart?
Three statements, one per axis. Answer them and we’ll drop you on the compass next to them.
§ The story
LivingDavid Schweickart (born 1942) is an American philosopher who spent most of his career teaching at Loyola University Chicago. Trained first as a mathematician and then as a philosopher, he turned that analytical training on the case for and against capitalism, beginning with Capitalism or Worker Control? (1980) and developing the argument in Against Capitalism (1993). Across these books he built a detailed, institution-by-institution blueprint for what he calls Economic Democracy, a successor system that keeps markets but changes who controls firms and investment.
Schweickart's significance lies in giving market socialism a concrete, testable design at the moment the collapse of Soviet-style planning had discredited central command. His After Capitalism (2002, revised 2011) argues that worker-run firms, already visible in the Mondragon cooperatives of Spain's Basque Country, can compete in markets while a public investment system replaces private capital markets. He has also debated Marxist critics who reject markets altogether, notably in Market Socialism: The Debate Among Socialists (1998), and his model is widely taught as a leading contemporary alternative to both capitalism and central planning.
Notable for
- 01'After Capitalism'
- 02Economic-democracy model
- 03Market-socialist philosophy
Key works & moments
- 1980Publishes Capitalism or Worker Control?, an ethical and economic appraisal of workplace democracy.
- 1993Against Capitalism, from Cambridge University Press, sets out the full Economic Democracy model.
- 1998Debates Marxist opponents of markets in Market Socialism: The Debate Among Socialists.
- 2002After Capitalism presents Economic Democracy as a practical successor to capitalism.
- 2011Publishes a revised second edition of After Capitalism in the wake of the financial crisis.
§ Minds closest to David Schweickart
All minds →
§ Also in the Market Socialist hall
Enter the hall →§ Common questions
4 answersWhat is David Schweickart's political ideology?
David Schweickart is a market socialist: on the 99ideologies three-axis compass, a Reformist Market Socialist. Economically he sits well to the left (−72), replacing capitalist ownership with worker self-management and public control of investment while keeping markets for goods and services. On governance he is near the centre (−2), relying on democratic institutions rather than a planning bureaucracy or the abolition of the state, and socially he is clearly progressive (+50), arguing from equality, solidarity and democratic self-determination.
Is David Schweickart left-wing or right-wing?
Left-wing. Schweickart wants to replace capitalism, not merely regulate it: firms would have no private owners and would be governed by the people who work in them, and the investment decisions that capitalists make today would pass to public, democratically accountable banks. What makes him distinctive on the left is his defence of markets and competition, which separates him from Marxists who favour comprehensive planning and from anarchists who reject the state.
What is David Schweickart's Economic Democracy model?
It is a blueprint for market socialism with three pillars. First, every enterprise is controlled by its workers on a one-person, one-vote basis, although they do not own its capital as private property. Second, goods and services are still bought and sold in competitive markets. Third, investment is socialised: a flat tax on capital assets funds public investment banks, which allocate money to regions and communities. Schweickart presents the model in Against Capitalism (1993) and After Capitalism (2002).
Which minds are closest to David Schweickart?
On the 99ideologies three-axis compass, the minds closest to David Schweickart are John Roemer (98% alike), The Federation (illustrative) (96% alike) and Abba Lerner (94% alike). The furthest is Adam Sutler (6% alike).