tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30813208275662897832024-03-11T18:49:05.909+00:00Trade unions and global restructuringAndreas Bielerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08920020665441380498noreply@blogger.comBlogger371125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081320827566289783.post-8884048042989947992024-03-11T18:19:00.023+00:002024-03-11T18:48:33.438+00:00The New Age of Catastrophe: Reviewing Alex Callinicos’ latest book. <div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWh8mhp6qHZ8DQptcSn7JJ1ROe4DcGI2HOQ96zR3Bo28Ggc498bVTnIxGNaugP6Xd-4jrMLSLHUfV4xTy_eXWzmLsOT8tehIRYCcsna1ZdgnQ7pkrFido_FuN2cuWx7NEPpXLPeoJSqensbDq46z_VntP4fHU_m-JO9FpelXqksXSHg3YXfEMG5jgh_FVE/s452/Callinicos.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="452" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWh8mhp6qHZ8DQptcSn7JJ1ROe4DcGI2HOQ96zR3Bo28Ggc498bVTnIxGNaugP6Xd-4jrMLSLHUfV4xTy_eXWzmLsOT8tehIRYCcsna1ZdgnQ7pkrFido_FuN2cuWx7NEPpXLPeoJSqensbDq46z_VntP4fHU_m-JO9FpelXqksXSHg3YXfEMG5jgh_FVE/s320/Callinicos.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>With <i><a href="https://www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?book_slug=the-new-age-of-catastrophe--9781509554164#:~:text=It%20embraces%20the%20increasing%20destruction,States%2C%20China%2C%20and%20Russia." target="_blank">The <span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">New Age of Catastrophe</span></a></i></span><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
(Polity Press, 2023) Alex Callinicos has published another impressive book of
great historical and thematic breadth and depth. In this blog post, I will
briefly review this volume, outline its merits but also identify a couple of
especially conceptual shortcomings.</span>
<a name='more'></a>
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Callinicos
attempts to provide a comprehensive assessment of our current polycrisis
consisting in his view of a biological, an economic, a geopolitical, and a
political crisis (PP.5-6). One can discuss whether these crises are actually
those we are currently facing. Callinicos’ political crisis, for example, which
he defines as the rise of the far right as a serious political actor, I would
identify as a consequence, an appearance of other, much more fundamental
systemic crises including a crisis in global race relations and a crisis in
global gender relations. Nonetheless, his definition of polycrisis indicates
the ambitions of the book.</span></div></span><p style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
volume starts off with a historical comparison with another age of catastrophe,
the period of 1914 to 1945 characterised by two inter-imperialist wars, a
severe economic recession as well as revolution and counter-revolution. In
Chapter 2, similar to other Marxists (e.g. </span><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><a href="https://andreasbieler.blogspot.com/2023/12/capitalism-in-twenty-first-century.html"><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Carchedi and Roberts 2023</span></a></span><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">),
the ecological crisis, or biological crisis in Callinicos’ words, is right at
the beginning of analysing today’s age of catastrophe. ‘The main driving force
of catastrophe today’, Callinicos writes, ‘is the progressive destruction of
nature by fossil capitalism’ (P.30). Clearly, human relations with nature and
the disastrous impact of capitalism on the environment are no longer merely an
afterthought in Marxist thinking. Economic stagnation and the permanent crisis
management of global capitalism from the Global Financial Crisis in 2008 to the
Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 is discussed in Chapter 3, while increasing
geo-political confrontations between the USA and China as well as the war in
Ukraine are dealt with in Chapter 4. </span><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KXxtQyqoAlA" width="320" youtube-src-id="KXxtQyqoAlA"></iframe></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">In
Chapter 5, Callinicos looks at today’s revolution and counter-revolution
including the Zapatista revolt in the early 1990s and the Arab uprisings in
2011 amongst others. Here, he also discusses the rise of the far right.
Importantly, although the far right managed to attract many disillusioned
voters, it does not offer its own alternative. ‘While the contemporary far
right benefits from disaffection with neoliberalism, it lacks a distinctive
economic programme’ (P.129). It is in this respect that the left must do
better. As Callinicos writes in Chapter 6, ‘only a socialist revolution that
ends capitalism can eliminate the threat of fascism’ (P.168). In order to do so
successfully and in contrast to autonomist Marxists, the left has to seize
political and thus state power in Callinicos’ understanding.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
breadth and depth of the book is clearly impressive. And yet, there are
especially two conceptual shortcomings, which limit the insights of Callinicos’
discussion. First, as Adam D. Morton and I already pointed out several years
ago, Callinicos’ understanding of international relations is state-centric and
based on a focus on the external relations between the political and the
economic (<a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/global-capitalism-global-war-global-crisis/7AAF36FEFD60FD550930EA1E66A1DD91#fndtn-information">Bieler
and Morton 2018: 109-11</a>). Geopolitical tensions are, thus, understood as
the result of a ‘fusion of economic and geopolitical rivalries’ or the
‘interweaving of economic competition and interstate rivalries’, i.e. a
situation when political and economic powers overlap within distinct
nation-states. This completely misunderstands the novel role of large
transnational corporations in charge of global value chains and the
organisation of production across borders. Their internal relations with states
are crucial for any analysis, but simply understanding them according to the
national territory, in which they are domiciled (PP.36), misses these novel
dynamics, which are rather different from the period of 1914 to 1945.</span><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
shortcomings of Callinicos’ state-centric approach are most visible in his
(mis-) understanding of the European Union as ‘constitutionally still primarily
a confederation of states; … dependent on the capabilities and political will
of the most powerful member states’ (P.73). Or, as he writes elsewhere, ‘the
European Union is a cartel of states with differing interests and, like states
in other regions, they too feel contradictory pulls from the Unites States,
China, and Russia’ (P.103). Of course, the EU is not a state like the USA or
China, but the way sovereignty is shared and pooled in some areas make it a
powerful actor at the international as well as European level, which cannot be
captured in Callinicos’ state-centric understanding. Internationally, for
example, the EU in its ‘free trade’ policy has been a major actor of enforcing
neo-liberal restructuring elsewhere in the world (</span><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/review-of-international-studies/article/eu-global-europe-and-processes-of-uneven-and-combined-development-the-problem-of-transnational-labour-solidarity/A7D169E574FF865F5C5E3A198A9E39F7"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-weight: normal;">Bieler 2013</span></a></span><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">).
Within Europe, the EU especially with its New Economic Governance mechanisms since
the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 has become highly influential in pushing
member states towards further commodification of services (</span><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/politicising-commodification/7208F2FA88BEBEE45382E11D2FA6982C"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-weight: normal;">Erne et al forthcoming</span></a></span><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">).
To explain this by emphasising the particular interests of various larger
member states is impossible. </span><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Finally,
Callinicos does not overlook the importance of race and gender in shaping
today’s crises. Similar to his focus on the external relations between the
political and the economic, however, here too the emphasis is placed on
external relations with race and gender being separated out as terrains of
contestation (PP.149-63). This allows him to reflect on ‘</span><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">how the contestation of gender and
“race” in contemporary ideologico-political conflicts might contribute to the
formation of a new working-class subject of emancipation’ (P.151)</span><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">.
Nevertheless, it precludes a more detailed analysis of how racist and
patriarchal forms of oppression are an intimate part of capitalist accumulation
itself, internally related to the exploitation of wage labour.</span><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In
sum, an impressive book, no doubt, but Callinicos seems to be stuck in his conceptual
understandings and here especially a focus on external relations between
different things and phenomena, which ultimately limits the power of his
empirical insights. </span><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></p><div><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Andreas Bieler</span></div><p></p><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Professor of Political Economy</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">University of Nottingham/UK</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Andreas.Bieler@nottingham.ac.uk</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.9733px; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; text-align: left;">11 March 2024</span></p>Andreas Bielerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08920020665441380498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081320827566289783.post-22407442504176787252024-02-14T21:44:00.013+00:002024-02-14T22:34:48.269+00:00Kai Wiedenhöfer, 3. März 1966 - 9. Januar 2024!<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: DE;"></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: DE;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl_AjMbF1CzPqnMIIMVkB9C1Z_VID8LesCnPeAgzAmCB5kMb_lc4j7-okK9BpmlXWF96CjL7-FC3pyXzVqJIVwvCB0UJtOOYOaIdfhi541jlSuRzXhxqUV8p54lBaoZ06Ox3Evdk7ac78LANsUOi2l1ffwlTe9GaKjL5xLIbjjiUtg3NRTvP6jl5pVaUzQ/s1024/Kai%204.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl_AjMbF1CzPqnMIIMVkB9C1Z_VID8LesCnPeAgzAmCB5kMb_lc4j7-okK9BpmlXWF96CjL7-FC3pyXzVqJIVwvCB0UJtOOYOaIdfhi541jlSuRzXhxqUV8p54lBaoZ06Ox3Evdk7ac78LANsUOi2l1ffwlTe9GaKjL5xLIbjjiUtg3NRTvP6jl5pVaUzQ/s320/Kai%204.jpeg" width="240" /></a></span></b></div><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: DE;"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-weight: bold;"><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: DE;">Fotografie war Kais Leben. </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Es begann damit, dass er die Portraits aller Schülerinnen
und Schüler für die Abschlusszeitung unseres Abiturjahrganges 1986 am
Ludwig-Uhland Gymnasium in Kirchheim unter Teck aufnahm. Ab da gab es kein Zurück
mehr.</span></div></span><p></p>
<a name='more'></a>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: DE;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: DE;">Ich erinnere mich noch genau als ich im Sommer 1989 mit
dem Fahrrad nach Kirchheim unter Teck radelte. Plötzlich wurde ich von Kai mit
seinem Motorrad überholt. Begeistert berichtete er mir davon, dass es im zweiten
Anlauf geklappt hatte und er einen Studienplatz an der <span lang="DE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: DE;">Folkwang Universität der Künste in Essen erhalten hatte. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: DE;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="DE" style="color: #141412; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: DE;">Zwei Themen beschäftigten Kai besonders:
Mauern und der Israel – Palästina Konflikt. Als die ersten Meldungen am 9.
November 1989 über die Maueröffnung in
den Nachrichten gesendet wurden, entschloss sich Kai spontan nach Berlin zu
fahren. Den Fall der Mauer selbst miterlebt zu haben, beeinflusste ihn zutiefst.
Einige seiner frühen, besten Fotos sind aus dieser Zeit. Der Fall der Berliner
Mauer bedeutete für ihn einen großen Moment der Hoffnung. Es schien doch
möglich, tiefe Gräben zwischen Menschengruppen überwinden zu können und ein
friedliches Zusammenleben zu gestalten. Umso enttäuschter war er im Lauf der
Jahre darüber, dass anstatt weniger Mauern, neue errichtet wurden: ob zwischen
den USA und Mexico, oder zwischen Ungarn und Serbien wie auch Kroatien, und
natürlich vor allem auch die Mauer, die Israel zwischen sich und den besetzten palästinensischen
Gebieten errichtete. Sein n</span><!--[if gte msEquation 12]><m:oMath><i
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</v:imagedata></v:shape></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="DE" style="color: #141412; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">chstes Buch <i>Wall and Peace</i>,
das fertiggestellt ist und hoffentlich auch noch gedruckt wird, beschäftigt
sich vor allem mit letzterer Mauer. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="DE" style="color: #141412; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="DE" style="color: #141412; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Kai war zutiefst erschreckt über den
Holocaust. Wie konnte die Generation unserer Großeltern an einem derartigen
Verbrechen beteiligt sein? So war es nur konsequent, dass Israel zu einem
Hauptarbeitsgebiet für ihn wurde. Seine Pro-Israel-Haltung wurde jedoch schon
früh erschüttert. Vor Ort wurde er tagtäglich Zeuge der Brutalit</span><!--[if gte msEquation 12]><m:oMath><i
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der viele Israelis und vor allem der israelische Staat die Palästinenser
behandelte. Wir wissen heute, dass Israel gezielt auf Journalisten schießt.
