Richard Peet - Böcker

Two decades after the publication of the seminal Models in Geography, edited by Richard Chorley & Peter Haggett, this major collection of specially commissioned essays charts the new human geography from the perspective of political economy. Providing surveys of recent trends in theory, bibliographic guides to the literature, and pointers to advances and frontiers in thinking, the book ranges from cultural to economic and urban geography. The authors explore the connections between political economy and geographical thought in each area, with the emphasis lying on the processes of material production and social reproduction.

First published in 1989. It seems such a long time ago, another age—yet it is a mere twenty-odd years since the original Models in Geography was published. It is an even shorter time since the first tentative steps were taken towards an alternative formulation of what might constitute a geographical perspective within the social sciences. What came to be called the political-economy perspective has progressed with remarkable speed and energy to generate its own framework of conceptualization and analysis, its own questions and debates. The papers in these two volumes are witness to the richness and range of the work which has developed over this relatively short period within the political economy approach. Moreover, from being a debate within an institutionally defined ‘discipline of geography’, to introducing into that discipline ideas and discussions from the wider fields of philosophy and social science and the humanities more generally, it has now flowered into a consistent part of enquiries that span the entire realm of social studies.

First published in 1989. The publication of Models in geography presaged a sea change in the practice of Anglo-American geography. For a new set of models, this book provides a summary of their nature, spirit and purpose based upon a political-economy perspective. The book is split into two volumes, each consisting of four parts. This makes the title suitable for students and geographers with an interest in models of the city, civil society and social theory.

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the environment and the future of development continue to be issues of crucial importance. Most explanations of environmental crisis emphasize the role of population growth, thus focusing their attention on the poor. By comparison, Peet and Watts' innovative book elaborates a political-economic explanation drawing from the most recent advances in social theory. This new edition has been extensively revised to reflect recent changes in debates over the real definitions of 'development' and 'environment', and contains nine completely new chapters.

At the beginning of the 21st century, the environment and the future of development continue to be issues of crucial importance. Most explanations of environmental crisis emphasize the role of population growth, thus focusing their attention on the poor. By comparison, Liberation Ecologies elaborates a political-economic explanation drawing from the most recent advances in social theory. The new edition has been extensively revised to reflect recent changes in debates over the real definitions of 'development' and 'environment', and contains nine completely new chapters.

The world is caught in the mesh of a series of environmental crises. So far attempts at resolving the deep basis of these have been superficial and disorganized. Global Political Ecology links the political economy of global capitalism with the political ecology of a series of environmental disasters and failed attempts at environmental policies.This critical volume draws together contributions from twenty-five leading intellectuals in the field. It begins with an introductory chapter that introduces the readers to political ecology and summarizes the books main findings. The following seven sections cover topics on the political ecology of war and the disaster state; fuelling capitalism: energy scarcity and abundance; global governance of health, bodies, and genomics; the contradictions of global food; capital’s marginal product: effluents, waste, and garbage; water as a commodity, a human right, and power; the functions and dysfunctions of the global green economy; political ecology of the global climate, and carbon emissions. This book contains accounts of the main currents of thought in each area that bring the topics completely up-to-date. The individual chapters contain a theoretical introduction linking in with the main themes of political ecology, as well as empirical information and case material. Global Political Ecology serves as a valuable reference for students interested in political ecology, environmental justice, and geography.

The world is caught in the mesh of a series of environmental crises. So far attempts at resolving the deep basis of these have been superficial and disorganized. Global Political Ecology links the political economy of global capitalism with the political ecology of a series of environmental disasters and failed attempts at environmental policies.This critical volume draws together contributions from twenty-five leading intellectuals in the field. It begins with an introductory chapter that introduces the readers to political ecology and summarizes the books main findings. The following seven sections cover topics on the political ecology of war and the disaster state; fuelling capitalism: energy scarcity and abundance; global governance of health, bodies, and genomics; the contradictions of global food; capital’s marginal product: effluents, waste, and garbage; water as a commodity, a human right, and power; the functions and dysfunctions of the global green economy; political ecology of the global climate, and carbon emissions. This book contains accounts of the main currents of thought in each area that bring the topics completely up-to-date. The individual chapters contain a theoretical introduction linking in with the main themes of political ecology, as well as empirical information and case material. Global Political Ecology serves as a valuable reference for students interested in political ecology, environmental justice, and geography.

