Paul Kingsnorth

I remember, four years back, being at a seminar on 'life after capitalism', at the European Social Forum. It was one of those optimistic events, in which activists of various stripes, from anarchists to economists (they're never the same thing, funnily) laid out their stalls. There was general eagerness for capitalism to end, so we could all get down to putting something wonderful in its place.

On the panel was the economist Susan George, who has done more than most people to suggest alternatives to the current charade. She chose to inject a usefully sober note into the debate. It's worth reproducing what she said, because it seems interestingly prescient:

There is a serious possibility that this unstable global economy could actually collapse. We could then be faced with a Weimar-type situation. We could experience war, dictatorship, instability and military takeover. Remember that life after capitalism could be worse than what we have now. This movement has got to get serious in thinking about how we could avoid this outcome. We have got to take capitalism as seriously as it takes itself, because it is relentless.

I thought of this when I was watching footage of a John McCain rally descending into something not a million miles away from a 21st century Nuremberg. Listen to those chants of 'USA! USA! USA!' and tell me you don't feel nervous. There are a lot of very furious Americans out there, and an Obama presidency is only going to make them even more furious. When capitalism goes down it almost inevitably throws up someone, or something, which rides on the back of promises to take control - serious control - of the mess for the good of the country. This article looks at how this might yet happen in America. It's worth a read.