Mitte der 90er Jahre erfuhr dies Kai am eigenen Leibe, als er knapp unterhalb
der Kniescheibe von einem Scharfschützen getroffen wurde. Er kam mit einer
Fleischwunde davon. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="DE" style="color: #141412; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="DE" style="color: #141412; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Aber Kai war kein Kriegsfotograf, kein
Sensationsfotograf. Einsätze im Libanonkrieg 2006 und später dann in Aleppo und
Kobane waren eher die Ausnahme. Er porträtierte das tägliche Leben, Menschen im
Alltag. Um besser mit Palästinensern in Kontakt zu kommen, studierte er 1991/1992
Arabisch in Damaskus. Und er gewann das Vertrauen der Leute. Schon bald wurde
er im Gazastreifen und Westjordanland </span><i><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: DE;">Habib al-Schaab</span></i><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: DE;">, Freund der Leute, genannt. </span><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: DE;">Es war diese Nähe, die es ihm erlaubte, das tägliche Leiden der Palästinenser
unter der israelischen Besatzung, aber auch ihre Freuden und Hoffnungen so
eindeutig darzustellen. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: DE;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: DE;">Schaut man auf sein Werk über Mauern und den Israel-Palästina-Konflikt,
so kommt es nicht von ungefähr, dass die Internationale Liga für Menschenrechte
ihm 2016 die Carl von Ossietzky Medaille überreichte. In ihrer Begründung
schrieb die Organisation unter anderem: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: DE;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><i><span lang="DE" style="border: 1pt none windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; padding: 0cm;">‘Kai Wiedenhofer’s photographical work mirrors the terror and despair of
systematic human </span></i><i><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; padding: 0cm;">rights violations caused by
walls, fences, and borders. On his travels through numerous
countries, he depicts walls as symbols for political arbitrariness and draws
attention to the injustice of poverty, so often underestimated and overlooked’
</span></i><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; padding: 0cm;">(</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><a href="https://www.fidh.org/en/region/europe-central-asia/germany/carl-von-ossietzky-medal-2016-to-sos-mediterranee-and-the-documentary"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none; padding: 0cm;">https://www.fidh.org/en/region/europe-central-asia/germany/carl-von-ossietzky-medal-2016-to-sos-mediterranee-and-the-documentary</span></a></span><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; padding: 0cm;">;
14/01/2024).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: DE;">Der erneute Krieg im Nahen Osten bestürzte Kai zutiefst. Er
war nie ein Freund der Hamas und ihrer Gewaltmethoden gewesen, aber die
kollektive Bestrafung unschuldiger Palästinenser durch Israel, das Töten
tausender Kinder durch das israelische Militär fand er erschreckend. Was ihn in
einem unserer letzten Telefongespräche jedoch am meisten verärgerte, war die
bedingungslose Unterst</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18.6667px;">ü</span><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">tzung Israels durch die deutsche Regierung
und vieler Deutschen. Wie kann man denn Wiedergutmachung für den Holocaust
leisten, so fragte er, in dem man jetzt einen Genozid an den Palästinensern
unterstützt? Was haben Deutschland und die Deutschen denn aus ihrer Geschichte
gelernt?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: DE;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: DE;">Kai erhielt mehrere internationale Auszeichnungen für
seine Fotografie (</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><a href="http://kaiwiedenhoefer.com/bio"><span lang="DE">http://kaiwiedenhoefer.com/bio</span></a></span><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: DE;">, 14/01/2024). Er war zweifellos ein Fotograf von international anerkannter
Weltklasse. Nachrufe im <a href="https://www.stern.de/fotografie/zum-tod-des-fotografen-kai-wiedenhoefer-34371620.html" target="_blank">Stern</a> und <a href="https://www.geo.de/wissen/kai-wiedenhoefer--der-fotograf--der-die-macht-der-mauern-dokumentierte-34375208.html" target="_blank">Geo Magazin</a> bezeugen das. Und doch, wer ihn traf und nichts davon wusste, hätte ihm das nicht
angemerkt. Stets blieb er er selbst: sehr bescheiden, nie angeberisch. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: DE;"> </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Auch Kais nächstes Projekt über den Klimawandel
beschäftigte sich mit einem grundlegenden Problem der Menschheit. Erste Bilder
entstanden bereits in Reisen nach Indien, Alaska sowie in die Alpen. Leider
wird dieses Projekt nun nicht mehr vollendet werden. Am 25. Dezember 2023
erlitt Kai einen Herzinfarkt beim Fahradfahren und fiel in ein Koma. Am 9. Januar 2024 starb er im
Krankenhaus in Ulm.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></p><div><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Andreas Bieler</span></div><p></p><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Professor of Political Economy</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">University of Nottingham/UK</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Andreas.Bieler@nottingham.ac.uk</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: DE; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; text-align: left;">14 February 2024</span></p>Andreas Bielerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08920020665441380498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081320827566289783.post-65766171116996460432023-12-06T09:03:00.008+00:002023-12-06T09:15:54.774+00:00Contesting Musk: Swedish Tesla strike becomes a global conflict<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisfurniss/3941202566/in/photolist-71gGdo-6ZE7JJ-6ZE7qd-8wTkwn-8wWjWf-6ZA6T4-6J3kP1-69GEPe-5cTr9B-5WbvfB-5WbvDi-62gGLu-5cXL1C-9fRRej-KN4da-2g4Y966-26ChHEc-5cTrmV-7NTJKZ-cNc9n1-bna9Mf-bDG6bY-9fRRwU-cNc9zY-cNc9Sy-esUeyt-9Bd1g6-wkXCXT-wkPcPd-2oaf4yE-6krU6P-2jVHr5C-zd1To9-2jzt9nP-72j2Fz-dXMDkF-2jtCQWc-anpo7H-oogMSf-oKuRG7-FH9ZhA-4NDeMD-9fJyRD-JQnzYv-JHJc2-anscGu-2mBWeLR-2eJ8Fvd-2hbNTGX-4tcX85" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCXG2xZj4f1I4GILoiIWVIy5ZCCxQTTXPRvnvNK5qm935LFlfGyRIQJcJjq3oyok82wKPxkg-Or_p_q6RbuXj4ytqUPMrSFnHqQG-nf6o3hH3SRhjc6UImUeaf2AyVFyt8j2m4CeGXVR_GxrVANaubCmCqE4mwF1tJ9wBSWymAqCjgGRfbaxeRmedOnCQw/w200-h200/Tesla.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What began as a local strike by 130 mechanics for a
collective labour agreement (CLA) in the Swedish Tesla service workshops is
escalating into a global conflict, argues </span><b style="font-size: 14pt;"><a href="https://people.ucd.ie/roland.erne">Roland Erne</a> </b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">in this guest post.
According to the Swedish arbitrator for labour disputes, Tesla boss Elon Musk
forbade his local managers to make any concessions to the trade unions, even
though CLAs have been a central component in Swedish labour relations for
decades. Clearly, Elon Musk feels infinitely powerful and thinks he can bring
even Europe's strongest labour unions to their knees. </span></span></div><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>
<a name='more'></a>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Last week, Tesla was worth just under 250 billion US
dollars. In comparison, the whole Swedish government estimated revenues of only
122 billion US dollars for the whole of 2023. It is thus hardly surprising that,
Elon Musk has so far been successful with his anti-social strategy. There is
not a single factory in the world where management and trade unions have agreed
a CLA. The working conditions are correspondingly poor, not only in terms of
wages, but also in terms of health and safety in the workplace. Not only are
there more serious accidents at work in the Tesla factories than in comparable
companies. According to research by Norwegian public television channel NRK,
Tesla management also uses a brutal "internal evaluation system" to
get rid of Tesla workers who have had accidents or are on sick leave – despite the
legal protection against dismissal. No wonder that more and more Tesla workers are
organising themselves into trade unions; namely in Norway and Germany and
mostly in secret; as it happened in the case of Ryanair pilots a few years ago,
as Tesla is, like Ryanair, known for deliberately dismissing union members.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The striking Swedish Tesla workers are under enormous
pressure. That is why their metalworkers' union IF Metall increased their
strike pay to 130 per cent of their Tesla wages. In addition, several trade
unions from Sweden and Norway are supporting their Tesla colleagues with
solidarity strikes. Swedish and Norwegian dock workers are refusing to deliver
Tesla cars. And Swedish postal workers have gone on strike against Tesla by no
longer delivering car licence plates for Tesla vehicles. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"This is madness!" said the Tesla boss when he
heard about this wave of solidarity in the far north. According to the
Financial Times, Musk fears that something similar could happen at the recently
opened Tesla plant in Brandenburg, Germany. He has therefore decided to go on
the offensive. On 27 November, he sued the Swedish state. He claims that the
solidarity strikes by the postal service are "discriminatory" and
restrict his "economic freedom". He is also supported by leading
Scandinavian capitalists, for whom the Nordic social “social model" has
long been a thorn in the side. Maria Landeborn, senior economist at Danske
Bank, even accuses the trade unions of using "mafia methods against
Tesla", although solidarity strikes are legal in Sweden and Norway.
Although a Swedish court has now allowed Tesla to collect the licence plates
for its new cars directly from the road traffic office, another court confirmed
the legality of the postal workers’ solidarity strike.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It will be crucial for the trade unions to put pressure on
Tesla in other countries as well. The prospects for this are not bad.
Ironically, the successful cross-border strike action of Ryanair pilots in
November 2017 showed that autocratic and apparently all powerful bosses like
Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary have done more to internationalise unions than
managers in classical social partnership workplaces, as we have shown in a
recent piece in the </span><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09596801221094740"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">European Journal of
Industrial Relations</span></a></span><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 142.15pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 142.15pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Roland</span></b><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"> <b>Erne</b>
is <span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Professor
of European Integration & Employment Relations at the UCD School of
Business and Principal Investigator of the European Research Council (ERC)
Project ‘Labour Politics & the EU's New Economic Governance Regime
(European Unions)‘ at the UCD Geary Institute for Public Policy.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">This text
originally appeared in Roland Erne’s bi-monthly column on European labour
politics in the Swiss trade union newspaper <i>Work</i>: <a href="https://www.workzeitung.ch/kategorie/kolumnen/ernes-europa/">https://www.workzeitung.ch/kategorie/kolumnen/ernes-europa/</a>
<i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-IE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Andreas Bielerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08920020665441380498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081320827566289783.post-87014257604998470032023-12-04T19:07:00.009+00:002023-12-23T09:23:11.983+00:00Capitalism in the Twenty-first Century through the Prism of Value: a review of the book by Carchedi and Roberts. <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM_ibLm2BjtXzxPANVaDdS822F5wqYfNgxIXWSboiHzeAyqHw-LyVzfI_Kxmwg0VmZQZz-GFvmI6cvwVotTbZ79jXYvxmXgXBSNUrBaLmHxZ9fslOhKduObFleGBmTBbYqt8xo6tt2sMeGYmJBapVjQkdWROFMLfv3dTFasVMrVc-17M-EQQxGXnlkKSF-/s500/Capitalism.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM_ibLm2BjtXzxPANVaDdS822F5wqYfNgxIXWSboiHzeAyqHw-LyVzfI_Kxmwg0VmZQZz-GFvmI6cvwVotTbZ79jXYvxmXgXBSNUrBaLmHxZ9fslOhKduObFleGBmTBbYqt8xo6tt2sMeGYmJBapVjQkdWROFMLfv3dTFasVMrVc-17M-EQQxGXnlkKSF-/s320/Capitalism.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Guglielmo
Carchedi and Michael Roberts are seasoned commentators on the changing fortunes
of capitalism. In their latest, joint book <a href="https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745340883/capitalism-in-the-21st-century/"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Capitalism in the
Twenty-first Century through the Prism of Value</span></i></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"> (Pluto Press,
2023), they bring these insights together and assess them through Marx’s theory
of value and here especially the tendency of the falling rate of profit. In
this blog post, I will discuss their main contributions as well as provide some
critical reflections. </span></span></div><p></p>
<a name='more'></a>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">The main achievement of this
volume, the key contribution of Carchedi and Roberts, is that they unite their
wide-ranging assessments of topics from the destruction of the environment, via
inflation to imperialism and artificial intelligence within a clear
understanding of Marx’s theory of value. Their discussions are, therefore,
clearly driven by a historical materialist perspective. In capitalist
production based on wage labour and the private ownership or control of the
means of production, it is only living labour, i.e. variable capital, which can
produce surplus value, underpinning capitalist profits. ‘<span style="mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">It is the transformation of abstract human labour
into the value of the commodities which is the focus of the law of value’ (P.2).
In the relentless competition between different capitals, however, they all try
to gain an advantage by increasing productivity through the introduction of new
technologies in the production process, i.e. constant capital, requiring less
variable capital. As the authors maintain, ‘the major factor influencing
profitability is technology. New technologies replace workers with means of
production. They produce less value and surplus value but realise more value at
the cost of the technological laggards’ (P.2). <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">While one particular capitalist may
gain an advantage in this competition, other capitalists are compelled to
innovate in order to catch up or even overtake their competitor. As a result,
there is a constant tendency towards increasing constant capital and shedding
variable capital in the capitalist production process. Hence, there is a
tendency towards a constant increase in what is called the ‘organic composition
of capital’ (P.3). Considering that only variable capital can produce surplus
value and that the rate of profit is the surplus value created divided by
variable capital plus constant capital, the emphasis on increasing constant
capital results inevitably in a falling rate of profit. Marx’s theory of value,
in short, identifies an inevitable tendency of a declining rate of profit. ‘<span style="mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Thus, the law of value leads to surplus value, the
organic composition of capital and the rate of profit on capital. With these
categories, we have the basis of a Marxist theory of 21st century capitalism’ (P.4). <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pwkNnL5VWwo" width="320" youtube-src-id="pwkNnL5VWwo"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Of
course, Marx in Capital Vol.3 noted a number of counter-tendencies, strategies
available to capital to mitigate the declining rate of profit (</span><a href="https://www.penguinbookshop.com/book/9780140445701"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Marx 1894/1981:
339-48</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">).
