Arguing that socialism could return to the center of political life in advanced capitalist countries, this book aims to convince socialists and nonsocialists alike that there is both a strong moral case for economic democracy and a feasible strategy for achieving it. The author defines economic democracy as a system in which firms operate in a market economy but are governed by their workers. He shows that it appeals to the value of individual freedom while retaining the advantages of a corporatist industrial relations system. This work will be of interest to scholars of political theory,...

Why is the United States the only advanced capitalist country with no labor party? This question is one of the great enduring puzzles of American political development, and it lies at the heart of a fundamental debate about the nature of American society. Tackling this debate head-on, Robin Archer puts forward a new explanation for why there is no American labor party--an explanation that suggests that much of the conventional wisdom about "American exceptionalism" is untenable.

Conventional explanations rely on comparison with Europe. Archer challenges these explanations by...