Dr.BrianEgan,DepartmentofGeography,SimonFraserUniversity - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Dr.
Brian
Egan,
Department
of
Geography,
Simon
Fraser
University


poli;cal
ecology


 emerged
in
1980s
out
of
cri;que
of
standard
explana;ons
for


environmental
degrada;on
in
global
South,
such
as
popula;on
pressure,
 ‘backwardness’
of
poor
land
users,
or
‘market
failure’.



 early
poli;cal
ecologists
argued
that
root
causes
of
environmental


degrada;on
were
to
be
found
through
examina;on
of
broader
social,
 economic,
and
poli;cal
contexts;
influenced
by
Marxist
analysis.






 “poli;cal
ecology
combines
the
concerns
of
ecology
and
a
broadly
defined


poli;cal
economy.
Together
this
encompasses
the
constantly
shiPing
 dialec;c
between
society
and
land‐based
resources,
and
also
within
classes
 and
groups
within
society
itself.”
(Blaikie
&
Brookfield
1987)


 great
expansion
of
poli;cal
ecology
over
last
two
decades,
drawing
on


broad
range
of
social
theories
(race
and
gender,
post‐structuralism
and
 post‐colonialism,
social
movement
theory,
etc.).





economic
systems


 tradi;onal
systems
–
focus
on
subsistence,
decentralized,
land
and


resource
use
governed
by
customs
and
tradi;ons,
limited
role
for
market.



 market
(capitalist)
systems
–
central
role
of
markets
(invisible
hand)
in


mee;ng
human
needs
and
wants,
price
of
goods
and
services
set
by
 market
supply‐demand.


 command
systems
–
government
plays
central
role
in
produc;on
and


distribu;on
processes,
and
mee;ng
human
needs
and
wants.



 mixed
systems
–
some
blend
of
tradi;onal,
market,
and
command
systems,


most
commonly
involves
some
level
of
state
interven;on
in
market
 systems.



liberalism
and
capitalism


 the
world
we
live
in
today
is
strongly
shaped
by
the
interac;on
of
two


powerful
forces:
liberalism
and
capitalism.



 the
objec;ve
of
today’s
class
is
to
be[er
understand
these
forces.



 what
are
they?

  how
did
they
come
about?

  how
do
they
work
together?






liberalism


 an
enormously
influen;al
western
poli;cal
theory
or
ideology


characterized
by:


 individualism
–
the
individual
is
the
central
focus;
freedom
of
the


individual
is
highest
goal;
individuals
should
be
free
to
pursue
their
own
 self‐interest;
individual
rights
trump
group
rights.


 egalitarianism
and
universalism
–
all
individuals
are
equal
(before
the


law)
and
should
be
treated
the
same,
regardless
of
background.



 meliorism
–
an
op;mis;c
and
progressive
worldview.
  the
government
(as
the
source
of
law)
plays
an
important
role
in


media;ng
rela;ons
between
individuals.



economic
liberalism


 In
economic
terms,
liberalism
is
characterized
by:


 central
role
of
the
market
in
mee;ng
individual
and
societal
objec;ves.
  antagonis;c
or
ambivalent
stance
towards
government’s
interven;on
in


the
economy;
importance
of
‘free’
or
‘self‐regula;ng’
market;
reduce
 taxes.



 belief
in
an
open
economy
(free
trade,
minimal
regula;on).
  importance
of
private
property.



varie;es
of
liberalism


 although
the
central
tenets
of
liberalism
remain
unchanged,


some
scholars
point
to
different
varie;es
of
liberalism
that
 dominated
during
different
periods:


 classical
liberalism
–
primacy
of
individual
freedom,
maximal
role
for


market,
minimal
role
for
government.


 social
liberalism
–
larger
role
for
government
interven;on
in
economy


to
meet
certain
social
and
economic
objec;ves
(social
welfare).



 neo‐liberalism
–
recent
return
to
a
(narrow)
form
of
classical
liberalism,


dominant
force
over
past
40
years.




capitalism



“An
historically
specific
form
of
economic
and
social


• rganiza;on
[…
within
which]
the
direct
producer
is
separated


from
ownership
of
the
means
of
produc;on
and
the
product


• f
the
labour
process;
and
where
[…]
this
separa;on
is


effected
through
the
transforma;on
of
labour
power
into
a
 commodity
to
be
bought
and
sold
on
a
labour
market
which
is
 regulated
by
price
signals.”