Carchedi and Roberts point them out: 1) an increase in the rate of exploitation
of labour; 2) a cheapening of constant capital lowering the organic composition
of capital; 3) the lowering of wages below the normal value of labour power; 4)
profits from foreign trade; and 5) fictitious profits in the financial sphere
(PP.93-4). <span style="font-size: 14pt;">And yet, over time, these counter-tendencies can
always only ameliorate temporarily capitalism’s tendency to crisis.</span> In the end, the tendency of the
declining rate of profit and the related structural pressures for capital
always re-assert themselves. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">There
are a whole range of economic problems, Carchedi and Roberts concern themselves
with. I will highlight their discussions of several of them. First, they start
off their volume with a focus on the relation between value and nature and the
related climate crisis. As they point out, as long as capitalists can access
cheap energy and raw materials, the increasing organic composition of capital
can be checked and the tendency of the falling rate of profit countered for a
while albeit with disastrous consequences for the environment and ultimately
humanity. ‘Capitalism thus turns the “free gifts of nature” into profit. And in
the incessant drive to raise profitability, it depletes and degrades natural
resources’ (P.17). In other words, in order to overcome crisis, capitalism is
compelled to expand relentlessly into nature in a desperate search for cheap
inputs to counter the tendency of the falling rate of profit. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Another
key contribution by Carchedi and Roberts is their understanding of inflation.
It is widely claimed that raising wages cause higher levels of inflation. And
yet, as they point out, ‘a rise in wages will generally lead to a fall in
profits, not a price rise. That is why capitalists oppose wage rises
vehemently’ (P.79). Connecting their analysis of inflation to the production of
value, by contrast, they conclude that ultimately it is both wages plus profits
that put upward pressure on prices and capitalists, in their constant search
for higher profits, therefore, bear key responsibility for rising inflation.
Hence, ‘inflation in the prices of consumer goods is accounted for principally
in terms of the production of value, itself a consequence of the decreasing
profitability’ (P.91). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Equally
compelling is Carchedi and Roberts’ assessment of imperialism and the way
imperialist countries on the basis of their technological superiority extract
surplus value from dominated countries through unequal exchange in trade
relations, which in turn is another ‘important counter-tendency to the
decreasing growth of surplus value in the imperialist countries’ (P.120). When
countries with companies predominantly based on advanced technologies and thus
high organic compositions of capital trade with countries with predominantly
labour-intensive companies, i.e. low organic compositions of capital, and
considering that profit rates are equalised among countries, the former will
receive surplus value created in the latter. After all, a high organic
composition of capital implies high productivity levels, but low profit rates,
while a low organic composition of capital implies low productivity levels, but
a high rate of profit. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Their
assessment of the increasing deployment of robots and AI in the production
process is also pertinent. Of course, this does increase capitalist
productivity. However, it will not ensure profitability permanently either.
More robots imply a higher organic composition of capital, which in turn
results in a falling rate of profit. The more robotisation spreads through the
whole economy, the more downward pressure on profitability there is. ‘This is
the great contradiction of capitalism: increasing the productivity of labour
through more machines reduces the profitability of capital’ (P.156). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">While
many observers highlight the shortcomings of capitalism, few actually engage in
developing concrete alternatives. Carchedi and Roberts, by contrast, dedicate a
full chapter to the question of socialism/communism. This is the final major
contribution I would like to highlight. As they point out, ‘socialism would
mean a society without classes and without the exploitation of wage labour.
Under socialism, the means of production would be commonly owned and production
would not be for the market but direct to the consumer without any process of
exchange for money. Production would be by the free association of producers in
common, distributed by society through democratic decisions’ (P.187). Key
ingredients for success are ‘workers’ democracy’ (P.225), something which has
been lacking in Stalin’s Soviet Union, for example, as well as economic
planning using labour time as measure at least in the initial period
(PP.234-6). This will ultimately provide the basis for everyone being able to
develop their own capacities and interests. ‘The creation of positions’, they
write, ‘encompassing a wide variety of tasks and the rotation of individuals
among different positions would ensure that each can realise his/her
potentialities to the maximum during his/her working time’ (P.232). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">As
impressive as this systematic assessment of a large number of economic issues
of capitalism through Marx’s theory of value is, there are, however, several
areas in which a wider reflection might be necessary for a full understanding.
First, there is Carchedi and Roberts’ dismissal of degrowth theory, arguing
instead for ‘controlled and planned growth’ (P.37). They are right, when they
say that under socialism it will be possible to focus exclusively on the
production of use value. They are wrong, however, when they believe that the
limits to growth in a situation of finite planetary resources would not apply
to socialism. Even in a communist society, we could not endlessly focus on
increasing economic growth. They are also wrong, when they argue that ‘if
growth is halted, it means that the underdeveloped countries are condemned to
remain stuck in the swamp of poverty, constantly on the brink of famine’
(P.37). Degrowth theorists such as Jason Hickel make clear that in the overall
scheme of things, while industrialised countries would have to cut back their
economic production drastically, there would be still space for further
development of developing countries (</span><a href="https://www.jasonhickel.org/less-is-more"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Hickel 2020: 187-96</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">). Degrowth can
only work if it goes hand in hand with a global redistribution of wealth. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Second,
can imperialism be reduced to economic dependencies, as the authors suggest?
Imperialism through ‘free trade’ is an important feature. It was part of
Britain’s role in the international economy during the 19<sup>th</sup> century
(see </span><a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2591017"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Gallagher and
Robinson 1953</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">)
and it continues today in the form of neo-colonial relations. Nevertheless, has
not direct, coercive political power always been part of imperialism and the
building of empires especially during the 19<sup>th</sup> century? Carchedi and
Roberts contrast their understanding of imperialism with ‘colonialism’, defined
as ‘the appropriation of natural resources, military occupation, the direct
state control of colonies, the stealing by the imperialist countries of
commodities not produced capitalistically and the brutal exploitation of labour
in the colonies’ (P.117). In practice, however, it is doubtful whether these
two forms of exploitation can be so clearly distinguished.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Third,
they dismiss the notion of super-exploitation, the suppression of the price of
labour below the level necessary for workers to ensure their own reproduction,
identified by </span><a href="https://monthlyreview.org/product/the-dialectics-of-dependency/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Marini (1973/2022)</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"> as a key
characteristic of capitalism in the periphery of the global economy. For them,
the fact that super-exploitation also occurs elsewhere is proof enough that
this concept does not hold any explanatory value. ‘Hundreds of millions of
workers everywhere, not just in the “Global South”, are paid below the value of
the labour power, the cost of its reproduction – in the US, Germany, Italy,
Spain; a large portion of this falls upon the migrant workers in those
“advanced” countries’ (P.134). While this is correct as such, as Jaime Osorio
makes clear in response, it is not about whether super-exploitation occurs or
not. ‘The central issue … is to pinpoint the predominant forms of exploitation
in distinct social formations in “normal” periods of reproduction, looking at
the sectors of the working population they affect and the impact they have on
the reproduction of capital’ (</span><a href="https://monthlyreview.org/product/the-dialectics-of-dependency/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Osorio 2022: 177</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">). And it is in
this respect that super-exploitation dominates capitalist social relations of
production in peripheral spaces in the global economy. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Finally,
I am not convinced about Carchedi and Roberts’ assessment of the Chinese
economy not being dominated (yet) by capitalist economic laws. The country’s
economy, the authors argue, ‘is not yet dominated by the market, by investment
decisions based on profitability; or by capitalist companies and bosses; or by
foreign investors’ (P.213). Crucial in this respect is, according to the
authors, that Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs), the public ownership of
the means of production are still dominant, with a special role played by the
financial sector. ‘The major banks are state-owned and their lending and
deposit policies are directed by the government. There is no free flow of
foreign capital into and out of China. Capital controls are imposed and enforced
and the currency’s value is manipulated to set economic targets’ (P.215).
However, large state-owned sectors were part of Western industrialised
countries in the post – World War Two period. This did not undermine the
capitalist nature of these economies. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Equally,
the assessment that ‘the great “one belt, one road” project for central Asia is
not aimed to make profit. It is to expand China’s economic influence globally
and extract natural and other technological resources for the domestic economy’
(P.217) is rather surprising. An alternative explanation for the ‘one belt, one
road’ project is China’s rather desperate search for new profitable investment
opportunities to overcome an increasingly severe crisis of overaccumulation. As
William I. Robinson points out, ‘Chinese capitalism now shows many of the
telltale structural signs of crisis: a hypertrophied financial sector,
including banking assets that ballooned to some $50 trillion in 2021, not
including shadow finance; a runaway spiral of household and corporate debt that
went from 178 percent of GDP in 2010 to 287 percent in 2021; overcapacity; a
slowdown in growth rates; and social polarization’ (</span><a href="https://www.claritypress.com/product/can-global-capitalism-endure/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Robinson 2022: 73</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">). In other words,
Chinese capitalism suffers from exactly the same structural pressures, as
capitalism elsewhere. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Nevertheless,
these points of critical engagement should not make us overlook the major
contributions of this volume. It provides us with a masterful Marxist
assessment of current developments in global capitalism and is a must read for
every historical materialist scholar, interested in understanding current
crisis tendencies. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></p><div><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Andreas Bieler</span></div><p></p><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Professor of Political Economy</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">University of Nottingham/UK</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Andreas.Bieler@nottingham.ac.uk</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; text-align: left;">4 December 2023</span></p>Andreas Bielerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08920020665441380498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081320827566289783.post-22240586132737969302023-11-24T21:01:00.022+00:002023-11-24T21:31:21.392+00:00Confronting exploitation: What labour movement for the 21st century?<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc6H_n0IuYrYFtApcS-GeOnSF_ZT9jj_QGih6iJvJBEPmdNxQVUXmr7Js9GKJmGfcWYO37axlFvuS97dWPWXYcjFVDYEs2qxF7wdcReyfOukCwjCqcxMILRbbNTFcW-FOu0rKCAYqPG9A-moDBtV9Fr2n-eiL7C0JDBuhy_5kKNnwp6yoLPU5T78ilnnl9/s283/IUR302.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="283" data-original-width="200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc6H_n0IuYrYFtApcS-GeOnSF_ZT9jj_QGih6iJvJBEPmdNxQVUXmr7Js9GKJmGfcWYO37axlFvuS97dWPWXYcjFVDYEs2qxF7wdcReyfOukCwjCqcxMILRbbNTFcW-FOu0rKCAYqPG9A-moDBtV9Fr2n-eiL7C0JDBuhy_5kKNnwp6yoLPU5T78ilnnl9/w226-h320/IUR302.jpg" width="226" /></a></div>Against
a back-ground of global economic crisis and heightened geo-political
confron-tations, the inter-national labour movement has remained as important as
ever for the defence of working people and wider society. And yet international organised labour
is also in crisis. In my article ‘</span><a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/438/article/905531"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Confronting exploitation: What labour movement for the
21<sup>st</sup> century</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">’, published in the journal <i>International
Union Rights</i>, I argue that we need to go beyond a narrow focus on trade
unions as the privileged agent of workers’ interests and understand ‘class’ and
‘class struggle’ more broadly for successful resistance against capitalist
exploitation.</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<a name='more'></a>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0a0a0a; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">The capitalist social relations of production, organised around the
private ownership or control of the means of production as well as wage labour,
is enormously dynamic, but also inevitably crisis ridden. In response to the
latter, there is constant structural pressure towards outward expansion to
overcome crisis and be it only temporarily. Additionally, this particular mode
of production generates labour and capital as the two main classes, inevitably
in conflict over wages and working conditions. While the latter are structurally
pushed to maximise profits in capitalist competition via lower wages and worse
working conditions, the former are inevitably poised to demand a larger share
of the products resulting from their labour. Hence, the focus on class struggle
between capital and labour and employers’ associations and trade unions as
their institutional expressions. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0a0a0a; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0a0a0a; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Nevertheless, as feminist Marxists assert, capitalist accumulation also