Conventional interpretations of the New Economic Policy introduced in India in 1991 see this program of economic liberalization as transforming the Indian economy and leading to a substantial increase in the rate of India’s economic growth. But in a country like India, growth is not enough. Who benefits from the new growth regime, and can it significantly improve the conditions of livelihood for India’s 800 million people with incomes below $2.00 a day? This edited volume looks at international policy regimes and their national adoption under strategic conditions of economic crisis and coercion, and within longer-term structural changes in the power calculus of global capitalism. The contributors examine long-term growth tendencies, poverty and employment rates at the national level, regional level and local levels in India; the main growth centers; the areas and people left out; the advantages and deficiencies of the existing policy regime, and alternative economic policies for India. Bringing together the leading figures in the discussion on India’s economic policy, this volume is the authoritative critical study of India’s New Economic Policy.

Conventional interpretations of the New Economic Policy introduced in India in 1991 see this program of economic liberalization as transforming the Indian economy and leading to a substantial increase in the rate of India’s economic growth. But in a country like India, growth is not enough. Who benefits from the new growth regime, and can it significantly improve the conditions of livelihood for India’s 800 million people with incomes below $2.00 a day? This edited volume looks at international policy regimes and their national adoption under strategic conditions of economic crisis and coercion, and within longer-term structural changes in the power calculus of global capitalism. The contributors examine long-term growth tendencies, poverty and employment rates at the national level, regional level and local levels in India; the main growth centers; the areas and people left out; the advantages and deficiencies of the existing policy regime, and alternative economic policies for India. Bringing together the leading figures in the discussion on India’s economic policy, this volume is the authoritative critical study of India’s New Economic Policy.

First published in 1987, International Capitalism and Industrial Restructuring counters the idea that industrial restructuring is a relatively problem-free stage in the evolution to a post-industrial society. The editor argues that the permanent loss of eight million manufacturing jobs in the advanced industrial countries over the past ten years has had extremely serious effects on people, economies, and societies, and that it is a major cause of economic recession. The six million jobs gained in the newly industrializing countries pay low wages, expose workers to hazards, destroy local cultures, and fail in generating integrated development for the Third World.Many outstanding articles are included, drawn from a wide variety of radical journals, with introductions that set the scene and pose challenging questions. All students and researchers concerned with industrial restructuring in the capitalist world will find the book valuable as a radical critique of widespread current economic problems.

First published in 1987, International Capitalism and Industrial Restructuring counters the idea that industrial restructuring is a relatively problem-free stage in the evolution to a post-industrial society. The editor argues that the permanent loss of eight million manufacturing jobs in the advanced industrial countries over the past ten years has had extremely serious effects on people, economies, and societies, and that it is a major cause of economic recession. The six million jobs gained in the newly industrializing countries pay low wages, expose workers to hazards, destroy local cultures, and fail in generating integrated development for the Third World.Many outstanding articles are included, drawn from a wide variety of radical journals, with introductions that set the scene and pose challenging questions. All students and researchers concerned with industrial restructuring in the capitalist world will find the book valuable as a radical critique of widespread current economic problems.

In Global Capitalism (originally published in 1991), Richard Peet surveys the various approaches made by social theory towards seeing history in terms of its regional dynamics. He reviews environmental determinism, modernization, dependency, and world systems theories, and argues that the most capacious and dynamic model continues to be historical materialism.The volume presents a broad outline of global development through time, analysing primitive communism, lineage societies and the various kinds of tributary modes, and providing a closer examination of capitalism in terms of the phases and forms of its past and present. The author defends the centrality of structural Marxism to theories of global development and argues that its ideas can be furthered by the partial synthesis of other perspectives, such as the feminist critique.This book assumes no previous knowledge of the theories surveyed. It introduces complex material in an understandable form and will be valuable both to development professionals and to anyone interested in societal change.

In Global Capitalism (originally published in 1991), Richard Peet surveys the various approaches made by social theory towards seeing history in terms of its regional dynamics. He reviews environmental determinism, modernization, dependency, and world systems theories, and argues that the most capacious and dynamic model continues to be historical materialism.The volume presents a broad outline of global development through time, analysing primitive communism, lineage societies and the various kinds of tributary modes, and providing a closer examination of capitalism in terms of the phases and forms of its past and present. The author defends the centrality of structural Marxism to theories of global development and argues that its ideas can be furthered by the partial synthesis of other perspectives, such as the feminist critique.This book assumes no previous knowledge of the theories surveyed. It introduces complex material in an understandable form and will be valuable both to development professionals and to anyone interested in societal change.

