Michael Albert (born April 8, 1947) is an American economist, speaker, writer, and political critic. Since the late 1970s, he has published on a variety of subjects. He has set up his own media outfits, magazines, and podcasts. He is known for helping to develop thesocioeconomic theory ofparticipatory economics.[1]
In 1987, Albert foundedZeta Magazine with Sargent.[8] The magazine focused on libertarian and anarchist socialist thought.[9] It was renamedZ Magazine in 1989.[10]
In 1990–91, Albert andRobin Hahnel worked on outlining their ideas around participatory economics. They publishedLooking Forward andThe Political Economy of Participatory Economics, with the latter including aneconomic model of the system.[11][12] Doug Brown, writing in theJournal of Economic Issues said their alternative to markets was novel, but mainly of academic interest.[11]
By 1995, the organisationZ Magazine had branched out providing online content and media training. Along with the magazine the ventures are collectively known asZ Communications.[13]
In 2003,Parecon: Life After Capitalism was published further outlining participatory economics in a more accessible, less academic format.[14] The book was translated into 20 languages.[15] Reviewing the bookPaul Ormerod felt Albert's criticisms ofcapitalism were unfounded.[16] Albert spoke at theWorld Social Forum in the same year.[17] He spoke atEuropean Social Forum in 2004.[18]
Albert was a founding member of the International Organization for a Participatory Society, in 2012.[19][13]
In 2006,David Schweickart wrote a detailed critique of participatory economics calledNonsense on Stilts: Michael Albert's Parecon. He claimed three fundamental features of the economic system are flawed.[26]
Socialism Today and Tomorrow, with R. Hahnel (1981)
Marxism and Socialist Theory, with R. Hahnel (1981)
Liberating Theory, with Holly Sklar, Lydia Sargent, Mel King, Robin Hahnel, Noam Chomsky and Leslie Cagan (1986)
Talking about a Revolution: Interviews with Michael Albert, Noam Chomsky, Barbara Ehrenreich, Bell Hooks, Peter Kwong, Winona LaDuke, Manning Marable, Urvashi Vaid, Howard Zinn (1998)
Quiet Revolution in Welfare Economics, with R. Hahnel (1990) Princeton University Press,ISBN978-0691604510[28]
Looking Forward: Participatory Economics for the Twenty First Century, with R. Hahnel (1990)
^Vanderborght, Yannick (September 1, 2005). "Book Review: Parecon: Life after Capitalism".Review of Radical Political Economics.37 (3):407–410.doi:10.1177/0486613405279136.S2CID154107449.