depends on unpaid labour in the sphere of social reproduction. In order for a
worker to appear at the workplace rested each day, ready to be exploited, a lot
of work has to go on in the background to ensure they are clothed, fed and
relaxed. This work often takes place in the household and is predominantly
carried out by women. Equally, as scholars of racial capitalism remind us, from
the very beginning of its emergence and outward expansion, capitalism depended
heavily on racial forms of oppression including the proceeds of the Atlantic
slave trade and the commodities such as cotton and sugar produced on slave
plantations in the Americas. Today, capitalism continues to draw on racism in
its expropriation of Indigenous land for extractivist industries, various forms
of unfree labour and generally worse conditions of non-white groups when it
comes to social services provision. Finally, there is a relentless need for
capitalism to draw on fresh cheap natures, underpinning the ongoing destruction
of the environment. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0a0a0a; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0a0a0a; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">If capitalism relies not only on the exploitation of wage labour in the
sphere of production, but also on the expropriation of unpaid labour in the
sphere of social reproduction, on expropriation along racial forms of
oppression and a constant flow of cheap natures, then struggles against
patriarchy, against racism and against environmental destruction are also
moments, when capitalist exploitation is being resisted. These are also moments
of class struggle and social movements, environmental groups, feminists and
anti-racist movements such as Black Lives Matter are also actors in these class
struggles. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0a0a0a; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0a0a0a; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">In short, the labour movements of the 21st century need to go beyond
organised labour and include informal labour organisations as well as these
other feminist, anti-racist and environmental groups, forming broad alliances
in the resistance to capitalist accumulation. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0a0a0a; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><br /></span></p><div><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Andreas Bieler</span></div><p></p><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Professor of Political Economy</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">University of Nottingham/UK</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Andreas.Bieler@nottingham.ac.uk</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; text-align: left;">24 November 2023</span></p>Andreas Bielerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08920020665441380498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081320827566289783.post-73251086641427836342023-10-09T12:14:00.034+01:002023-10-13T14:26:25.924+01:00Waging war on staff: The narrative of a defeat.<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLeLmPneKuhGUfXXPf7bAsrZTtQXR2c_4hWyHwQVi9g9pzBEkC7-kHigvcPeM4rk1L1rky9bFl5LRXh5WZpY7Jz5o1WAEHqZhC0kKL04UxVGWz5T19Z7vicv4jlVkSDOphr6261lfov7INz7WtrI7Y3XMZh_yhvBdYVD_6C0pcY4-A2SPWkeX-mi2zAbth/s1000/UCU%202.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLeLmPneKuhGUfXXPf7bAsrZTtQXR2c_4hWyHwQVi9g9pzBEkC7-kHigvcPeM4rk1L1rky9bFl5LRXh5WZpY7Jz5o1WAEHqZhC0kKL04UxVGWz5T19Z7vicv4jlVkSDOphr6261lfov7INz7WtrI7Y3XMZh_yhvBdYVD_6C0pcY4-A2SPWkeX-mi2zAbth/w200-h200/UCU%202.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">When
the end of the Marking and Assessment Boycott (MAB) was announced on 6
September, it was finally clear that the University and College Union (UCU) had
lost the struggle of the Four Fights over Pay, Workload, Pay Gaps and
Casualisation. Despite 15 days of strike action across the academic year
2022/2023 as well as the MAB lasting from 20 April to 6 September, employers
represented by the Universities and Colleges Employers
Association (</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">UCEA) had not budged. Despite widespread
disruption to graduations in the summer with many students either not
graduating or graduating with ‘derived’, i.e. ‘guestimated’ marks, employers refused
steadfast to negotiate especially over pay. A derisory below inflation proposal
was presented as the best possible offer the sector could afford. Having lost
large amounts of salary during the struggle, staff had to return to work and
mark scripts, for which they had already had pay deducted due to the MAB. In
this post, I will explore the causes of the defeat and reflect on the implications
for the sector.</span></div></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<a name='more'></a>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><b>Poor national UCU
‘leadership’?</b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Many
union members blame the national UCU leadership for the defeat. Leading such a
diverse union split into several factions is no easy task, nor is the
development of a coherent strategy straightforward, considering the different
exam periods and teaching terms across the sector. And yet, two key mistakes
can be identified in my view. <b>First</b>, the strategy of calling strike action for several
blocs of days was bound to fail. During the academic year 2021/2022, at the
University of Nottingham and other universities participating in strike action
then it had already become clear that unlike in 2018, for example, employers
were no longer concerned about the impact of strikes on students, as long as
they could claim that all learning objectives had been met and students could
graduate as normal.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">At
the national level, the Higher Education Committee (HEC) had decided in the
Autumn 2022 to call for indefinite strike action from February 2023 onwards.
Only indefinite action would imply that students could not graduate and that
employers, therefore, had to move in response and start negotiating in earnest.
Nevertheless, the national leadership around the UCU General Secretary neither
communicated nor implemented this decision (</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><a href="https://vickyblakeucu.uk/2023/08/13/what-next-lessons-from-this-years-4-fights-campaign/"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Vicky Blake, 13 August 2023</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">).
Instead, we ended up with the same strategy as before, blocs of strike days. It
all started in November 2022 with three days of walkouts and subsequent action
envisaged for the spring semester. Past experience should have made clear that
these three days in one semester would not move managements. The whole
campaign, thus, started with members losing three days’ pay for ineffective,
tokenistic action. In a way, the tone was set for the rest of the disastrous
strike action during the past academic year.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzU-Lf9e1wtXKkxHaTHs2xuLxNeRcF_GG8ySeMM63oxBBgMfeiLm_KpkFDPU5v1QcGY0-fS2wVkLqqaTRbph4fwkpV2nheRIACd9glyZ707rLzWIoiBKNdaUQyPtdW9tMddtzajy27OGQjB9enKxbNu0c4YkwC7JxhUxEag5wlOI1f0oaZWcPC-_93354E/s234/UCU3.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="59" data-original-width="234" height="81" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzU-Lf9e1wtXKkxHaTHs2xuLxNeRcF_GG8ySeMM63oxBBgMfeiLm_KpkFDPU5v1QcGY0-fS2wVkLqqaTRbph4fwkpV2nheRIACd9glyZ707rLzWIoiBKNdaUQyPtdW9tMddtzajy27OGQjB9enKxbNu0c4YkwC7JxhUxEag5wlOI1f0oaZWcPC-_93354E/w320-h81/UCU3.png" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">The
industrial relations environment in the UK makes it very difficult for trade
unions to take action. For example, mandates for industrial action only last for
six months, before another ballot of members must be carried out. The mandate
secured in a successful ballot in April this year only lasted until 30
September 2023. Hence, at the UCU annual congress in May a motion was passed to
carry out a ballot over the summer, as this would ensure a direct continuation
of the mandate from 1 October onwards (</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><a href="https://www.ucu.org.uk/article/12950/Higher-Education-Sector-Conference#he19-long-reballot-over-summer-industrial-action-at-start-of-term"><span>UCU – Motion HE19</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">).
Again, the national leadership around the General Secretary did not follow
through. This was the <b>second major mistake</b>. When the decision on a new ballot
was eventually taken in August, it was clear that there would be a gap in
mandate from 1 October until at least mid-November. Against this background,
unsurprisingly, members voted against the continuation of the MAB in early
September in a consultation by UCU. As employers only had to wait until 1
October, before they could enforce the marking of any outstanding exam scripts,
there was little point in carrying on with the MAB until then.</span></p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">UCU’s
current ballot for industrial action is a huge gamble. If the ballot is lost in
that less than 50 per cent of members participate – a distinctive possibility
considering the disillusionment of members with the national UCU and its
strategy – the union would be severely weakened for years to come.
Nevertheless, even if the ballot is won, the future does not look much more
promising either. In a mirror image of the past academic year, the mandate
would only last from around mid-November to sometime next April. Again, it
would neither cover a complete semester nor include the exams period in the
summer 2024. A further ballot in April would be inevitable. In short, yet again
the timing of the national strategy is completely wrong. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><b>Missing
solidarity?</b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Nevertheless,
it would be too easy simply to blame national leadership. We as staff at
universities also have to look at ourselves. Quite a few members of staff
participated in all strikes and the MAB. However, many also did not. At my own
workplace the University of Nottingham, I had many discussions with colleagues,
giving one or the other reason that while they were ‘fully supportive’ of the
union, they could not participate in action on ‘this occasion’:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">‘When
there is a different strategy such as a MAB, then I will definitely be part of
the action.’</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"> The MAB was announced in April 2023, but that
colleague then found another excuse for not taking action.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">‘When
I am on a permanent contract, then I will join the union and go on strike.’</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">
When that colleague was made permanent, he briefly joined the union, but never
participated in any action. By now he has left the union again.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">‘When
I am promoted to professor, then I will become an active union member.’</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">
That colleague was promoted, but to date has not been part of any action. In
fact, I have met several colleagues, who decided to leave UCU the moment they
were promoted to professor.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV8vRmkmiy6IDNjQHrW1eYrzaFVkisLLCw9xSZmAfBDg5QOi73Zd3ktEDKr691QiXmJMZJEf3f2OVqP_IvwVsinwhwB7i0u9qG8QLLYaxwzlTjSVDd7GLviWitumGT5Ltt7zfvOLqElTlWxSqqtk7kstF2y3PupKiBZGCltZd5FbkJvB9svW4sA6Ty9Cw9/s234/UCU4.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="59" data-original-width="234" height="81" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV8vRmkmiy6IDNjQHrW1eYrzaFVkisLLCw9xSZmAfBDg5QOi73Zd3ktEDKr691QiXmJMZJEf3f2OVqP_IvwVsinwhwB7i0u9qG8QLLYaxwzlTjSVDd7GLviWitumGT5Ltt7zfvOLqElTlWxSqqtk7kstF2y3PupKiBZGCltZd5FbkJvB9svW4sA6Ty9Cw9/w320-h81/UCU4.png" width="320" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">These
examples should not make us overlook those colleagues, who have been part of
the action whatever their particular circumstances. We must not forget the many
colleagues on precarious contracts, who are nonetheless on every picket line.
We must not overlook the colleague, who in the middle of her application for
promotion to professor stood up to management nonetheless. As such, however, there
has been a clear lack of solidarity amongst colleagues. As Lorna Finlayson has
pointed out, ‘</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">the uncomfortable truth is that academics have been
complicit, and often instrumental, in bringing about the present predicament’ (</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><a href="https://newleftreview.org/sidecar/posts/the-sycophant"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Finlayson, 21 September 2023</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">The
changes in academia over the last decades have ultimately also changed
academics themselves. There is an atmosphere of competitive individualism with
many colleagues having no problems with freeriding on the benefits of UCU
industrial action such as the current restoration of USS pension benefits,
while never participating in any action underpinning that success. Many
colleagues are not union members for a start and those who are often take
industrial action as a pick and choose exercise, participating in certain
aspects of the action but not others. During the recent MAB at Nottingham
University, it was not only non-union members who stepped in and did the
marking of boycotting staff. Even some UCU members stooped so low and
undermined the industrial action of colleagues.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Clearly,
the defeat is not only the responsibility of the national UCU leadership. We as
individual academics have also contributed to it.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG5mc3P6Ve52gv00sGEjpoi-6nSxiknJ-knKbpFvRoyaJM8aLddB_w_cnZCQrZkHDUFmKB63HuevqZ_js1SuCmG0ltucHAOFxHLAgGeG3WRvUzhytvfA1Lobpu5ugmEF1KkNB2ipfpwYssgfPfcPd86dEKtdWUAOc9ug-a0A0fcOwMQHCiUKgoZkyvQQZa/s234/UCU5.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="59" data-original-width="234" height="81" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG5mc3P6Ve52gv00sGEjpoi-6nSxiknJ-knKbpFvRoyaJM8aLddB_w_cnZCQrZkHDUFmKB63HuevqZ_js1SuCmG0ltucHAOFxHLAgGeG3WRvUzhytvfA1Lobpu5ugmEF1KkNB2ipfpwYssgfPfcPd86dEKtdWUAOc9ug-a0A0fcOwMQHCiUKgoZkyvQQZa/w320-h81/UCU5.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Waging war on
staff!</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">The
national UCU leadership made mistakes and not as many staff members as we had
hoped participated in the action. Nevertheless, as I see it the main reason for
the defeat was management intransigence. Instead of looking for a negotiated
way out of the dispute, senior University leaders up and down the country took
the dispute as a test of strength with the ultimate goal to weaken if not
destroy UCU. Not only did they not care about the loss of teaching for
students, even the marking of student work was no longer considered to be
important. Management sacrificed students’ learning and well-being on the altar
of their zealous war against their own staff.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">George
Boyne, Vice Chancellor of Aberdeen University and Chair of UCEA, was shocked,
when he learned that staff at Aberdeen University would start losing pay only
in June. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">“Nothing deducted until the end of June?” he asked.
