First published in Germany in 1997 as 'Eine Kuh fur Hillary: Die Subsitenzperspective'. Provides an alternative to the current global free market industrial system, by calling for a new economics and politics based on a subsistence perspective. Explains subsistence as empowerment based on people's strength and cooperation. Analyses recent feminist politics and argues that the fight for equality with men has failed to make an egaliltarian society. Includes case studies from Africa, Latin America and Europe, references and an index. Mies is professor of sociology at the Fachhochschule, Cologne. Bennholdt-Thomsen is director of the institute of the theory and praxis of subsistence, Bielefeld, Germany.

Presenting an ethnographic account of the emergence and application of critical political alternatives in the Global South, this book analyses the opportunities and challenges of decolonizing and transforming a modern, hierarchical and globally-immersed nation-state on the basis of indigenous terminologies. Alternative development paradigms that represent values including justice, pluralism, democracy and a sustainable relationship to nature tend to emerge in response to – and often opposed to – the neoliberal globalization. Through a focus on the empirical case of the notion of Vivir Bien (‘Living Well’) as a critical cultural and ecological paradigm, Ranta demonstrates how indigeneity – indigenous peoples’ discourses, cultural ideas and worldviews – has become such a denominator in the construction of local political and policy alternatives. More widely, the author seeks to map conditions for, and the challenges of, radical political projects that aim to counteract neoliberal globalization and Western hegemony in defining development. This book will appeal to critical academic scholars, development practitioners and social activists aiming to come to grips with the complexity of processes of progressive social change in our contemporary global world.

Until recently, the concept of Buen Vivir has only been loosely articulated by practising communities and in progressive policy in countries like Ecuador. What it actually means has been unclear, and in the case of policy, contradictory. As such there has been a lack of understanding about exactly what Buen Vivir entails, its core principles and how to put it into practice. This book, based on extensive theoretical and field research of Buen Vivir as an alternative to sustainable development, fills that gap and offers a concrete way forward. It uses an ethnographic study in Cotacachi County, in Ecuador's highland communities, to explore how communities understand and practice Buen Vivir. Combining this with what we already know about the concept theoretically, the book then develops a framework for Buen Vivir with 17 principles for practice. Exploring Buen Vivir's evolution from its indigenous origins, academic interpretations, and implications for development policy, to its role in endogenous, community-led change, this book will be of interest to policy-makers and development professionals. It will also be of great value to activists, students, and scholars of sustainability and development seeking grassroots social and environmental change.

The Essential Guide to Critical Development Studies provides an up-to-date and authoritative introduction to the field, challenging mainstream development discourse and the assumptions that underlie it. Critical development studies lays bare the economic, political, social, and environmental crises that characterise the current global capitalist system, proposing instead systemic change and different pathways for moving beyond capitalism into a new world of genuine progress where economic and social justice and ecological integrity prevail. In this book, the authors challenge market-driven, neoliberal development agendas, incorporating analyses of class, gender, race, and the dynamics of uneven capitalist development. This thoroughly revised and expanded second edition includes: • 18 new chapters, including on topics such as philanthrocapitalism, race, the energy transition, Indigenous resistance and resilience, and global health • Expanded global coverage, including new chapters on South Africa, North Africa, and the Gulf Arab states • A new section on resistance and alternatives • Additional pedagogical features, including a glossary of key terms, discussion questions, and expanded guides for further reading. This textbook will be essential reading for students of global development, political science, sociology, economics, gender studies, geography, history, anthropology, agrarian studies, international political economy, and area studies. It will also be an important resource for development researchers, practitioners, and policymakers.

Ecotourism and natural resource extraction may be seen as contradictory pursuits, yet in reality they often take place side by side, sometimes even supported by the same institutions. Existing academic and policy literatures generally overlook the phenomenon of ecotourism in areas concurrently affected by extraction industries, but such a scenario is in fact increasingly common in resource-rich developing nations. This edited volume conceptualises and empirically analyses the ‘ecotourism-extraction nexus’ within the context of broader rural and livelihood changes in the places where these activities occur. The volume’s central premise is that these seemingly contradictory activities are empirically and conceptually more alike than often imagined, and that they share common ground in ethnographic lived experiences in rural settings and broader political economic structures of power and control. The book offers theoretical reflections on why ecotourism and natural resource extraction are systematically decoupled, and epistemologically and analytically re-links them through ethnographic case studies drawing on research from around the world. It should be of interest to students and professionals engaged in the disciplines of geography, anthropology and development studies.

Degrowth is an emerging social movement that overlaps with proposals for systemic change such as anti-globalization and climate justice, commons and transition towns, basic income and Buen Vivir. Degrowth in Movement(s) reflects on the current situation of social movements aiming at overcoming capitalism, industrialism and domination. The essays ask: What is the key idea of the respective movement? Who is active? What is the relation with the degrowth movement? What can the degrowth movement learn from these other movements and the other way around? Which common proposals, but also which contradictions, oppositions and tensions exist? And what alliances could be possible for broader systemic transformations? Corinna Bukhart, Matthias Schmelzer, and Nina Treu have curated an impressive demonstration that there are, beyond regressive neoliberalism and techno-fixes, emancipatory alternatives contributing to a good life for all. Degrowth in Movement(s) explores this mosaic for social-ecological transformation - an alliance strengthened by diversity.

How our capitalist food system came to be -- Food, a special commodity -- Land and property -- Capitalism, food, and agriculture -- Power and privilege in the food system: gender, race and class -- Food, capitalism, crises and solutions

All across Latin America, rural peoples are organizing in support of broadly distinct but interrelated issues. Food sovereignty, agrarian reform, indigenous and women's rights, sustainable development, fair trade, and immigration issues are the focus of a large number of social movements found in countries such as Bolivia, Colombia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Brazil, and Peru. The contributors to Rural Social Movements in Latin America include academic researchers as well as social movement leaders who are seeking to effect change in their countries and communities. As a group they are at the forefront of some of the most critical environmental, social, and political issues of the day. This volume highlights the central role these movements play in opposition to the neoliberal model of development and offers fresh insights on emerging alternatives at the local, national, and hemispheric level. It also illustrates and analyzes the similarities--notably the struggle for sustainable livelihoods--as well as the difference among these various peasant, indigenous, and rural women's movements. A co-publication with the University of Florida Center for Latin American Studies