Stop supporting capitalism! Start building socialism! - Stan Parker

Stan Parker was in fact a pioneer in the field of leisure studies not just in Britain but across the English-speaking world, respected by his peers who in 1997 made him the first honorary member of the Leisure Studies Association. After his retirement from the social survey division of the Census Office, he taught at the University of the Third Age in Britain and Australia. He also represented the Socialist Party in local elections and the 2009 European election.

The dawn of the twenty-first century may not seem to be the most auspicious time to write a book advocating the replacement of world capitalism with world socialism. Scarcely a decade ago so-called communist regimes were overthrown by some form of market-based social democracy in several countries of Eastern Europe. Today capitalism-supporting parties (sometimes carrying the label socialist or Labour) hold sway in Western Europe, Australasia and elsewhere. In the USA there is a roughly 50-50 split between capitalism run by the Republicans and the same thing formerly (and probably again in the future) run by the Democrats. The rest of the world has regimes varying from outright dictatorships to full-fledged social democracies. With the exception of vestiges of feudalism and even slavery, capitalism rules everywhere, its hold getting stronger rather than weaker on the minds and in the actions of both leaders and led.

The book is divided into two parts. In the first I concentrate on the past and present of capitalism, a historical and actually existing system. In the second part the emphasis moves to the future possibility of replacing capitalism with socialism at the level of world society.