“I’d prefer pain along the way – we can return their money if they change their
mind and do the marking” (<a href="https://news.stv.tv/north/aberdeen-university-chief-wanted-to-inflict-pain-on-marking-boycott-lecturers">stv
News, 5 July 2023</a>). In the struggle during the academic year 2021/2022,
another Vice Chancellor was on record stating “I don’t care if it’s
bloody, as long as the blood spills within the union” (</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/nov/30/uk-universities-hit-by-strike-action-over-pay-and-pensions"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Guardian, 30 November 2021</span></a></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-weight: normal;">).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">At
Nottingham University, management first imposed a punitive salary deduction of
50 per cent for the period of 15 May to 16 June in response to the MAB. Instead
of negotiating a constructive way out of the confrontation, this was followed
up in July with an even more draconian threat of 50 per cent salary deduction
for the period of 20 July to 30 September. The objective was clearly to break
staff morale; staff who had only a few years earlier worked around the clock to
facilitate the shift to online learning during the Covid-19 pandemic. Past
efforts did not count when it came to defeating the union.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">In
the end, support for the MAB dwindled over the summer. Especially after
graduations had taken place and the biggest pressure point on management had
passed, it increasingly became clear that industrial action would not shift
managements. Several requests for negotiations by the national UCU were
rebuffed by UCEA. At Nottingham University, in the face of the draconian threat
of 50 per cent of salary deductions over more than two months, even very
committed staff felt that they had no alternative but to return to marking.
Thousands of pounds were paid out from the UCU hardship fund, but ultimately
the financial sacrifices could no longer be sustained.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm9bqL9t0xEYgdFMcCHmkCUlpkcCgRp7ahvbcwf2KII_pkP_HpxpZh-c_VM3WMSgc_bJBxsk7-kAaBHufH9OFSw36bt8kbDACG7aIn-i0CrEYydfTyNjltKj5syRKxMEYABbNA7VAHV7YRNIrFPTiVCEsYt6ikI3Oy2nJPco4mxRrxAI3a0kh9YuReJUnr/s234/UCU6.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="59" data-original-width="234" height="81" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm9bqL9t0xEYgdFMcCHmkCUlpkcCgRp7ahvbcwf2KII_pkP_HpxpZh-c_VM3WMSgc_bJBxsk7-kAaBHufH9OFSw36bt8kbDACG7aIn-i0CrEYydfTyNjltKj5syRKxMEYABbNA7VAHV7YRNIrFPTiVCEsYt6ikI3Oy2nJPco4mxRrxAI3a0kh9YuReJUnr/w320-h81/UCU6.png" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Nevertheless,
management would be mistaken, if they revelled in their victory and thought
they could simply return to normality. King Pyrrhus of Epirus defeated Roman
armies twice, first at the Battle of Heraclea in 280 BC, then at the Battle of
Asculum in 279 BC. Even though the Romans lost more soldiers on both occasions,
these victories were ultimately a defeat as the Romans could replenish their
ranks much more easily. The victory by management is such a Pyrrhic victory, as
the damage to Higher Education (HE) is enormous. For a start, staff morale
across the sector is at rock bottom, confidence in management at an all-time
low. For a sector, in which everything from teaching and research to
administration relies heavily on co-operation and the goodwill of staff, this
is potentially catastrophic.</span></p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Moreover,
the reputation of the sector is damaged, perhaps beyond repair. With more and
more universities on the European continent offering degree programmes in
English often without or significantly lower tuition fees, international
students would be mad to come to the UK, where their studies are most likely
severely disrupted. With many universities depending on the income from
international students’ tuition fees, the dramatic implications for
universities are clear.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Finally,
the fundamental, structural problems of the sector have not been solved. Pay
since 2008 has been eroded through below-inflation agreements by 25 per cent.
Gender and ethnic pay gaps remain large, workloads enormous and casualisation
is widespread across the sector. It is only a matter of time, until staff
unrest spills over into new periods of industrial action. Management may glow
in their victory for now, but the next strike wave is just over the horizon.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">It
does not have to be this way. Employers could use the moment for a fundamental
settlement in Higher Education including proper pay, an end to gender and
ethnic pay gaps, extensive workloads and precarious hourly based and/or
fixed-term contracts. Considering that most university leaders are, however,
either free market ideologues or simple careerists, I do not think that there
is much hope for this to happen. It is much more likely that the downward
trajectory of British HE is going to continue.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtWLar8x47Xj98o56O5AkUexV4RlyzrhZ3z4f0_Uu5gb0CVGDoqayoOhYwiIZd3XRhPdpH33gaMm6Yb4-yJ6WQHIqHNT_BIfV2pCY8B_B9CgcEu6aHKxmSFdC7UJVCuWxhXzMjxHxrnLbeRgQjj7rREGi3CCkmCNMPi-ThNMnPVyCteWBhJBqccKZzDG9Z/s234/UCU%201.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="234" data-original-width="234" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtWLar8x47Xj98o56O5AkUexV4RlyzrhZ3z4f0_Uu5gb0CVGDoqayoOhYwiIZd3XRhPdpH33gaMm6Yb4-yJ6WQHIqHNT_BIfV2pCY8B_B9CgcEu6aHKxmSFdC7UJVCuWxhXzMjxHxrnLbeRgQjj7rREGi3CCkmCNMPi-ThNMnPVyCteWBhJBqccKZzDG9Z/w200-h200/UCU%201.png" width="200" /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Andreas Bieler</span></span></div><p></p><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Professor of Political Economy</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">University of Nottingham/UK</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Andreas.Bieler@nottingham.ac.uk</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; text-align: left;">9 October 2023</span></p>Andreas Bielerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08920020665441380498noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081320827566289783.post-86930515584885910182023-09-30T21:58:00.011+01:002023-10-13T16:20:36.505+01:00Can Global Capitalism Endure? A review of William Robinson’s latest book. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2riaNFd4VGVOVRs3xbPdDhyxCl_Wejg5w-rnESc7rdqvKSOTYN4coHYm4vwAz51UBEBnQFAIzSAoJFfXW0CFh8zjO25wzytkNGSZyR7nq3Dy7ARfKRw_T-y69DD2BYrn3mtVnJa15BV-Lx_WxGnWwOX2s4RHqBMMK8D5cb8hSXk7gf3zKxW4Zydd0Gn1f/s522/Robinson.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="522" data-original-width="348" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2riaNFd4VGVOVRs3xbPdDhyxCl_Wejg5w-rnESc7rdqvKSOTYN4coHYm4vwAz51UBEBnQFAIzSAoJFfXW0CFh8zjO25wzytkNGSZyR7nq3Dy7ARfKRw_T-y69DD2BYrn3mtVnJa15BV-Lx_WxGnWwOX2s4RHqBMMK8D5cb8hSXk7gf3zKxW4Zydd0Gn1f/s320/Robinson.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">For
some time, <a href="https://robinson.faculty.soc.ucsb.edu/">William I. Robinson</a>
has been one of the most adept observers of, and commentators on, global
structural change. In his latest book <a href="https://www.claritypress.com/product/can-global-capitalism-endure/"><i>Can
Global Capitalism Endure?</i></a> (Clarity Press, 2022), he analyses the
current crisis of overaccumulation as a result of the tendence of the falling
rate of profit. Most dangerously, in capital’s ever more desperate search for
profitable investment opportunities, global economic crisis is spilling over
into geo-political confrontation. In this blog post, I will discuss some of the
book’s key contributions. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<a name='more'></a>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">In
Capital, Vol.3, Marx outlines the tendency of the falling rate of profit as an
inevitable outcome of the way capitalist production is organised around wage
labour and the private ownership of the means of production. Involved in
relentless competition with each other for market share, capitalists constantly
employ new technologies in order to increase labour productivity and, thereby,
gain an advantage over their competitors. Such advantages, however, are only
ever temporary, as competitors are compelled to catch up with productivity
increases on their side or go under. Hence, there is a general increase in the
organic composition of capital, i.e. while constant capital in the form of
technology and machinery is increased, variable capital, living labour is
replaced. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Because
it is only variable labour which can produce surplus value, the rate of profit
inevitably declines. ‘With the progressive decline in the variable capital in
relation to the constant capital, this tendency leads to a rising organic
composition of the total capital, and the direct result of this is that the
rate of surplus-value, with the level of exploitation of labour remaining the
same or even rising, is expressed in a steadily falling general rate of profit’
(<a href="https://www.penguinbookshop.com/book/9780140445701">Marx 1894/1981: 318-19</a>).
Capitalism enters a crisis of overaccumulation, in which surplus profits and
surplus labour, i.e. unemployed workers, can no longer be brought fruitfully
together. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Robinson’s
<b>first key contribution</b> is to highlight clearly that it is precisely such
an aggravated crisis of overaccumulation, in which the global capitalist
economy currently finds itself. There has been a persistent decline in the rate
of profit from about 15 per cent in the post-WWII period to ten per cent by the
end of the 1980s and six per cent in 2017 (P.13). Against this background, ‘the
total cash held in reserves of the world’s 2,000 biggest non-financial
corporations increased from $6.6 trillion in 2010 to $14.2 trillion in 2020 …
as the global economy stagnated’ (PP.16-17). While corporations have reaped
record profits, overall capital investment has declined due to a lack of
profitable investment opportunities. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Of
course, capitalism has always several options at its disposal to counter
economic crisis. Increasing financialization is clearly one way of continuing
profit-making, including speculatory investment in currency markets,
cryptocurrencies, stock markets and futures markets to name a few. Increasing
financialization is heavily based on record debt levels, be it private,
corporate or state debt. And national responses to the Covid-19 crisis have
further fuelled financial speculation. ‘Recycled into further speculative
activity, the injection of state funding into the global financial system
during the pandemic expanded even further the gap between the productive
economy and fictitious capital as bubbles kept the capitalist economy afloat’
(P.22). In the end, however, only the exploitation of living labour in the
productive economy can generate the surplus value, on which financial
speculation is based. ‘The entire financial edifice rests on the exploitation
of labor in the “real” economy’ (P.36) and any further expansion of fictitious
capital will only aggravate the underlying structural crisis of global
capitalism. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ziPk76jRu9M" width="320" youtube-src-id="ziPk76jRu9M"></iframe></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The </span><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">second
key contribution</b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> of Robinson’s book is his evaluation of ‘the second
information age’. Yet again, capital presents new technology as the solution to
its problems. Unsurprisingly, surplus capital flows into those corporations,
which are involved in cutting edge technological development, resulting in a
gap between these companies’ material assets and their market capitalization. ‘Apple
and Microsoft registered an astounding market capitalization of $1.4 trillion
each in early 2020, on the eve of the contagion. By the end of that year this
figure had jumped to $2.08 trillion and $1.63 trillion, respectively. Amazon’s
capitalization stood at $1.04 trillion going into the pandemic and had climbed
to $1.58 trillion by the end of 2020. Alphabet (Google’s parent company)
registered a $1.2 trillion capitalization, Samsung $983 billion, Facebook $799
billion, and Alibaba and Tencent some $700 billion each. To give an idea of
just how rapidly these tech behemoths have grown, Google’s market capitalization
went from under $200 billion in 2008 to over one $1 trillion in 2020, or a 500
percent increase over the decade’ (PP.43-4). Of course, new technology,
digitalisation has significantly transformed the way goods and services are
being produced. New technology, however, has also further increased the organic
composition of capital, putting further downward pressure on the rate of
profit.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">In
other words, new technology can stave off temporarily crisis by providing new profitable
investment opportunities. Ultimately, however, ‘any such expansion will run up
against the problems that an increase in the organic composition of capital
presents for the system, namely the tendency for the rate of profit to fall, a
contraction of aggregate demand, and the amassing of profits that cannot be
profitably reinvested’ (P.49). Over time, the capitalist crisis of
overaccumulation is going to deepen resulting in a general crisis of capitalist
rule. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">It
is here, that Robinson makes his <b>third key contribution</b> by linking the
crisis of capitalism to rising geo-political confrontations reflected in the
Ukraine war and the increasing tensions between China and the US. As Nicos
Poulantzas has pointed out, its relative autonomy allows the state to
adjudicate between conflicting interests of various capitalist fractions by
sacrificing the interests of a particular fraction at times in order to ensure
the continuation of overall capitalist accumulation. At the global level, no
such state organization exists. As Robinson argues, what he describes as the
transnational state apparatus is too fragmented to impose any coherence on
rival transnational capitalist class fractions. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Thus,
war suddenly becomes an option for states, partly as an outlet of surplus
capital – witness the increasing national spendings on arms and related rising
fortunes of arms manufacturers – partly as a way ‘to externalize social and
political tensions as they seek to hold together the social order inside the
nation-state’ (P.67). In short, ‘the breakdown of the political organization of
world capitalism is not the cause but the consequence of contradictions
internal to a globally integrated system of capital accumulation’ (P.69). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Finally,
Robinson discusses the global climate emergency and related large migratory
flows. ‘The ecological crisis makes it very questionable that capitalism can
continue to reproduce itself as a global system’ (P.77). And while he may
underestimate capitalism’s ability to generate profits in the short term in
responding to the climate crisis and thus endure longer – see the discussions
around ‘green growth’ or ‘green capitalism’ – his <b>fourth and final
contribution</b> is the clarity in which he rejects capitalism as a whole. In
