postcapitalist

Postcapitalist is a term used to describe economic arrangements that aim to go beyond traditional capitalism. In academic and activist discourse, it refers to systems in which value is produced and distributed through means other than private capital accumulation and wage-based market exchange. Proponents envision democratic governance, cooperative ownership, and common or public management of critical resources, with allocation guided by social needs or ecological considerations rather than profit alone.

Different strands exist. Paul Mason’s 2015 book Postcapitalism argues that information technology and networked exchange can undermine capitalist competition by enabling knowledge work to be shared and redistributed, potentially reducing the central role of capital in production. The concept has also influenced discussions of platform cooperativism, universal basic income, and data commons, where digital infrastructures and social ownership are used to reorganize value creation. Some writers conceive postcapitalism as a transitional stage toward a socialist or commons-based economy rather than a fully distinct system.

Critics caution that the term is contested and underdefined; capitalism has shown resilience and adaptability, and broad social change may be incremental rather than revolutionary. Others warn that new technologies could concentrate power even as they enable new forms of collaboration, creating new forms of surveillance or exploitation. Because there is no single blueprint, “postcapitalist” tends to function as an aspirational label rather than a determinate mode of production.