Words at Work: Chronicling the Democratic Economy Beyond Both Socialism and Capitalism

When it comes to social issues, Americans seem enamored of either‐or dichotomies: Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative, right vs. left. In economic life, this attachment has led to an imagined choice between the poles of (free market) capitalism and (state‐directed) socialism/communism. Either privately owned companies retain control over production and investment or these are placed under the ownership and authority of governmental agencies. Like most such dichotomies, however, this one is neither exclusive nor exhaustive. The poles can be combined in a pluralistic or mixed system (as in most Scandinavian countries). Moreover, there is solid ground outside or beyond both of them on which to construct new economic concepts and arrangements.