It's a cliché, but the current moment does have a best-of-times, worst-of-times flavor. Our politics are beyond dreary, but some see more  potential for deep, transformative change today than at any time in recent memory. Indeed, the  sheer awfulness of conditions in our country today is one of the factors that is already driving serious protests and leading many to question the system of political economy we now have.

           

            Gus Speth and Gar Alperovitz led the conversation on key strategies for transitioning to a new system, and a new economy in this country. IPS Director, John Cavanagh, moderated the discussion.

 

*** This is the audio recording of the meeting ***

 

Gus Speth is a distinguished fellow at Demos and former Administrator of the United Nations 

Development Programme. He is the author of several books, including the new America the Possible: Manifesto for a New Economy.

 

Gar Alperovitz, Lionel R. Bauman Professor of Political Economy at the University of Maryland and co-founding principal of the University of Maryland-based Democracy Collaborative. He is the author of several books as well, including (most recently): America Beyond Capitalism: Reclaiming Our Wealth and If You Don't Like Capitalism, and You Don't Like Socialism, What Do You Want? The Possibility of a Pluralist Commonwealth and a Community-Sustaining Economy [Kindle Edition]