Get ready! This is a BIG book. Not in the sense that it is long or hard to read. It is a BIG book because it tackles BIG problems and proposes BIG ideas. Alperovitz believes that “serious ideas count.” This book delivers on those.

Alperovitz calls himself a “historian and a political economist.” He is professor of political economy at the University of Maryland, but is quick to note that he also has extensive practical experience, including work as a legislative director in the U.S. Congress, where he was involved in the early stages of the civil rights and environmental movements. The tremendous, though still incomplete, success of these movements convinced him that “radical systemic change is … common … in world history.” His belief in the need for, and possibility of, major changes in the United States’ political and economic systems served as the impetus for this book.

This book isn’t a how-to manual for creating a successful social enterprise, writing business plans or finding new sources of funding. The issue of nonprofit enterprise takes up just 10 pages. Instead, Alperovitz provides a comprehensive review of the political and economic systems that support nonprofit ventures and many other seemingly disconnected developments in American society.

As I read the book jacket, I was skeptical. I asked myself why someone might want to read this book. However, it didn’t take me long to find a good answer.

The bottom line is that this book will encourage and inspire you in your efforts to change the world. It will convince you that big changes are possible and that they are already underway. It will show you the tremendous momentum of alternative practices, such as social enterprise, and help you to see your part in sustaining and accelerating that momentum.

The author puts entrepreneurial nonprofits in perspective by showing how they fit into a larger movement for social change. It is very encouraging to see the field of social enterprise, not as an isolated aspect of the nonprofit sector, but as part of a growing tidal wave of change in the for-profit, nonprofit and governmental sectors. Alperovitz meticulously builds and supports the argument that changes in all the sectors are responses to similar environmental forces, such as globalization and changing governmental priorities. Alone, these developments are marginal, at best. However, taken together, they represent tremendous potential to create the “radical systemic change” that he envisions.

Additionally, Alperovitz uses compelling illustrations to argue that America’s version of capitalism and democracy is not working. He suggests that although this country was founded on the values of equality, liberty and democracy, it is gradually undermining those values. Alperovitz notes that the traditional approaches of conservatives and liberals will do little to fix the massive problems in our society. Furthermore, he finds traditional capitalist and socialist political systems inadequate, and calls for a systemic change that he terms the “Pluralist Commonwealth.”

Alperovitz creates a compelling vision of this “Pluralist Commonwealth” that integrates the best aspects of capitalism’s focus on freedom and economic stability with socialism’s support for equality and community. He believes that this quantum shift in direction will require “new institutions,” and encourages worker ownership and renewed not-for-profit and governmental entrepreneurship. Other recommendations include more localized democracy, greater financial security and time, regionalization, and new forms of wealth holding.

The second bottom-line (given that good social enterprises incorporate a double bottom-line) is that, for all its BIG ideas, this book has significant practical implications. Most notable for social enterprises is the exhortation to seek alliances with entrepreneurial local, state, and national governmental agencies, as well as with for-profit corporations that promote employee ownership and other social goals. Alperovitz believes that these alliances will unify the presently fragmented “movement” toward “radical systemic change.”

America Beyond Capitalism is challenging, persuasive, inspiring and educational. It is also very readable and interesting, and it will renew the hope that motivates you and strengthen the beliefs that sustain you. I encourage you to set aside some time to read it this week.

Rating = 5
Rating System Key
1 – Don’t read this book, even if you get it for free
2 – Reading this book review gives you everything you need to know
3 – Check out the book from your local library
4 – Buy the book for your personal library
5 – Buy the book and get a couple for your friends and associates