Mutualism: Building the Next Economy from the Ground Up
Author: Sara Horowitz
Publisher: Random House
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Cover Description
Mutualism: It's not capitalism and it's not socialism. It's the future.
The twentieth century changed every facet of life for American workers: how much they could expect to earn and what they had the right to demand. But by 2027, a majority of Americans — from low-wage service workers to white-collar professionals — won't be traditional employees. Benefits like paid sick leave, pensions, 401(k)s, disability insurance, and health care will be nearly extinct. To meet the needs of this new generation of workers, the government has done almost nothing.
In this book, labor lawyer, former chair of the board of the New York Federal Reserve, and MacArthur "genius" Sara Horowitz brings us a solution to the current crisis of work that's rooted in the best of American traditions, which she calls mutualism. Horowitz shows how the future of our economic safety net rests on this approach and demonstrates how mutualist organizations have helped us solve common problems in the past and are now quietly driving rural and urban economies alike all over the world, inspired not by for-profit corporations but by labor unions and trade associations, religious organizations and mutual aid societies, and vital social movements from women's suffrage to civil rights.
Mutualism is for anyone who feels that the system is not working for them, and is looking for a new way to build collaboratively, create the new American social contract, and prosper in the twenty-first century.
TL;DR Review
Mutualism was a fascinating, approachable book made me think about the future and the safety net we can build for ourselves in a lot of new ways.
For you if: You’d like to learn about a possible middle ground between the way we’re leaving people behind and ditching capitalism completely.
Full Review
First of all, thank you to Random House for sending me a free copy of this book. I’m really glad that I read it.
When I heard about Mutualism, I was expecting a book all about mutual aid (which has exploded in the past year, thanks to the pandemic). But while it definitely does talk about mutual aid, there’s also a lot more to it. This book is also about the changing workforce (ie freelancing) and how labor laws and practices can foster a new kind of safety net (insurance, retirement, etc) for all workers.
In the early 20th century, Sara Horowitz’s family built one of the largest unions in the country. Later, she built the Freelancers Union, which today has 500,000 members. She brings that experience together with her labor relations and law degrees to envision a future where we build organizations that meet people’s needs over the long term, with patient, reliable income streams.
On the left, you hear two extremes: the government must provide EVERYTHING, or we must abolish capitalism completely. I found this look at mutualism — legally recognized, self-sufficient organizations that work with the economy rather than against it — as a possible middle-ground solution to be both refreshing and hopeful.
But it doesn’t feel like an economics lesson. It’s approachable and readable and personal. A lot of it really resonated with me, and I learned a ton.