A POSTCAPITALIST PARADIGM: THE COMMON GOOD OF ...

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maize in the United States proved that the technology was relatively simple. The same went for agro-diesel based on oil palm, soya and other oil-producing plants, like jatropha. In Brazil the beginning of the ethanol wave coincided with the 1973 oil crisis, making it possible to reduce the importing of very expensive crude oil. In the United States the problem was to reduce its dependence on external sources of oil, as it did not consider the countries concerned very reliable. This justified the production of ethanol assisted by large State subsidies, with maize yielding less agrofuel than cane sugar. A number of countries have started to legislate the use of a certain percentage of ‘green energy’ in their overall consumption. The European Union decided that by 2020 the proportion should be 20 per cent, with 10 per cent in green liquid, that is, agrofuels. These plans mean it would be necessary to convert millions of hectares to cultivation for this purpose. In fact, Europe in particular (but also the United States) does not have enough land to satisfy the demand, given its enormous consumption. As a result, towards the end of the first decade of the 21st century, there has been a growing interest in the continents of the South that possess a lot of uncultivated land. Agrofuels are produced as monocultures, that is, by the utilization of huge areas of land to grow a single crop. In many cases this entails the elimination of enormous forests, as is happening in Malaysia and Indonesia. In less than 20 years, 80 per cent of original forest in these countries has been destroyed to make way for plantations of oil palm and eucalyptus. Biodiversity has disappeared, with dire consequences for the reproduction of life. Not only is a great quantity of water needed to produce these crops, but large amounts of chemical products are used as fertilizers and pesticides. As a result the underground water and rivers flowing into the sea are heavily contaminated. Furthermore, the small landholders are being expelled and many indigenous peoples are losing their ancestral lands, which has led to numerous social conflicts, and even violence. If current plans are implemented between now and 2020, tens of millions of hectares will be dedicated to agrofuel monoculture 21
in Asia, Africa and Latin America – continents that contain most of the nearly one billion hungry people on the planet. All this for a marginal result in terms of energy. To implement these projects, what we are seeing is, on the one hand, financial and speculative capital entering into this sector and, on the other, a wave of land grabbing, especially in Africa. In Guinea Bissau there are plans to convert 500,000 hectares – one seventh of the country’s territory – to jatropha cultivation to produce agrodiesel. The capital will be coming from the casinos of Macao (where Portuguese is spoken, as in Guinea Bissau, which facilitates business discussions). The Prime Minister is the principal shareholder of the bank responsible for this operation. Up until now peasant resistance and the doubts of several ministries (including that of the Prime Minister) have halted the project, but this may not be possible for long. Dozens of similar projects exist in many other countries, such as Tanzania, Togo, Benin, Cameroon, Congo and Kenya. In October 2010 an agreement was concluded between President Lula, Mr. Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council and Mr José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, to develop 4,800,000 hectares of sugar cane in Mozambique (this also represents one seventh of the country’s cultivable land), using Brazilian technology and European funding in order to supply Europe with ethanol. This will enable Europe to achieve its plan to use ‘green’ energy but there is little concern about the effects for the natural environment and the population of that country. The development of agrofuels overlooks the ecological and social ‘externalities’, following the characteristic logic of capitalism. It is based on a short-term calculation, which does not take into account the costs that the market will not carry and which will be borne by nature, societies and individuals. These practices also correspond to the laws of accumulation and the immediate interests of financial capital. In other words, it is a typical capitalist project. 22
Page 1 and 2: A POSTCAPITALIST PARADIGM: THE COMM
Page 3 and 4: Rosa Luxemburg Foundation Brussels
Page 5 and 6: The Commons, the Public and the Lef
Page 7 and 8: INTRODUCTION There are various sour
Page 9 and 10: The economic and cultural aspects a
