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It is increasingly apparent that capitalism cannot stave off the truly frightening ecological disasters that threaten the future of life on earth. Is it an accident that the strongest and most capitalist economic force in the world, the US, is also that force that is most prone to the denial of the enormous dangers of global warming? While capitalism is a global force, it is not supported by the majority of the world, and much more thought and action is needed to integrate and globalize movements against oppression, injustice and ecological destruction.
While changes at a local level are important and more feasible in our current world, ultimately changes at a global level may have greater long-term importance, and we need to greatly expand theorizations and mobilizations in this direction now. Robert Albritton proposes 'practical utopias' as a process of thinking by which short-term changes tend in the direction of desirable changes in the longterm.
List of contents
Chapter 1. Introduction: Rethinking Time and Space.- Chapter 2. Hobbes and Locke: "Fear of Death, Poverty or Other Calamity.- Chapter 3. Marx's Devastating Critique of Capitalism.- Chapter 4. Ethics and Education: Possessive Individualism Versus Global Caring.- Chapter 5. The Super Rich: Billions Versus Poverty.- Chapter 6. Ever Expanding Militarism.- Chapter 7. Why So Many Guns and Prisons?.- Chapter 8. Water and Land.- Chapter 9. Conclusion: "Time and Tides Wait for No One".
About the author
Robert Albritton is Professor Emeritus at York University, Toronto, Canada. His research focuses on capitalist theory and political economy.
Summary
It is increasingly apparent that capitalism cannot stave off the truly frightening ecological disasters that threaten the future of life on earth. Is it an accident that the strongest and most capitalist economic force in the world, the US, is also that force that is most prone to the denial of the enormous dangers of global warming? While capitalism is a global force, it is not supported by the majority of the world, and much more thought and action is needed to integrate and globalize movements against oppression, injustice and ecological destruction.
While changes at a local level are important and more feasible in our current world, ultimately changes at a global level may have greater long-term importance, and we need to greatly expand theorizations and mobilizations in this direction now. Robert Albritton proposes 'practical utopias' as a process of thinking by which short-term changes tend in the direction of desirable changes in the longterm.
