Economics of Abundance

Book: Wolfgang Hoeschele. The Economics of Abundance: A Political Economy of Freedom, Equity, and Sustainability.

Description

"The “economics of abundance” is based on a critique of our present economic system, which finds value only in scarce commodities – i.e., things which can be sold at a high price because demand exceeds supply. Because this economy depends on demand always outstripping supplies, it also depends on “scarcity-generating institutions” – institutions that either manipulate supply or demand in order to keep us in a constant state of need.

An economy of abundance seeks to dismantle or reform these scarcity-generating institutions in such a way as to affirm our freedom to live life as art (self-expression to others), social equity (so that everyone can live life as art), and sustainability (so that all life can thrive into the future). Among other things, this implies a much greater role for various forms of shared property, individual and community-level self-reliance, and participatory decision-making." (http://shareable.net/blog/event-the-economics-of-abundance)

Contents

Wolfgang Hoeschele:

Of particular interest to P2P Foundation readers:

The beginning of chapter 2 gives a brief discussion of what I mean with "scarcity-generating institutions." The next several chapters are an in-depth treatment of this.

"The section "Wholeness and the art of living" in chapter 7 explains what I mean with art of living and why this offers a way forward; we'd obviously have to use only a part of this.

Chapters 8 and 9 provide my discussion of solutions. I call "contributory" are the ones which increase the more they are used, especially knowledge). Chapter 8 as a whole discusses what kinds of property rights are appropriate for what kinds of resources and resources uses, delineating all the different types of resource uses where common property is either the only alternative to open access, or where it is more appropriate than private or state property (a flow chart on p. 149 condenses a lot of this argument into one page). Since there are so many areas where common property needs to be further developed, I go into some of the management issues for common property in "Managing the Commons," for example, by discussing water distribution systems.

In Chapter 9, I first define the "self" in self-reliance as somebody living in relationships to a larger community that supports life as art, I then discuss things such as land refom, community gardens, water harvesting, transport policies in favor of non-motorized mobility, creation of health-promoting environments, and local generation of renewable energy as self-reliant/cooperative production, and alternative currencies and the like as forms of equitable exchange. The chapter ends with a discussion of strategies for change, focusing on coalition building and a suggestion to establish "Abundance Arts Centers" that could help bring people together and create synergy among them."

The TOC of the book:

1 The Paradox of Our Times 1

Human Needs and Wants 2

Creating Addiction 9

Depletion and Degradation of Natural Resources 12

Is There an Alternative? 14

Part I The Production of Scarcity

2 Oppressive Scarcities 19

Religion and Ideology 20

Privilege and Subordination 22

Violence 28

3 Exploitative Scarcities 31

Property 31

Monopolies and Oligopolies 41

Exchange Systems 50

4 The Creation of Needs 61

Transportation 64

Healthcare 66

Education 69

Time 70

5 A Global Geography of Scarcity 73

The International Division of Labor 74

Commodity Networks 77

Population 102

6 Systems of Control 111

The State 111

Finance 114

Knowledge Control 120

The Military 124

Frenzy 127

Part II paths towards abundance

7 The Art of Living 131

Wholeness and the Art of Living 132

Civil Rights and Liberties 144

8 Resource-Use Rights 147

Contributory Resource Uses 150

Neutral Resource Uses 157

Rivalrous Resource Uses 159

Managing the Commons 166

Undermining Monopolies 176

9 Reclaiming Self-Reliance and Cooperation 181

Self-Reliance and Cooperation in Productive Activities 182

Equitable Exchange Relationships 195

Strategies for Change 201

Bibliography 209

Index 233