Ilkley Literature Festival review: Postcapitalism

Paul Mason from Channel 4 News was at the festival this afternoon to talk about his new book PostCapitalism (he didn't want to talk about 'socialism' because he says his ideas are not like the socialism we're used to, yet it apparently fits in with the utopian socialist trajectory begun in the 12th century). You can imagine (if you're at all used to me and my ramblings) that this is just the sort of thing I'd love on a Sunday afternoon. I did enjoy the hour he spent in the King's Hall more or less lecturing on his pet topic, but I remain unconvinced. And I am, as you may already know, not all that keen on capitalism.

He talked about the sharing economy, and mentioned Wikipedia. I thought ok, people do that for fun, for free, and other people use it but it's not a widespread model surely. Then he talked about Linux, and Apache, and how large parts of the 'real' (capitalist) economy rely on them, and I thought maybe he has a point. There is more to global transactions and society these days than handing over money for stuff.

He talked about the erosion of workers' rights, and the nature of precarious living, the recent rise of the left in Europe, and the boom-bust economic cycles of the last few decades. Lots of things that left me with more questions than answers. Like how do creative types manage to feed themselves when everyone's sharing their digital content (photos, music, films, e-books) online for free? He also talked about things like the massive bureaucratic hurdles that make it hard for credit unions and peer to peer lending to get going, meaning we all still rely on the old-fashioned banks.

I would like to read his book, it sounds like it's full of thought-provoking material, but at 17 quid for a hardback I think I'll go for the sharing economy approach, and wait till I can borrow it from my local library.