Sidney Plotkin – författare

Thorstein Veblen is best known for his authorship of The Theory of the Leisure Class and The Theory of Business Enterprise, which made him a celebrated figure in the fields of economics and sociology at the turn of the twentieth century. In this book, Sidney Plotkin and Rick Tilman argue that in addition to his well-known work in these fields Veblen also made important—and until now overlooked—statements about politics. While Veblen's writings seldom mention politics, they are saturated with political ideas: about the relationship among war, executive power, and democracy; about the similarities between modern executive positions and monarchy; about the political influence of corporate power; about the symbolism of politics; and about many other issues. By demonstrating the deep relevance of Veblen’s writings to today's political troubles, The Political Ideas of Thorstein Veblen offers an important reconsideration of a major American thinker.

Keep Out: The Struggle for Land Use Control offers a compelling exploration of resistance to capitalist expansion and political centralization in the United States. This incisive work examines a less commonly considered opposition: American landowners who leverage private property rights and land use policies to challenge corporate and governmental incursions. The book highlights how landowners, from affluent suburbanites to marginalized rural communities, wield these rights to thwart industrial projects, infrastructure developments, and urban expansion, often in defense of their environmental, social, and economic interests. It delves into the paradox of private property as both a cornerstone of capitalist development and a tool for resisting its overreach.Through historical analysis, case studies, and theoretical insights, the book illustrates the tension between the capitalist imperatives of growth and the exclusionary logic of landownership. By addressing issues like environmental degradation, gentrification, and community autonomy, the author reveals the broader implications of land use conflicts for democracy, social equity, and sustainable development. Keep Out not only dissects the systemic forces driving these struggles but also raises critical questions about the future of land use policy, urging readers to consider how democratic values can be preserved amidst the pressures of economic expansion. This thought-provoking study is essential for anyone interested in urban planning, environmental justice, and the dynamics of power in capitalist societies.This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1987.

Keep Out: The Struggle for Land Use Control offers a compelling exploration of resistance to capitalist expansion and political centralization in the United States. This incisive work examines a less commonly considered opposition: American landowners who leverage private property rights and land use policies to challenge corporate and governmental incursions. The book highlights how landowners, from affluent suburbanites to marginalized rural communities, wield these rights to thwart industrial projects, infrastructure developments, and urban expansion, often in defense of their environmental, social, and economic interests. It delves into the paradox of private property as both a cornerstone of capitalist development and a tool for resisting its overreach.Through historical analysis, case studies, and theoretical insights, the book illustrates the tension between the capitalist imperatives of growth and the exclusionary logic of landownership. By addressing issues like environmental degradation, gentrification, and community autonomy, the author reveals the broader implications of land use conflicts for democracy, social equity, and sustainable development. Keep Out not only dissects the systemic forces driving these struggles but also raises critical questions about the future of land use policy, urging readers to consider how democratic values can be preserved amidst the pressures of economic expansion. This thought-provoking study is essential for anyone interested in urban planning, environmental justice, and the dynamics of power in capitalist societies.This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1987.

Amidst the global financial and political crises of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, scholars have turned for insight to the work of the radical American thinker, Thorstein Veblen. Inspired by an abundance of new research, social scientists from multiple disciplines have displayed a heightened appreciation for Veblen’s importance and value for contemporary social, economic and political studies. The Anthem Companion to Thorstein Veblen is a stimulating addition to this new body of scholarship, offering fresh material for ongoing reconsiderations of Veblen as a major theoretical resource for present-day debates on epistemology, social evolution, values, higher education, capitalist development and politics.