line with his Marxist approach, he comprehends that the capitalist mode of
production must be changed, full stop. The crisis of capitalism ‘is existential
for humanity and for capitalism. If humanity is to survive there is no
alternative other than to overthrow global capitalism’ (P.82). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">This
is rarely spelled out so clearly and it is this final conclusion, which makes
Robinson’s book so important. I strongly recommend it!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Andreas Bieler</span></p><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Professor of Political Economy</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">University of Nottingham/UK</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Andreas.Bieler@nottingham.ac.uk</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; text-align: left;">30 September 2023</span></p><p></p>Andreas Bielerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08920020665441380498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081320827566289783.post-85065783531870138052023-07-24T17:17:00.029+01:002023-10-18T09:03:36.007+01:00Cementing neo-colonial relations: the EU – Mercosur ‘free’ trade deal.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZs-Wv3NU4P9oIbYDmadOmm02GF2DKi0fx0VEZGN34dQwLeSKOt2uprNXp8MJD9_Jq1cdztqJjG6Ekav0OrZl9VdiHDJdtRRpbnyrVJ_QF91GdzEqOHx_NmA5aABYh65oyk8AI8KWoyshkbunKkcrm4N0cMP1yJKYFRuC2K6jIQFZzx4aMbA5SWF4fp-1D/s356/Stop%20EU%20-%20Mercosur.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="141" data-original-width="356" height="159" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZs-Wv3NU4P9oIbYDmadOmm02GF2DKi0fx0VEZGN34dQwLeSKOt2uprNXp8MJD9_Jq1cdztqJjG6Ekav0OrZl9VdiHDJdtRRpbnyrVJ_QF91GdzEqOHx_NmA5aABYh65oyk8AI8KWoyshkbunKkcrm4N0cMP1yJKYFRuC2K6jIQFZzx4aMbA5SWF4fp-1D/w400-h159/Stop%20EU%20-%20Mercosur.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">'<a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/issues/climate-energy/46747/eu-and-mercosur-leaders-ignore-the-voice-of-the-people-to-push-forward-with-toxic-deal/"><span>EU and Mercosur leaders ignore the voice of the
people to push forward with toxic deal</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">’ declared the </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><a href="https://stopeumercosur.org/"><span>Stop EU –
Mercosur</span></a></span> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">campaign alliance, a coalition of more than 450 organisations from
Latin America and Europe, including trade unions, farmers organisations, social movements, animal activists and
environmentalists. The alliance held a two-day meeting in Brussels on 17 and 18
July in parallel to the summit of EU leaders and leaders from the Community of
Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), at which a conclusion of the
highly controversial EU – Mercosur ‘free’ trade agreement was also discussed.</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Around
80 representatives of Stop EU – Mercosur members from Latin America and Europe
gathered in Brussels to discuss the problems with the proposed treaty, explore
alternatives as well as co-ordinate their strategies to stop that treaty from being concluded, ratified and implemented. In this blog post, I will summarise my observations.</span><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<a name='more'></a>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Speaker
after speaker highlighted the EU’s double standards. While the EU emphasises
the need for a green transition at home, its policies prevent Latin America
from following a similar path. First, the EU – Mercosur treaty is supposed to
secure European access to critical raw minerals such as lithium, essential for
battery production and the shift to electric cars, despite the high levels of
environmental pollution which comes with the mining of lithium. Second, while the EU focuses on
this shift to e – mobility, the treaty with the Mercosur countries intends to
increase European exports of fossil fuel – based car models, combustion engines
as well as agricultural pesticides, which are themselves forbidden in the EU (<a href="https://power-shift.de/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Studie_Mobilitaetswende_ausgebremst_web_final-3.pdf">Fritz
2022</a>). <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Y9NDyuGEZnI" width="320" youtube-src-id="Y9NDyuGEZnI"></iframe></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Most
importantly, the intended EU – Mercosur treaty is an extension of former
colonial policies. The exchange of processed, technology-based goods from the
EU including cars, car parts and chemicals for primary commodities such as soy,
bioethanol and beef from Mercosur countries constitutes an asymmetrical trade
relationship, a relationship of unequal exchange, which results in the
deindustrialisation of Mercosur countries.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">20
years of experience with these neo-liberal free trade agreements (FTAs),
participants pointed out, have proven that these treaties do not result in
development. Rather, the peripheral position of Latin American countries in the
global political economy is further entrenched. Their development is
subordinated to the requirements of the capitalist core. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaHZBW83OiZ5Z5YVTVNpVvbAzw4FBYhFdMA91sy0ChXO3QxwswMh_GnzetsQivLhC3QhSSvwSqBu6hcdmqHwpJTjhcxxxpRu72f9H2qJGMM_3UIZwCLXvEy6N5w-ERk5hkPd0PNkR_ked5SicpkbjYonKLXpFWYvQrTv3a9XScjHKic4qu92oeijypokFI/s299/Stop%20EU%20-%20Mercosur%202.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="299" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaHZBW83OiZ5Z5YVTVNpVvbAzw4FBYhFdMA91sy0ChXO3QxwswMh_GnzetsQivLhC3QhSSvwSqBu6hcdmqHwpJTjhcxxxpRu72f9H2qJGMM_3UIZwCLXvEy6N5w-ERk5hkPd0PNkR_ked5SicpkbjYonKLXpFWYvQrTv3a9XScjHKic4qu92oeijypokFI/w400-h225/Stop%20EU%20-%20Mercosur%202.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">The
environmental impact of the treaty is devastating. It is well known that
increasing exports of soy and beef drive deforestation especially but not only
in the Amazon rainforest. Equally, the mining of lithium results in widespread
pollution of water resources, creating huge ‘sacrifice zones’ that are
uninhabitable for humans. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Not
everyone in Europe is supportive of the treaty. While the car manufacturing and
pharmaceutical industry lobby pushes hard for conclusion and ratification (<a href="https://friendsoftheearth.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/The-powers-pushing-for-the-planet-wrecking-EU-Mercosur-deal.pdf">Tansey
2022</a>), European farmers and here especially small- and medium-sized farms
are worried. They cannot compete with industrialised agriculture subject to
fewer regulations than in Europe. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Several
European representatives of the transnational farmers organisation La Via
Campesina were present at the meeting and it was them who argued that all free
trade agreements should be opposed full-stop. It was them who made the concrete
proposal of building alternatives around the principle of food sovereignty. The
focus should be on producing good food for local people, not on producing
export cash crops. A broader set of principles for an alternative to the EU –
Mercosur agreement can be found on the website of the <a href="https://s2bnetwork.org/statements/eumercosuralternatives/">Seattle to
Brussels Network</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Trade
unions were also present including representatives from the Italian CGIL, the
French CGT, and the Dutch FNV. From Mercosur, especially the Brazilian CUT had sent several people to the meeting. This ensured some focus on the problem of
precarious employment resulting from free trade agreements (FTAs). At the same
time, as the CGIL representative told me, unfortunately there are fewer and
fewer trade unions represented at this kind of broader civil society meetings,
while the unions themselves had been unable to organise something similar at
the same time. The <a href="https://www.etuc.org/en/document/etuc-and-tuca-joint-trade-union-statement-need-include-workers-interests-eu-celac-summit">joint
declaration</a> by the <i>International Trade Union Confederation – Americas</i>
and the <i>European Trade Union Confederation</i> does not reject closer trade
relations between the two continents, but insists that the interests of workers
must be at the heart of any future agreement. Ensuring a broad alliance
including social movements, environmental groups, Indigenous people as well as
trade unions clearly remains a challenge. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrfRdCtPsj13Rn70kRzrqzOGu4F0Y4e1OjxH8JOuV6LHeZLgMSDyC-pOpLbhqCLmzJ7Fqd_eg8AVh4IO4F_WWJkLrFPsfNRONXgqKHx5QQfaDLfx14R5ZntMq0NHgdR0EVwM5HhiiE-fJwfIup7QhQR5H0TMlDeNm98iNTpPoDcw86edDiz6fdsh6F2jlA/s345/Stop%20EU%20-%20Mercosur%203.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="146" data-original-width="345" height="169" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrfRdCtPsj13Rn70kRzrqzOGu4F0Y4e1OjxH8JOuV6LHeZLgMSDyC-pOpLbhqCLmzJ7Fqd_eg8AVh4IO4F_WWJkLrFPsfNRONXgqKHx5QQfaDLfx14R5ZntMq0NHgdR0EVwM5HhiiE-fJwfIup7QhQR5H0TMlDeNm98iNTpPoDcw86edDiz6fdsh6F2jlA/w400-h169/Stop%20EU%20-%20Mercosur%203.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">Furthermore,
the strategy meeting of the Stop EU – Mercosur alliance revealed the
difficulties with raising free trade agreements as a controversial issue within
the wider public. This had been possible in 2015 and 2016 in the struggle against
the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. The EU – Mercosur agreement,
by contrast, has received much less public attention so far. Importantly, it
may be necessary to construct different discourses for different audiences.
What works in Europe may not be appropriate in Latin America. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;">In
the end, the EU – CELAC summit failed at making significant progress with the
EU – Mercosur agreement. The Brazilian President Lula rejected the EU request
for an additional environmental chapter, raised concerns about the inclusion of public procurement and asked instead for a re-opening of
the negotiations, ensuring space for reindustrialisation measures in Brazil. And
yet, the so-called modernisation of the EU – Chile and the EU – Mexico FTAs was
pushed forward. They are a similar type of agreement as the intended EU –
Mercosur agreement and they indicate the ongoing dangers. The EU will clearly continue
to complete the deal. Splitting the EU – Mercosur agreement into the free trade part and the political
part is the most imminent threat (<a href="http://s2bnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/The-EU-Commissions-possible-attempts-to-fast-track-the-EU-Mercosur-deal-Legal-Analysis-by-Prof-Krajewski-May-2023-1.pdf">Müller
2023</a>). If that was the case, then the former would not require the
ratification by the various national parliaments and thus be much more easily
adopted and implemented. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">‘When we oppose the
EU – Mercosur trade agreement, we are not crying, we are not complaining’,
outlined </span><span style="color: #555555; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Kretã Kaingang</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> representing Brazilian Indigenous people at the
meeting. ‘We warn the rest of the planet about the changes which will affect us
all. We teach humanity’. Indigenous people make up five per cent of the global
population, but they are caring for 83 per cent of the world's biodiversity.
Clearly, Indigenous people have to be at the heart of any solutions to our
crises. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Andreas Bieler</span></p><div style="font-size: 16px;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Professor of Political Economy</span></div><div style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">University of Nottingham/UK</span></div><div style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Andreas.Bieler@nottingham.ac.uk</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; text-align: left;">24 July 2023</span></p></span></div></span>Andreas Bielerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08920020665441380498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081320827566289783.post-63333932165610202272023-06-14T17:31:00.017+01:002023-10-17T09:04:43.021+01:00Organizing Amazon and the platform economy (trans)nationally <p style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirniwgB3-551g6p6P-Pg4Xo1s8FkQSGafIiGvZNHurab2Zmss3Nj1cRXTCcRZJg-pgCcT7cJWIfa0oKOCbkZakTyXSQCFWpi530M47bqFSyr4uKxjLyJ6ALDP2IQELqfZd4YeHyVebmiMQQjplb7TZ9QHXIMlSWLtyOF93hwND30soAZDKEK59GvNLHQ/s400/Sarrah%20Kassem.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="267" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirniwgB3-551g6p6P-Pg4Xo1s8FkQSGafIiGvZNHurab2Zmss3Nj1cRXTCcRZJg-pgCcT7cJWIfa0oKOCbkZakTyXSQCFWpi530M47bqFSyr4uKxjLyJ6ALDP2IQELqfZd4YeHyVebmiMQQjplb7TZ9QHXIMlSWLtyOF93hwND30soAZDKEK59GvNLHQ/s320/Sarrah%20Kassem.jpg" width="214" /></a></span></div><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">In this guest post <b>Sarrah Kassem</b> outlines key arguments of her
recent book </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/work-and-alienation-in-the-platform-economy"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Work and
Alienation in the Platform Economy: Amazon and the Power of Organization</span></i></a></span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">, </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">in which
she dives into two of Amazon’s platforms: its e-commerce platform of Amazon.com
and its digital labor platform of </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://www.mturk.com/"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Amazon Mechanical Turk</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> (MTurk). These two
platforms essentially organize workers in different ways. While the former pays
workers a traditional time wage and concentrates workers within a single
location, the latter pays workers, who labor from behind their screens, through
gig wages. MTurk workers join therefore other workers in </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://www.wiley.com/en-us/The+Gig+Economy:+A+Critical+Introduction-p-9781509536368"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">the gig economy</span></a></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">. </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">By taking a closer look at these two Amazon
platforms, their (digital) shopfloor and relations of alienation and
exploitation, we can then grasp the different ways by which workers form
solidarity (trans)nationally and the diverse ways by which they come to
organize themselves, traditionally and alternatively</span></div></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<a name='more'></a>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Union organizing at Amazon – traditional and grassroot unions</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p>A</o:p></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">mazon </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745342177/the-warehouse/"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">warehouse workers</span></a></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">are
organized along a clear Taylorist division of labor, where they are assigned
for a time-being a specific part of the circulation line of customer orders.
