ABSTRACT
Though Berger eschews Utopianism, his uncritical commitment to capitalism brings to mind one who is thoroughly imbued with a utopian vision tied to a specific mode of economic organization. Marx devised a measure he called the "rate of exploitation". Anyone who has had reason to use the rate of exploitation, even as a self-instructional exercise, will immediately recognize that Marx purported to be able to measure exploitation in a simple, straightforward, and seemingly precise way. Berger is openly forthcoming with regard to a fundamental difference between capitalism and socialism. Berger subsumes his own theory of capitalism under the heading "economic culture", a term to refer to the non-economic implications and manifestations of capitalism. In fairness to Berger, it is important to emphasize that Marx himself had genuine admiration for the innovative nature and productive power of industrial capitalism. The nearly thirty years since publication of The Capitalist Revolution have seen damaging erosion in American's prospects for upward social mobility.
