Economics professor talks capitalism at NPS event

The New Political Society (NPS) hosted historian, political economist, activist, writer and government official Gar Alperovitz in Hackerman Hall on Wednesday for a presentation on “Transcending Corporate Capitalism and State Socialism.”

Although much of Alperovitz’s talk focused on the negative trends present in society, he also offered hope for change.

“Secular stagnation is the structure in economics in which there is insufficient demand for progress but also sufficient structure to prevent collapse,” Alperovitz said. “It is creating pain and pressure, but will continue until we stop it. We are living in the early phases of a real delegitimation crisis, overlaid on a system which is in stagnation and decay but under which there is experimentation that points to a new direction characterized by socializing of capital in a very local, democratic way.”

He also said that while positive change in the economy and in society will come, change will be slow and will not come easily.

“I would suggest to you that we are living in an extremely interesting time in history because if you think that this system [of stagnation] is going to last, you have another thing coming. The question now is how do you produce a system of equality, liberty, democracy, ecological sustainability and community?” Alperovitz said.

Members of the audience talked to Alperovitz after the presentation. Ashley Kristen Scott, a Baltimore resident, said that she felt empowered by the talk.

“I was struck by a lot of the things he said,” Scott said. “Hopefully I can use this information to advance my knowledge.”

Alperovitz has written books on the atomic bomb and atomic diplomacy. He has also written articles for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The New Republic, The Nation and The Atlantic. He has served as the president of the National Center for Economic and Security Alternatives and helped found the Democracy Collaborative, an economic and political research institution.

“He is an established academic who presents a new set of ideas and gives a new perspective, presenting novel approaches to solving issues which have plagued society, ideas which have not yet been widely covered but are still on the grassroots level,” Sarallah Salehi, the president of NPS, said.

NPS is a debate forum for political topics founded in the fall of 2014 to foster discussion and exploration of controversial and diverse political views through presentations and debates.

“The New Political Society wants to bring in interesting speakers to talk about pressing social issues and spark debate on interesting questions,” Salehi said.

Since its founding this past fall, NPS has hosted a variety of speakers, including director Oliver Stone and historian Peter Kuznick.