Author-meets-critics Workshops

In-Person Author meets Critics Workshop with Robin Hahnel on his recent book Democratic Economic Planning - 8.-9. June 23 @University of Potsdam

The participatory economics approach of Robin Hahnel provides a practical alternative to market capitalism. Hahnel emphasizes the importance of including citizens in the running of the economy. His book Democratic Economic Planning provides a concrete proposal for an alternative economy based on social ownership and citizenship participation. It makes detailed practical suggestions on how to organize short-term and long-term planning of the economy to achieve efficiency in the use of resources, environmental sustainability and a fair distribution of burdens and benefits. Citizens self-manage the planning process through worker and consumer councils.

In this author meets critics workshop, we will explore whether Hahnel’s model provides a feasible alternative to capitalism and whether it would be able to realize normative ideals from a variety of traditions of political theory/philosophy. We bring together political theorists, political philosophers and political economists to discuss the institutional arrangements needed to bring about ideals such as efficiency, equality, sustainability, democratic participation, and worker self-determination. The different critical contributions will focus on various parts of Hahnel’s book and scrutinize the treatment of care work, environmental sustainability, worker and consumer participation, distributive justice, and the allocation of resources. Contributors to the workshop will consider whether the model is able to overcome the Austrian school critique of planning, whether it provides adequate methods for ensuring the efficient and sustainable use of resources, and whether it solves some of the issues with other proposed alternatives to capitalism (e.g., market socialism and central planning).

The workshop is funded by the Fritz Thyssen Foundation. 

The workshop will be held from 8.-9. June 2023, in person at the University of Potsdam.

For further information contact Philipp Dapprich: dapprich[at]uni-potsdam.de

Speakers:

Prof. Robin Hahnel (American University, Washington, D.C.)

Prof. Stefanie Hürtgen (Paris Lodron University, Salzburg)

Prof. John O'Neill (University of Manchester)

Prof. Fabian Schuppert (University of Potsdam)

Prof. Hannes Kuch (Goethe University Frankfurt)

Prof. Mirjam Müller (Humboldt University Berlin)

Dr. Jan Philipp Dapprich (University of Potsdam)

Max Grünberg, M.A. (University of Kassel)