Socialists Grapple With How to Actually Handle the Next Economic Crisis
A new essay argues that despite 150 years of crisis theory, socialists lack a coherent policy playbook when real economic shocks hit—typically defaulting to either revolutionary rhetoric or Keynesian fixes. For policymakers and business strategists, the analysis highlights a critical gap: left-leaning approaches to crisis management remain philosophically advanced but practically unclear.
Originaltitel: What Are We Waiting For?: Part 2: Socialist Reflections on the Next Economic Crisis
<p>This two-part essay draws upon crisis theory and the history of economic crises to reflect on the current turbulence and the next economic crisis. The first part can be found here.1 Despite having theorized crises for some 150 years, Marxists have found it difficult to translate these insights into a coherent socialist crisis policy when real crises shake the world. When crises erupt, socialists tend to retreat into either revolutionary phraseology or Keynesianism. How can socialists chart a clear path forward in stormy weather?</p><p>This, the second part of the essay, focuses on how we can think about economic crises in the twenty-first century. The first part of the essay proposed a reconceptualization of crises as societal paroxysms and identified current challenges—both in terms of the use of history and conceptual chaos—when discussing tomorrow’s crisis. This second part discusses what we should do. How can we work towards a socialist approach to crisis?</p><p>In the first part of the essay, we saw that economic crises are complex phenomena, and there is always much we cannot know about the next crisis. Here, we focus on something we can know—namely that all economic crises under capitalism include and are formed by class struggle. So what could a working-class response to crisis entail? Since economic crises bring with them creative destruction, it is time to ask what a socialist version of that might look like.</p><p>If socialists fail to discuss what to do before a crisis hits, it might already be too late. In moments of shock, we tend to act more on reflex, navigating between already established ideas. Such moments are rarely suited to deep intellectual or political reflection. When the world is on fire, it is difficult to seize control of the situation—unless one is ready.</p><p>I fully understand that many people may feel that there are issues that are more immediate and important than speculating about a future economic crisis. And indeed, there are also limits to how detailed plans for future crises can be. But I will stress that when the next crisis emerges, it is absolutely crucial to have already developed policies, slogans and plans—and ideally, a strong class consciousness—so that we know exactly which direction we are heading.</p>