Derek
Gregory,
The
Dic(onary
of
Human
Geography,
p.
56.


the
great
transforma;on


 “All
economic
systems
known
to
us
up
to
the
end
of
feudalism
in
Western


Europe
[roughly
the
14th
century]
were
organized
either
on
the
principle
of
 reciprocity
or
redistribu;on,
or
householding,
or
some
combina;on
of
the
 three.”
(Karl
Polanyi,
The
Great
Transforma(on,
p.
57)


 historically,
economic
system
submerged
(embedded)
in
society
and
social


rela;ons;
in
tradi;onal
economies
economic
systems,
markets
existed
but
 were
not
central
and
were
controlled
and
regulated
by
social
authority.


 crea;on
of
a
market
economy
and
of
self‐regulated
markets
is
a
specific


historical
process,
which
came
about
in
the
19th
century;
this
was
not
a
 “natural”
process
but
had
to
be
ac;vely
produced
by
certain
socio‐ economic
interests
and
the
state.




market
economy


 “…
an
economic
system
controlled,
regulated,
and
directed
by
market


prices;
order
in
the
produc;on
and
distribu;on
of
goods
is
entrusted
to
 this
self‐regula;ng
mechanism.”
(Polanyi,
p.
71)


 was
en;rely
unprecedented
in
human
history;
no
economy
had
existed


that,
even
in
principle,
was
controlled
by
markets;
markets
had
long
existed
 (e.g.,
in
tradi;onal
systems)
but
had
been
no
more
than
incidental.



 individual
gain
is
central
to
market
economy,
and
deemed
socially


acceptable
and
desirable;
individual
gain
and
wealth
accumula;on
key
to
 success
of
the
market
economy
and
society
(‘trickle
down’
theory).


land
and
labour


 establishment
of
the
market
economic
system
required
that
the
economy


be
“disembedded”
from
society
and
from
long‐standing
forms
of
social
and
 poli;cal
control.


 also
required
that
labour
and
land
be
removed
from
social
and
poli;cal


control
–
disembedded
from
society
–
and
located
in
the
economic
realm
 under
the
control
of
the
market
(e.g.,
labour
market,
real
estate
market);
 labor
and
land
were
to
be
treated
as
commodi;es.



 Polanyi:
land
and
labour
are
‘fic;;ous
commodi;es’;
land
is
simply
nature


and
labour
simply
an
aspect
of
human
life;
commodifica;on
of
these
would
 have
disastrous
results,
causing
social
upheaval
and
disloca;on,
and
 ecological
degrada;on
(e.g.,
late
19th
and
early
20th
centuries).



the
double
movement


 the
movement
towards
a
fully
expressed
market
society
threatened
the


very
basis
for
human
social
and
economic
life,
undermining
families,
 communi;es,
and
the
lands
and
resources
on
which
human
depend,
 crea;ng
economic
and
poli;cal
turmoil.


 Polanyi
argued
that
this
movement
could
only
advance
so
far
before
it
was


met
by
a
counter‐movement,
of
people
seeking
to
protect
the
social
and
 ecological
founda;ons
of
their
lives
and
livelihoods
from
the
ravages
of
the
 market.


 primary
tool
of
this
protec;onist
countermovement
was
state
interven;on
in


the
market,
regula;on
to
limit
the
most
damaging
effects
of
the
market.


 even
many
proponents
of
open
markets
recognized
the
need
for
state


interven;on
to
advance
economic
interests
(including
capital
accumula;on).




capitalism


 key
factors
of
produc;on:
labour,
capital,
land
(resources
or
nature).

  profit
seeking
is
central
and
socially
acceptable
goal.

  capital
accumula;on;
profit
gained
from
capital
investment;
the
driving


force
of
capitalism.



 internal
contradic;ons
and
crises
of
capitalism:
overproduc;on,


underconsump;on,
etc.



 capitalism
is
variegated
(takes
many
forms),
flexible,
and
crea;ve,


seemingly
able
to
overcome
all
obstacles
that
arise.


 capital
resolves
these
crises,
in
part,
geographically
(it
moves
the
problem


around).


