Democratic and market socialism

prolegomena to a renewal of the left

Abstract

The crisis of the left concerns, among other things, its inability both to historically understand the resilience of capitalism and to establish a program of action that can mobilize broad masses in resistance and construction of alternatives. The article intends to present some initial theoretical landmarks that can serve for the construction of programmatic alternatives. These programmatic frameworks are related to questions related to the type of political body (socialist democracy) and to the economic and social foundations (market socialism) that we intend to build. To do so, we will make a synthetic critical review of the Marxian and Marxist legacy. Then we will revisit the issue of democracy, seeking to (re)build a conception that integrates socialism and democracy, dialoguing not only with Marxism, but also with liberalism. Finally, we will address the question of the socioeconomic foundations of post-capitalist society, arguing that a mistaken conception of what "market" is ends up undermining any real possibility of overcoming capitalism. In the conclusion section, we will deal with the rapport between the economic and political dimensions in the struggle for socialism and we will present some ideas for the reform of the Legislative Power.