Democracy  &  Nature, Vol. 7, No. 2

 

Beyond Global Capitalism

Review Maria Mies & Veronika Bennholdt-Thomsen The Subsistence Perspective  (London: Zed Books)

Brian Morris

 

Abstract: This article presents some critical reflections on Maria Mies' advocacy of a "subsistence perspective". This perspective offers a challenging account of global capitalism, while at the same time avoiding the cul-de-sac of neo-primitivism. I review the focal emphasis that Mies' puts on agriculture and the peasant economy, and on decentralized politics (direct democracy). But I also indicate the limitations of Mies' political vision in that she advocates the continuance of both the state and the wage system.

 

 

 

 

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