 key
role
of
the
state
in
establishing
founda;ons
for
capitalism
and
in


ensuring
its
con;nued
success.




capitalism,
ecology,
labour


 Marxist
scholars
(and
others)
argue
that
capitalism
consumes


• r
destroys
that
on
which
it
ul;mately
depends:



 it
commodifies
and
consumes
both
nature
and
labour,
hence
degrading


the
fundamental
bases
of
its
opera;on
(and,
more
generally,
the
 founda;ons
for
the
crea;on
of
human
wealth).


 capital
must
con;nually
seek
ways
to
overcome
these
contradic;ons


and
crises,
and
to
con;nue
capital
accumula;on,
by
finding
new
and
 cheaper
sources
of
labour
and
resources.


 It
does
this
in
a
number
of
ways,
such
as
by
pushing
down
wages
in
exis;ng
labour


markets
(undermine
unions,
bring
in
migrant
labour),
seeking
to
prevent
or
remove
 environmental
regula;ons
in
capitalist
economies,
shiPing
produc;on
to
places
where
 labour
is
cheaper
and
where
environmental
standards
less
stringent,
and
 incorpora;ng
hitherto
common
assets
(public
land
and
resources)
and
social
sectors
 (health,
educa;on)
into
the
private
sector
and
thus
into
market
economy.







primi;ve
accumula;on


 Marx:
‘primi;ve
accumula;on’
refers
to
the
original
source
of
surplus
that
made


capital
accumula;on
possible,
including
exploita;on
of
labour
and
the
priva;za;on


• f
common
lands
and
resources
(enclosure
movement
in
England,
17th
to
19th
C).


 proletarianiza;on:
displaced
from
their
land
and
means
of
livelihood,
peasants


must
sell
their
labour
in
the
market
(rise
of
working
class
in
industrial
society).



 primi;ve
accumula;on
con;nues
today:
capital
con;nually
seeks
new
and
cheaper


sources
of
land
(resources)
and
labour
to
maintain
accumula;on
(profits),
through
 crea;on
of
new
commodi;es
and
markets,
shiP
to
new
places
(outsourcing),
using
 new
labour
pools.


neo‐liberalism



“…
is
a
theory
of
poli;cal
economic
prac;ces
proposing
that
 human
well‐being
can
best
be
advanced
by
the
maximiza;on


• f
entrepreneurial
freedoms
within
an
ins;tu;onal
framework


characterized
by
private
property
rights,
individual
liberty,
 unencumbered
markets,
and
free
trade.
The
role
of
the
state
is
 to
create
and
preserve
an
ins;tu;onal
framework
appropriate
 to
such
prac;ces.”
David
Harvey.



David
Harvey.
2007.
Neoliberalism
as
Crea(ve
Destruc(on,
p.
22.


neo‐liberalism


 key
tenets
/
processes:


 priva;za;on
–
corpora;za;on
and
commodifica;on
of
public
assets


(land,
resources,
u;li;es,
educa;on,
health,
knowledge,
etc.)


 free
trade
–
lower
barriers
to
movement
of
goods
and
capital
across


borders
(but
no
so
much
for
labour).




 deregula;on
–
cut
regula;ons
(‘red
tape’)
re.
environment,
labour,
etc.
  reduce
taxa;on
–
especially
for
capital
(‘trickle
down’
theory).
  redistribu;on
–
wealth
flows
upwards,
increasing
inequality.

  globaliza;on
–
neo‐liberal
policies
imposed
on
periphery
(global
South)


by
core
(global
North)
ins;tu;ons
(WB,
IMF,
WTO).



 The
‘Washington
consensus’.









resistance


 resistance
to
neo‐liberalism
has
taken
many
forms
(social


movements):


 labour
–
weakened
in
global
North
but
less
so
in
global
South,
focus
on


sweatshops,
child
labour,
repression
of
syndicalists.


 an;‐corporate,
an;‐globaliza;on,
global
solidarity
–
cri;que
of


Washington
consensus
and
interna;onal
ins;tu;ons
(IMF,
WTO,
etc.).




 environmental
–
local
and
global
campaigns.

  indigenous
–
land
and
resource
rights,
self‐determina;on,
DRIPS.

  human
and
poli;cal
rights
–
pro‐democracy,
gender,
age,
race/ethnicity,


workers,
etc.