Synopses & Reviews
From the time it was uttered by Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s, “There is no alternative” has been the unofficial mantra of the neoliberal order. The illusion of inevitability has long been a bulwark of late capitalism, leaving us unable to imagine anything beyond its crises and inequalities. But as Derek Wall argues in
Economics After Capitalism, there is in fact an alternative to our crisis-ridden, austerity-inflicted world—and not just one alternative, but many.
Challenging the arguments for markets, mainstream economics, and capitalism from Adam Smith onwards, Economics After Capitalism provides a step-by-step guide to the writers, movements, and schools of thought critical of neoliberal globalization. These thinkers range from Keynesian-inspired reformists such as George Soros and Joseph Stiglitz and critics of inequality like Thomas Piketty and Amartya Sen to more radical voices such as Naomi Klein, Marxists such as David Harvey, anarchists, and autonomists including Antonio Negri and Michael Hardt.
Wall explains Marx’s economic system in a twenty-first century context and outlines how we can build a democratic economy that, by drawing on the ideas of Elinor Ostrom, Hugo Chavez and others, can renew socialism. In providing a clear and accessible guide to the economics of anti-capitalism, Wall successfully demonstrates that an alternative to rampant climate change, elite rule and financial chaos is not just necessary, but possible.
Review
The major contests of our times--intellectually, materially, politically, economically, ecologically--are the new enclosures of the commons. Commons are being privatized and turned into commodities. Biodiversity and traditional knowledge are being enclosed through patents, water commons are being enclosed through privatization, ecosystem functions are being enclosed through financialization. Recovery of the commons is at the heart of creation of earth democracy and the creation of living economies in times of economic collapse. Sustainability and survival rest on the human capacity to defend and reclaim the commons. Derek Wall's The Commons in History is an important contribution to the recovery of the commons and the creation of the future based on sustainability and justice. The MIT Press
Review
The commons paradigm challenges economic orthodoxies while traversing diverse cultures and disciplines. No wonder it is so frequently misunderstood! Derek Wall's richly layered history of the commons is a welcome antidote. It provides a fresh, accessible synthesis that is useful to activists and academics alike. Vandana Shiva, author of < i=""> Earth Democracy <> and coauthor of < i=""> The Enclosure and Recovery of the Commons <>
Review
In The Commons in History, Derek Wall creatively investigates the commons as a historical place, a theoretical concept, and a practical tool for resource management. By deploying history, Wall deftly grounds the commons in concrete ways, a signal contribution for a topic too often considered ahistorically. As such, readers in multiple fields with myriad interests will be forced to reconsider how the commons might contribute to sustainable practices and will need to reckon with history's lessons before moving forward. David Bollier, author of < i=""> Think Like a Commoner <> and cofounder of the Commons Strategies Group
Review
“A thoughtful and inspiring guide to capitalism and anti-capitalism.”
Review
“Funny, lateral and unique—an erudite Green primer on global justice.”
Synopsis
An argument that the commons is neither tragedy nor paradise but can be a way to understand environmental sustainability.
The history of the commons -- jointly owned land or other resources such as fisheries or forests set aside for public use -- provides a useful context for current debates over sustainability and how we can act as "good ancestors." In this book, Derek Wall considers the commons from antiquity to the present day, as an idea, an ecological space, an economic abstraction, and a management practice. He argues that the commons should be viewed neither as a "tragedy" of mismanagement (as the biologist Garrett Hardin wrote in 1968) nor as a panacea for solving environmental problems. Instead, Walls sees the commons as a particular form of property ownership, arguing that property rights are essential to understanding sustainability. How we use the land and its resources offers insights into how we value the environment.
After defining the commons and describing the arguments of Hardin's influential article and Elinor Ostrom's more recent work on the commons, Wall offers historical case studies from the United States, England, India, and Mongolia. He examines the power of cultural norms to maintain the commons; political conflicts over the commons; and how commons have protected, or failed to protect ecosystems. Combining intellectual and material histories with an eye on contemporary debates, Wall offers an applied history that will interest academics, activists, and policy makers.
Synopsis
The history of the commons -- jointly owned land or other resources such as fisheries or forests set aside for public use -- provides a useful context for current debates over sustainability and how we can act as "good ancestors." In this book, Derek Wall considers the commons from antiquity to the present day, as an idea, an ecological space, an economic abstraction, and a management practice. He argues that the commons should be viewed neither as a "tragedy" of mismanagement (as the biologist Garrett Hardin wrote in 1968) nor as a panacea for solving environmental problems. Instead, Walls sees the commons as a particular form of property ownership, arguing that property rights are essential to understanding sustainability. How we use the land and its resources offers insights into how we value the environment. After defining the commons and describing the arguments of Hardin's influential article and Elinor Ostrom's more recent work on the commons, Wall offers historical case studies from the United States, England, India, and Mongolia. He examines the power of cultural norms to maintain the commons; political conflicts over the commons; and how commons have protected, or failed to protect ecosystems. Combining intellectual and material histories with an eye on contemporary debates, Wall offers an applied history that will interest academics, activists, and policy makers.
About the Author
Derek Wall is the author of six books including The Rise of the Green Left, The Sustainable Economics of Elinor Ostrom and, with Penny Kemp, A Green Manifesto for the 1990s. He teaches political economy at Goldsmiths College, University of London, and is international coordinator of the Green Party of England and Wales.
Table of Contents
Foreword to first edition by Nandor Tanczos
Foreword by David Bollier
1. Warm Conspiracies and Cold Concepts
2. Vaccinating against Anti-Capitalism: Stiglitz, Soros and Friends
3. White Collar Global Crime Syndicate: Korten, Klein and other Anti-Corporatists
4. Small is Beautiful: Green Economics
5. Planet Earth Money Martyred:
6. Imperialism Unlimited: Marxisms
7. The Tribe of Moles:
8. Ecosocialist Alternatives: Marx's Ecology
9. Women of the world unite: feminist economics.
10. Life after Capitalism:
Bibliography
Index