Two decades after the publication of the seminal Models in Geography, edited by Richard Chorley & Peter Haggett, this major collection of specially commissioned essays charts the new human geography from the perspective of political economy. Providing surveys of recent trends in theory, bibliographic guides to the literature, and pointers to advances and frontiers in thinking, the book ranges from cultural to economic and urban geography. The authors explore the connections between political economy and geographical thought in each area, with the emphasis lying on the processes of material production and social reproduction.

This widely adopted text starts with the fundamentals--what is economic growth, what is development, and what is the relationship between these two concepts? The authors examine orthodox theories of growth grounded in different schools of economics (classical, neoclassical, Keynesian, neoliberal) before considering critical alternatives (Marxist, socialist, poststructuralist, and feminist). The book elucidates the basic ideas that underpin contemporary controversies and debates surrounding economic growth, environmental crisis, and global inequality. It highlights points of contention among the various theories andlinks them to historical and current world events.New to This Edition*Reflects the latest data and global development trends, such as the effects on economies of extreme weather events and climate change.*New discussions throughout the chapters, including the work of Thomas Piketty, Richard Florida, William Easterly, Niall Ferguson, and Arturo Escobar.*Responds to current crises, including the global financial meltdown and its consequences and the rise of finance capitalism.

This widely adopted text starts with the fundamentals--what is economic growth, what is development, and what is the relationship between these two concepts? The authors examine orthodox theories of growth grounded in different schools of economics (classical, neoclassical, Keynesian, neoliberal) before considering critical alternatives (Marxist, socialist, poststructuralist, and feminist). The book elucidates the basic ideas that underpin contemporary controversies and debates surrounding economic growth, environmental crisis, and global inequality. It highlights points of contention among the various theories andlinks them to historical and current world events.New to This Edition*Reflects the latest data and global development trends, such as the effects on economies of extreme weather events and climate change.*New discussions throughout the chapters, including the work of Thomas Piketty, Richard Florida, William Easterly, Niall Ferguson, and Arturo Escobar.*Responds to current crises, including the global financial meltdown and its consequences and the rise of finance capitalism.

Richard Peet looks in detail at the main trends in human geographic thought over the last thirty years, relating these to broader themes in philosophy and social theory. Beginning with existential phenomenology and humanistic geography, the book covers Marxism and radical geography, structuralism, structuration theory, realism, locality studies, various streams of poststructuralism and postmodernism, and feminism. Each chapter examines a few theories in depth, concentrating on the major works and the nature of their contribution. Many of the ideas covered are dense and complex, but the reader is drawn gradually into the text through notions understandable to students. After spending time with this book the reader should be able to tackle virtually any philosophical theme in contemporary geographic thought. The book will be central to courses in geographical thought and the history of geographical thought, and as part of virtually all courses in human geography whcih entail philosophy and theory.

This work looks at how contemporary global economic policies are made: by which institutions, under what ideologies, and how they are enforced. The author reveals the central roles played by organizations such as the IMF and the World Bank in supervising the livelihoods of over 2.5 billion people. He shows that neoliberal economic policy is enforced by a few thousand unelected and unaccountable experts in the North and has failed to deliver tolerable living conditions for the poor.The book argues for a new geographic theory of power, exercised through dominant institutions, concentrated in hegemonic power centers. It seeks to transform the existing geography of policy-making power by exposing its structures, centers and mechanisms, critiquing its intellectual foundations, uncovering its un-democratic justifications, and passionately supporting its opponents. The conclusion makes a further positive contribution by exploring policy alternatives that point the way forward.

Who really runs the global economy? Who benefits most from it?The answer is a triad of 'governance institutions' - The IMF, the World Bank and the WTO. Globalization massively increased the power of these institutions and they drastically affected the livelihoods of peoples across the world. Yet they operate undemocratically and aggressively promote a particular kind of neoliberal capitalism. Under the 'Washington Consensus' they proposed, poverty was to be ended by increasing inequality.This new edition of Unholy Trinity, completely updated and revised, argues that neoliberal global capitalism has now entered a period of crisis so severe that governance will become impossible. Huge incomes for a small number of super-rich people produced an unstable global economy, rife with speculation and structurally prone to crises. The IMF is in disgrace, the WTO can hardly meet anymore and the World Bank survives as a global philanthropist. Is this the end for the Unholy Trinity?