Page 11 and 12: South and in the North. The struggl
Page 13 and 14: intend, in this document, to develo
Page 15 and 16: However, the financial bubble creat
Page 17 and 18: The second aspect is structural. Ov
Page 19: The precise years when the oil, gas
Page 23 and 24: exhaust the natural wealth of the e
Page 25 and 26: minor and temporary nature. In cont
Page 27 and 28: ary ones. Let us recapitulate them:
Page 29 and 30: uate each new initiative to create
Page 31 and 32: eality, sometimes in a very brutal
Page 33 and 34: Even if it affirms that nature is t
Page 35 and 36: with the cultures that have an anal
Page 37 and 38: ture, which is in fact more efficie
Page 39 and 40: international parliaments, represen
Page 41 and 42: positive connotation. In Bhutan, un
Page 43 and 44: Reorganizing collective life throug
Page 45 and 46: eality we do have a bottom-up civil
Page 47 and 48: gional institutions, like the Banco
Page 49 and 50: culturalistic view of spirituality,
Page 51 and 52: struggling for better relations wit
Page 53 and 54: medium-term economic policy based o
Page 55 and 56: can also do so through their repres
Page 57 and 58: As Marx put it, the process of labo
Page 59 and 60: and dramatically to endanger the ex
Page 62 and 63: Considering the above it is logical
Page 64 and 65: as the social, environmental and cu
Page 66 and 67: damaged by environmental degradatio
Page 68 and 69: system of the biosphere which makes
Page 70 and 71:
cause in principle there is not eno
Page 72 and 73:
specific solutions that should be a
Page 74 and 75:
Dispossession and transfer of the p
Page 76 and 77:
or the Interamerican Development Ba
Page 78 and 79:
lion dollars to Africa and 1,680 mi
Page 80 and 81:
Hence the FDI and the debt are mech
Page 82 and 83:
The struggle for the Common Good of
Page 84 and 85:
First part: The reference to Marx A
Page 86 and 87:
icism of the neoclassical economist
Page 88 and 89:
Fictitious capital is above all for
Page 90 and 91:
and interest rates in markets that
Page 92 and 93:
the owners of capital can only dela
Page 94 and 95:
half the world’s military expendi
Page 96 and 97:
ency. This enables the United State
Page 98 and 99:
too). Besides, three-quarters of th
Page 100 and 101:
securities; and - a crucial measure
Page 102 and 103:
B. Keynes 1. Let’s be clear: the
Page 104 and 105:
marginal effectiveness of capital i
Page 106 and 107:
so deep and so difficult to resolve
Page 108 and 109:
Inequality and the balance of power
Page 110 and 111:
formed the capitalist market entire
Page 112 and 113:
media have become real experts in
Page 114 and 115:
Hierarchy of society 44 Capitalism
Page 116 and 117:
The Chinese Revolution also subordi
Page 118 and 119:
Substantive equality and the end of
Page 120 and 121:
had a lot of construction faults, b
Page 122 and 123:
the contrary. At the one hand the a
Page 124 and 125:
Life Expectancy worst best best wor
Page 126 and 127:
So ‘another growth’ or even a
Page 128 and 129:
International Level A new, just eco
Page 130:
MAKING THE COMMON GOOD OF HUMANITY
Page 134 and 135:
law stated, he said, “that men, b
Page 136 and 137:
population which was then forced by
Page 138 and 139:
death and then beheaded under the r
Page 140 and 141:
employment, against lack of access
Page 142 and 143:
Therefore be it resolved that Artic
Page 144 and 145:
on this mind, and built reality in
Page 146 and 147:
(Harvey, 2003; Zeller, 2004). The e
Page 148 and 149:
threatening the existence of a larg
Page 150 and 151:
But in the public search for answer
Page 152 and 153:
Fig. 3: Solidarity-based associatio
Page 154 and 155:
and cultural life is lived on the b
Page 156 and 157:
THE COMMONS, THE PUBLIC AND THE LEF
Page 158 and 159:
then seeing in this merely the sust
Page 160 and 161:
ON COMMON GOOD, MONEY AND CREDIT 11
Page 162 and 163:
This discussion, however, falls sho
Page 164 and 165:
during the current crisis. Authors
Page 166 and 167:
This gradual alienation of sociabil
Page 168 and 169:
COMMUNITARY SOVEREIGNTY VERSUS MONE
Page 170 and 171:
growingly insufficient and uncertai
Page 172 and 173:
cumulation feasible, which is the c
Page 174 and 175:
the involved massive transformation
Page 176 and 177:
larly, globalization and financiali
Page 178 and 179:
mulation from a viable mode of regu
Page 180 and 181:
In the following, I would like to a
Page 182 and 183:
etween strict rejection and the att
Page 184 and 185:
strongly fluctuating, and the expre
Page 186 and 187:
society work together, changes in s
Page 188 and 189:
classical redistribution policies.
Page 190 and 191:
COMMONS: SOCIAL JUSTICE BY SHARING
Page 192 and 193:
2 Multiplicity The one same basket
Page 194 and 195:
is nowadays making certain resource
Page 196 and 197:
and managed as collective property.
