The Ecological Economics of Economic Democracy

Abstract: Ecological economics is at a sharp crossroads today, mostly due to the unprecedented scale of the intertwined social and ecological crises we face. We argue that the discipline should engage with the thinking and practices around alternatives to capitalism more substantially, as this is essential and invaluable for the discipline’s ability to contribute to a just and sustainable future. We outline an agenda for future ecological economics research on economic alternatives that are shaped by the concrete ways in which economic democracy deals with issues of uncertainty, complexity and value incommensurability, and contribute to a kind of political economy that ecological economics would advocate. We lay out how this question could be operationalised within the context of allocation and exchange (i.e. alternatives to market), production and investment (i.e. alternatives to capitalist firm) and economic subjectivities (i.e. alternatives to self-interest).

Authors: Bengi Akbulut et Fikret Adaman

Full text: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0921800919310298

Belongs to the research project:
Democratic economic planning

Research axis :
Emancipation