Workers may be assigned a task in the <i>Inbound</i>, essentially referring to
the prepping and stowing of items, or the <i>Outbound</i>, where items are
picked and packed to head out to the customer. While historically workers concentrated
within walls such as factories could resist by laboring more slowly for
instance, this becomes incredibly complicated as workers’ productivity is
digitally monitored through Units Per Hour (UPH) rates and socially through supervisors.
This traditional organization of workers brings about their collective labor. In
other words, the division of labor necessitates that all steps are collectively
carried out for customers to receive their orders.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">This
underlines the crucial importance and potential of striking, disrupting and
industrial action more generally for workers to leverage Amazon. However, </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; text-align: left;"><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/10242589221149496"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">the bounds of such action</span></a></span><span class="MsoHyperlink" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> is closely related to the industrial relations and
political-economic context of where workers are located. While workers can
easily unionize in one country, in another they may have to take on one or
multiple rounds of ballot votes to be able to unionize. We see this in the
range of Germany’s traditional service sector union of ver.di that has been </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.vsa-verlag.de/nc/detail/artikel/das-prinzip-amazon/"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">organizing workers</span></a></span><span class="MsoHyperlink" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> at Amazon for a decade now, to </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.amazonlaborunion.org/"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Amazon Labor Union</span></a></span><span class="MsoHyperlink" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">, a
grassroots union that grew out of the pandemic and the firing of Christian
Smalls in the US. Amazon’s transnational nature necessitates also transnational
action </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">and networks like the </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://www.transnational-strike.info/projects/amazon-workers-international/"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Amazon Workers International</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> and </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; text-align: left;"><a href="https://uniglobalunion.org/workers-rights/uni-amazon-global-union-alliance/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">UNI Amazon Global Union Alliance</span></a></span><span class="MsoHyperlink" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">, as workers are united by their working conditions
and their </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.rosalux.de/fileadmin/rls_uploads/pdfs/Ausland/Europa-Nordamerika/The_long_struggle_of_the_Amazon_employees.pdf"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">struggle</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> for better, safer and fairer working conditions.</span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6pwKl-Xi-eQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="6pwKl-Xi-eQ"></iframe></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Online
global communities – alternative forms of solidarity of MTurk workers</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Workers on </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">the </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://brookfieldinstitute.ca/from-bottom-to-top-how-amazon-mechanical-turk-disrupts-employment-as-a-whole/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">MTurk platform</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> labor from behind their screens, and thus can be
located anywhere across the globe, as long as they have a device by which to
connect to the Internet. We can imagine MTurk as a digital market for
outsourced labor that is available 24/7. Workers labor here microtasks, dubbed
Human Intelligence Tasks (</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://www.techrepublic.com/article/inside-amazons-clickworker-platform-how-half-a-million-people-are-training-ai-for-pennies-per-task/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">HITs</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">), that may be something like answering surveys, digitizing
receipts or labeling data. The different microtasks can also be understood as a
division of labor here of a production line of data, generally used for
training machine learning algorithms for AI. However, not only are forms of
resistance such as working slowly complicated on MTurk but so too is traditional
industrial action.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">By laboring through the interface workers are managed by </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/your-boss-is-an-algorithm-9781509953189/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">algorithms</span></a></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">which essentially determines their approval rating
based on whether their tasks are accepted or rejected. As with piecework,
refusing to labor a task would mean a slower productivity rate and in this case
no payment. Additionally, the question is: against whom do workers strike – those
who hire them by the task (called requesters) or Amazon as the mediator of the
MTurk platform? These workers are located across the world, do not encounter
one another on their interfaces and labor different hours. This means for
workers that if they want to communicate with one another, they have to do so
outside of MTurk. We see that happening through online communities, whether
subReddit threads like </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/TurkerNation/"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Turker Nation</span></a></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">">on which workers ask each other for tips and
advice, or </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://turkopticon.net/"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Turkopticon</span></a></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">where workers are the ones
rating requesters. These can be understood as acts of transnational solidarity,
as workers – instead of safeguarding and gatekeeping the ways by which they
navigate the system to make the most wages possible, they share these with one
another. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The wide spectrum of agency</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The working realities of platform workers can strongly vary, from those
working for a location-based platform or a web-based one, to those receiving a
traditional hourly wage or a gig piece rate. These dimensions in turn hold
implications for how workers can resist and the ways by which they do so. By
taking a small glimpse at the Amazon warehouse workers and MTurk workers, we
can also observe the wide spectrum of what labor organization and solidarity
can look like. This is crucial, as it can allow us to think of labor
organization today not just in traditional terms, but also more broadly in
alternative ones. This can in turn hold implications for our organizing
strategies and the ways by which we can support these labor struggles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><b>Sarrah Kassem</b> is a Lecturer and Research Associate in
Political Economy at the University of Tübingen. Her current research interests
center around workers, working conditions, different forms of labor
organization and the intersectional dimensions of the labor movement.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><p></p>Andreas Bielerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08920020665441380498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081320827566289783.post-76419723790409841902023-03-26T23:56:00.007+01:002023-10-13T16:32:59.545+01:00Conceptualising struggles over water grabbing!<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7J6pEiDnzBvJ0e7HZ9ZrAXGgbi6ijTZ24l2ffAzalpFclmm1Nmvvci5RZcQuxQchXffH1I-Y9TkepSy0NbzxSmK7LJ5gpNikT_nSlrfPDp8rHjNPNpEJdekytpIna2d9WxCORlV_J7p2sPt7TkRk9jninRdNkOt5BIIUMgRnUTFQ_ECLrKuN4pfPycg/s250/Fighting%20for%20Water%20cover.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="160" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7J6pEiDnzBvJ0e7HZ9ZrAXGgbi6ijTZ24l2ffAzalpFclmm1Nmvvci5RZcQuxQchXffH1I-Y9TkepSy0NbzxSmK7LJ5gpNikT_nSlrfPDp8rHjNPNpEJdekytpIna2d9WxCORlV_J7p2sPt7TkRk9jninRdNkOt5BIIUMgRnUTFQ_ECLrKuN4pfPycg/s1600/Fighting%20for%20Water%20cover.jpg" width="160" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Capital
has identified water as an important opportunity for profitable investment.
Whether it is the privatisation of public water infrastructure, the expansion
of the bottled water industry, the construction of dams for energy generation
or the free expropriation of water for mineral extractivism or large-scale
agriculture, private capital has poured into water in large quantities. And
yet, water is also an area where resistance to capitalist exploitation has been
most successful as reflected in a wave of re-municipalizations of water
services across the world (<a href="https://www.tni.org/en/publication/our-public-water-future"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Kishimoto, Lobina and Petitjean 2015</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">). How can we make
sense of these struggles against water commodification? In our recent article </span><a href="https://mulpress.mcmaster.ca/globallabour/article/view/5074"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Water Grabbing,
Capitalist Accumulation and Resistance</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> in the <i>Global Labour Journal</i>, we
develop a conceptual-methodological approach to this question.</span></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<a name='more'></a>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The
purpose of this article is to reflect on how we can conceptualise the multiple
types of struggles over water. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Through a historical materialist engagement with
social reproduction theorists, post-colonial interventions and eco-socialism, we
argue that capitalist reproduction not only depends on the exploitation of wage
labour but also the expropriation of natures and people along different forms
of oppression. By focussing on historical processes and the intertwined
dynamics necessary for capitalist reproduction, we reveal the internal
relations of these struggles to each other and global capitalism.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">In
more detail, we first </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">discuss a
theory of capitalism that incorporates ongoing expropriation in addition to
exploitation as key to capitalist accumulation. In other words, in order to
fully understand capitalist accumulation, we need to conceptualise capitalism as
always depending on the exploitation of wage labour and the expropriation of nature
and people. Capitalist accumulation is always based on
exploitation-cum-expropriation. Hence, in a second step, we conceptualise how
the terrain of class struggle (and thus struggling subjects) can be broadened
by </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">understanding
that capitalist reproduction depends on the exploitation of wage labour as well
as gendered and racial forms of oppression and the expropriation of cheap
nature. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1F6z432Wj6CWFtlHycPuCOjYOeAUwI-8ZU0LbunptYW9DokgarzQ_9HDGEUOBL_Vmo4rKY0XmANA8NbAxkB3WrvrhFIusIehWVmvnPWLXD8NuCKT3qgMZSePlzP5kJLbRQSexcW8QiWL3DSJsUfV8acfUeui4jbQFJtnr-4iNRHuYCo2QCl2n85v_lg/s500/Moore.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1F6z432Wj6CWFtlHycPuCOjYOeAUwI-8ZU0LbunptYW9DokgarzQ_9HDGEUOBL_Vmo4rKY0XmANA8NbAxkB3WrvrhFIusIehWVmvnPWLXD8NuCKT3qgMZSePlzP5kJLbRQSexcW8QiWL3DSJsUfV8acfUeui4jbQFJtnr-4iNRHuYCo2QCl2n85v_lg/w213-h320/Moore.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Third,
we then discuss how we can methodologically compare these struggles and what is
revealed when these various instances of struggles against water grabbing are
related to each other as well as the wider capitalist global political economy.
Drawing on the method of incorporated comparison (<a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2095763?origin=crossref"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">McMichael 1990</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">), individual
struggles over water grabbing are not compared as bounded, separate instances.
Rather we compare them in the way that they relate to the overall global
political economy, co-constituting each other as well as the global system.
While the latter informs individual struggles, the global system too is
therefore being constituted and thus in a constant process of change.</span></span></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Finally,
by putting forward a conceptual and methodological guide for how to approach
water struggles relationally, we can point to the anti-systemic potential of
these struggles. We argue that </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">the </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">diversity
of protesters apparent in struggles against water grabbing captures internally
related and mediated forms of class struggle, where the terrain of class
struggle is inclusive of the whole social factory. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">In struggles against water privatisation in Europe, for example,
one of the key contributions of the Italian water movement was the conception
of water as a commons, which is jointly governed, jointly enjoyed and jointly
preserved for future generations. It is thus a way of organising water
management, which goes beyond the dichotomy of private versus public. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Equally, while the
resistance by Indigenous people against water grabbing and here especially the
construction of oil pipelines endangering their water supply is clearly
directed against capitalist accumulation, it also carries the seeds for an
alternative beyond capitalism. Indigenous knowledge and post-colonial
interventions assert that alternative cosmologies have always and continue to
exist, running counter to narratives that there is no alternative. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">MADELAINE
MOORE is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Transnational Social Policy at the
University of Bielefeld, Germany. [Email: </span><a href="mailto:Madelaine.moore@uni-bielefeld.de"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Madelaine.moore@uni-bielefeld.de</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">]<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">ANDREAS
BIELER is Professor of Political Economy at the School of Politics and
International Relations, University of Nottingham, United Kingdom. [Email: </span><a href="mailto:Andreas.Bieler@nottingham.ac.uk"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Andreas.Bieler@nottingham.ac.uk</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">]<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">This blog post was first published by the <i><a href="https://www.ppesydney.net/conceptualising-struggles-over-water-grabbing/" target="_blank">Progress in Political Economy</a></i> blog on 21 February 2023. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Andreas Bielerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08920020665441380498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081320827566289783.post-52139328963324034242023-02-28T18:38:00.013+00:002023-03-01T10:38:11.054+00:00Fighting today’s battles with yesterday’s strategies? On the romanticism of the picket line!<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz-QePJLSbYCgtPWOmTMPgdC9NWeXJmn70G4cnra1Cxj6by276uOvl4ijdOKx39p1e9v96fNOvOwlhCpwQPkV1RxjfeVDn8E5JdDStxYItVUYmHyJIbff9utUb0gK7aQWzYXPp94HJfs6u3bale93BVJNj81uLHUPBHmaWFFBidrCPF2bSVMCV5-dPJQ/s331/ucuRISING-strike-leaflet-pay_USS_Jan23.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="331" data-original-width="234" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz-QePJLSbYCgtPWOmTMPgdC9NWeXJmn70G4cnra1Cxj6by276uOvl4ijdOKx39p1e9v96fNOvOwlhCpwQPkV1RxjfeVDn8E5JdDStxYItVUYmHyJIbff9utUb0gK7aQWzYXPp94HJfs6u3bale93BVJNj81uLHUPBHmaWFFBidrCPF2bSVMCV5-dPJQ/w226-h320/ucuRISING-strike-leaflet-pay_USS_Jan23.png" width="226" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Since
2018, UCU has been in almost permanent industrial action over cuts to pensions,
pay and working conditions including more than 60 days of strike by now.