Page 198 and 199:
everything - not our bodies, for ex
Page 200 and 201:
“sell” them as if they were the
Page 202 and 203:
nous and Peasant Coordinator) of Gu
Page 204 and 205:
presupposes a harmonious relationsh
Page 206 and 207:
nature and human beings.It is the h
Page 208 and 209:
2. The functions of the concept in
Page 210 and 211:
We have observed, in the positions
Page 212 and 213:
nature and affirmed the symbiosis b
Page 214 and 215:
eignty, participatory planning, etc
Page 216 and 217:
As can be seen, we have two concept
Page 218 and 219:
nous society” (Floresmilo Simbañ
Page 220 and 221:
cultural apparatus of their traditi
Page 222 and 223:
uct, fair redistribution of wealth
Page 224 and 225:
parallel discourse for very differe
Page 226 and 227:
WHAT MODERNITY? WHAT INTERCULTURALI
Page 228 and 229:
an entirely different basis of inte
Page 230 and 231:
consumption will convert us into
Page 232 and 233:
Given these supposed problems, the
Page 234 and 235:
possible future of indigenous cultu
Page 236 and 237:
logical, esoteric and simply ethnic
Page 238 and 239:
the different cultures. And when th
Page 240 and 241:
is the spearhead that capitalism us
Page 242 and 243:
clearly) and there are subtitles in
Page 244 and 245:
Interculturality or interculturaliz
Page 246 and 247:
wealth without limits, has come to
Page 248 and 249:
ical companies, etc.) and to the
Page 250 and 251:
then the same governments are takin
Page 252 and 253:
The European experience of the Welf
Page 254 and 255:
All these themes respond to the imm
Page 256 and 257:
the right of participation in decis
Page 258 and 259:
Good of Humanity is an extremely va
Page 260 and 261:
vived five hundred years of extermi
Page 262 and 263:
USING DEMOCRACY AND GIVING IT ANOTH
Page 264 and 265:
President, reopened the dialogue, r
Page 266 and 267:
processes, on the submission of agr
Page 268 and 269:
practices of Good Living, and throu
Page 270 and 271:
inclusion is being proposed in this
Page 272 and 273:
trary it activates reciprocity: the
Page 274 and 275:
So it is fundamental that this prop
Page 276 and 277:
ways and not necessarily passed on
Page 278 and 279:
The food crisis, traditional medici
Page 280 and 281:
the mangrove resources, thousands o
Page 282 and 283:
and poverty - which applies to many
Page 284 and 285:
4 Indigenous Peoples of the America
Page 286 and 287:
where I would also like to locate m
Page 288 and 289:
In the 1970s, in the early days of
Page 290 and 291:
and acquire meaning. 149 While the
Page 292 and 293:
ops some programmatic lines for wha
Page 294 and 295:
Minga is a mutual practice which si
Page 296 and 297:
to the lack of social relationships
Page 298 and 299:
In the immediate world political co
Page 300 and 301:
the very basis of our increased abi
Page 302 and 303:
ham’s pioneering work on science
Page 304 and 305:
Science however was not just produc
Page 306 and 307:
that again lie the possibilities of
Page 308 and 309:
Such an alternative vision was firs
Page 310 and 311:
Hind Swaraj, he clearly expressed h
Page 312 and 313:
The term ‘people’s science’ s
Page 314 and 315:
Well Being and Happiness The New Ec
Page 316 and 317:
moditized”. That was because of t
Page 318 and 319:
As for the second subject, monocult
Page 320 and 321:
About the alternatives “Reviewing
Page 322 and 323:
egard, commoditization of the basic
Page 324 and 325:
7 Asia - Europe Peoples’ Forum RE
Page 326 and 327:
Asian activists reject the ceaseles
Page 328 and 329:
Network beginnings The Network for
Page 330 and 331:
to have a broad strategy to achieve
Page 332 and 333:
the current neoliberal policies on
Page 334 and 335:
ations as commodities that can just
Page 336 and 337:
8 Today´s World and the Winding SE
Page 338 and 339:
tory (with a capital letter because
Page 340 and 341:
would not be necessary to break the
Page 342 and 343:
It is now a challenge for Cuba to g
Page 344 and 345:
come irreversible. Europe, which wa
Page 346 and 347:
say, but its materialization covers
Page 348 and 349:
scientific superseding of the deifi
Page 350 and 351:
seems to me to be of the utmost imm
Page 352 and 353:
Chapter IV CONCLUSIONS AND TRANSITI
Page 354 and 355:
aggravated the economic disaster. T
Page 356 and 357:
have the time for a gradual evoluti
Page 358 and 359:
sovereignty over natural resources,
Page 360 and 361:
over time, but unsustainable in the
Page 362 and 363:
It is in function of these realitie
Page 364 and 365:
Bhabha, Homi (2002): El lugar de la
Page 366 and 367:
De Souza Santos, Boaventura (2010b)
Page 368 and 369:
Global Footprint Network (2004): Hu
Page 370 and 371:
Kovel, Joel and Löwy, Michael (200
Page 372 and 373:
Paoli, Antonio (2003): Educación,
Page 374 and 375:
Saxe-Fernández, John and Delgado R
Page 376 and 377:
The Authors HASSAN ABOU-BAKR (Egypt
Page 378 and 379:
VINOD RAINA (India) is a theoretica
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