Currently action is paused to provide room for 'meaningful negotiations', but we
are yet in another ballot to extend the dispute for a further six months
including a potential marking and assessment boycott in the summer. Key to any
action has been the sanctity of the picket line. All-out strikes are supposed
to be all-out strikes. However, is this still the right strategy at this point
in time? In this blog post, I use the moment of pause in industrial action to
reflect on our approach. I will argue that we need to rethink our strategy
drastically and emphasise impact on our employer over purity of action. The way
the neo-liberal University works has changed, and we need to adjust our tactics
accordingly.</span></div><o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p>
<a name='more'></a>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">It
was a cold, dark morning in 1995. Striking workers huddled around burning fires
outside the entrance to the Liverpool docks establishing a formidable picket
line. Bacon and eggs were fried over open fires, warm drinks handed around to
sustain the strikers and their supporters. 20 meters away a group of police
officers gathered to ‘police’ the action. Workers had been out for months
resisting an onslaught on their pay and working conditions by management.
Together with activists from Manchester I had made the trip over to show our
solidarity. Suddenly a lone figure emerges out of the darkness and approaches
the picket line. Within seconds all hell breaks loose. Shields go up, the
police barely manage to prevent the strikers from tearing into the scab
crossing the line. The situation is clear. An all-out strike is the most
powerful weapon of dock workers bringing the port to a standstill with ships unable
to discharge their cargo. Every worker who crosses this line directly
undermines the action and rightly faces the strikers’ anger. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
situation could not be more different within today’s setting of Higher
Education in the UK. When we set up picket lines, they no longer deter staff or
students from accessing the university. Picket lines no longer allow us to shut
down activities on campus. For sure, they remain important in that they are a
demonstration of our industrial action to wider society. They are crucial in
visibilizing our action to non-striking colleagues and students. They are
essential in keeping up our morale by connecting with striking colleagues from
our own Department as well as other areas of the University. Nevertheless, the
slogan ‘the longer the picket line, the shorter the conflict’ no longer holds. <a name="_Hlk128494196">The way the neo-liberal University works has changed, and
we need to adjust our tactics accordingly.</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk7CSeqRl-yHsuNq5Ojlh4o_Baxb1tcmqGCelPrfvRJrFKTiabteavZkxD2vfKCk5b71dN7oaRMroP_mozeI71N67jOOd1gdKZlCyt3Ow3pmD4vzovZ13JiWeaxQQcLz7NU_thpMdrvbYFZQq5tpbr39sN-Sydisac2IHYWfxzugWVrQlelB65cU3Sew/s331/ucuRISING_strike_placard_-_pay_down.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="331" data-original-width="234" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk7CSeqRl-yHsuNq5Ojlh4o_Baxb1tcmqGCelPrfvRJrFKTiabteavZkxD2vfKCk5b71dN7oaRMroP_mozeI71N67jOOd1gdKZlCyt3Ow3pmD4vzovZ13JiWeaxQQcLz7NU_thpMdrvbYFZQq5tpbr39sN-Sydisac2IHYWfxzugWVrQlelB65cU3Sew/w226-h320/ucuRISING_strike_placard_-_pay_down.png" width="226" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Over
the last ten to 15 years, universities in the UK have become transformed into
‘surplus maximising’ corporations. While still formally in the public sector,
they operate like fully-fletched private sector corporations, in which every
activity is assessed according to its 'financial viability'. Programmes which do
not attract large groups of fee-paying students are closed down, staff levels
are kept at the bare minimum. The disruption of students’ learning is no longer
considered a problem, provided they still receive a minimum-level of teaching,
which allows the University to ensure that all modules are graded and students
can graduate or progress to the next level.</span></div><o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Last
year, students lost ten full days of their teaching due to industrial action,
but my own institution the University of Nottingham simply shrugged it off. The
threat of a marking boycott did focus minds in the end, but even here emergency
legislation was brought in at short notice. It would have allowed management to
allocate module marks, provided at least 40 per cent of the assessment had been
graded, if negotiations with the union had not resolved the conflict. The
biggest worry for university management is not a disruption of students’
learning. Management could not care less. The biggest concern is that students
will not be able to graduate or progress and can, therefore, make a credible
demand for a reimbursement of fees. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">In
short, only if the cost basis of today’s universities is threatened are they
likely to engage in serious negotiations. Blocks
of strike days across the semester only imply financial hardship for staff, but
they do not put pressure on management. Indefinite strike action, by contrast,
threatening to take out the whole semester, is a potential winning alternative as
it would make graduation and progression impossible (see </span><a href="https://andreasbieler.blogspot.com/2022/11/neoliberal-strikes-for-neoliberal.html"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Neoliberal strikes
for the neoliberal university</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">). This could only work, however, if it
was combined with a flexible implementation in that staff only take action on
those days, when they actually damage university business directly to minimise
personal financial losses. <o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px;">Any rigid insistence on complying strictly with strike action called by the union is misplaced in such a scenario.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKbtW-ku0fV1fVfdawbNBpjvFZ3As3Zw2N2LynkOOw7rSTORtI0-7VkIiOeL83OsNSkFInAMoPrAXuYrfooNFk-3zhSjIU9SsRLdUH8YotfzKm0ILHqVQVMGGTw1WHy_jBbzU7J9sWuK1jofNnA8L32Pm7u57pX65DcEn-XS_hc-CADA5NeteQqkThIg/s331/ucuRISING_strike_placard_-_pensions_slashed.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="331" data-original-width="234" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKbtW-ku0fV1fVfdawbNBpjvFZ3As3Zw2N2LynkOOw7rSTORtI0-7VkIiOeL83OsNSkFInAMoPrAXuYrfooNFk-3zhSjIU9SsRLdUH8YotfzKm0ILHqVQVMGGTw1WHy_jBbzU7J9sWuK1jofNnA8L32Pm7u57pX65DcEn-XS_hc-CADA5NeteQqkThIg/w226-h320/ucuRISING_strike_placard_-_pensions_slashed.png" width="226" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">To
be successful, our goal has to be to cause utmost havoc to university
proceedings and threaten university income. This could include novel forms of direct action </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">to maximise disruption costs to universities. It may include</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> targeting
key managers directly in addition to strikes (see </span><a href="https://notesfrombelow.org/article/how-win-current-strike-wave" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">How To Win The
Current Strike Wave</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">).
Equally, why should we comply with management’s preferred option of declaring
that we participated in strike action? Why not send in postcards? Why do we not
refuse declaring in the first place? Why should staff not organise </span><a href="https://archive.iww.org/about/solidarityunionism/directaction/5/" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">sick-ins</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">, in which staff
call in sick in large numbers and bring the workplace to a halt that way rather
than going through the ever more laborious procedures of organising ‘legal’
industrial action? Again, the goal has to be causing mayhem to university
proceedings and emphasising maximum impact on management.</span></div></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Of course, when
pursuing alternative strategies, we do have to accept that colleagues will ‘cross
the picket line’ on certain days. Perhaps, we even need to think about getting
rid of picket lines for large parts of the action? Perhaps we need to re-define the meaning of the
‘scab’, the strike breaker? What we cannot do, however, is continuing with
strikes in the traditional manner while the world of work around us has
fundamentally changed.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Andreas Bieler</span></p><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Professor of Political Economy</span></div><div><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">University of Nottingham/UK</span></div><div><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Andreas.Bieler@nottingham.ac.uk</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; text-align: left;">28 February 2023</span></p></div></span>Andreas Bielerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08920020665441380498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081320827566289783.post-45850397250275740752023-01-05T10:12:00.016+00:002023-10-13T16:36:02.992+01:00Global Capitalism, Global War, Global Crisis - new book review<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV6R8CgjosapybGpetAYcbH1GQjLwJlAGBdUooaR4TtQ2gFAjMKFCsHYKqmtynN1MeGgWNSB_0WQe6W3MI9wcqOf0O4FioDHmDsdC4FaSHwK0hZD6xWAwx4s2QRGGCpHEf14jX9tCm1FKZwIXFH9i_BCyxqR5SeHrb7_0cu1ZzWSB6-KdxVTRt-mQjNw/s648/Bieler%20Morton.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="429" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV6R8CgjosapybGpetAYcbH1GQjLwJlAGBdUooaR4TtQ2gFAjMKFCsHYKqmtynN1MeGgWNSB_0WQe6W3MI9wcqOf0O4FioDHmDsdC4FaSHwK0hZD6xWAwx4s2QRGGCpHEf14jX9tCm1FKZwIXFH9i_BCyxqR5SeHrb7_0cu1ZzWSB6-KdxVTRt-mQjNw/s320/Bieler%20Morton.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Just over four years ago, </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="@AdamDavidMorton" style="font-size: 12pt;" target="_blank">Adam D. Morton</a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> and I published our book </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><i style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://www.cambridge.org/gb/academic/subjects/politics-international-relations/international-relations-and-international-organisations/global-capitalism-global-war-global-crisis?format=PB#sFEsvYBkTSFR6o8p.97" target="_blank">Global Capitalism, Global War, Global Crisis</a></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> (CUP, 2018). In this book, we assess the forces of social struggle shaping the past and present of the global political economy from the perspective of historical materialism. We unravel the internal relations between global capitalism, global war and global crisis, an endeavour which has become even more important now considering ongoing capitalist crisis and the heightened geo-political conflict reflected in the war in Ukraine. </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">In this guest post, </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Pedro Nunes</b> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">reflects on some of the key contributions of this book as well as further necessary work beyond it. </span></div><p></p><a name='more'></a><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Setting
itself up for an analysis of three of the most encompassing trials facing
mankind, “Global Capitalism, Global War, Global Crisis” is remarkably
comprehensive, readable, and well argued.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
book opens with two chapters in Part I dedicated to the theoretical setting of
the authors, the first dedicated to arguing in defence of a historical
materialistic approach to the study of both International Relations (IR) and
International Political Economy (IPE). This is an essential stepping stone for
Bieler and Morton’s construction of their own analytical model; however, it is
also symptomatic of the necessity that authors who depart from Marxist analysis
face in having, since time immemorial, refute the vulgar and indolent
accusations of scholastic economism. Nonetheless, in this exercise, Bieler and
Morton produce not only a vigorous argument for their method but also an exhaustive
dissection of the impact of historical materialism in the analysis of
contemporary capitalism and political economy, which does not differ
substantially from a literature review. This makes the exercise a useful
introduction to familiarize the reader with not only the authors’ approach but
also with the most common criticisms it might face.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
second chapter of the theoretical setting focuses more narrowly on the task of
crafting the authors’ analytical framework. Drawing on <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/alienation/A6FB393ADE1E6106D97F5F7B7B06BE30">Bertell
Ollmann (1976)</a>, the authors argue that the concept of internal relations is
key to understanding the dynamics of international relations. A move away from
the “billiard ball” analogy, dear to many contemporary theorists, or the
ontological debate between agency and/or structure that has consumed much of
the constructivist and post-modern debate. The starting point is the premise
that the state is not an entity or actor in and of itself but rather a product
of the interactions between social forces. It is not something that exists
outside society but a product of the social relations that constitute it. The
internal relations approach is laid out as a way of understanding how these
social forces interact to produce the state, comprising both capitalist
relations of production and political institutions that run them and the
international system. This allows for an examination of the ways in which these
social forces are structured and how they interact to produce certain outcomes.
The state, even in the form of “international” institutions, becomes the
“material condensation” of class relations, close to <a href="https://www.versobooks.com/books/1552-state-power-socialism">Nikos
Poulantzas (1978)</a>, an influence that will be assumed in Part II, which is
dedicated to thematic considerations.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Internal
Relations are then crowned with the Gramscian concept of passive revolution,
which, looking at the transition to modernity in Europe, identified a
conservative reaction to the pressures for radical transformation developing
from below, while simultaneously, some concessions take place to placate
popular demands in a series of compromises made by the ruling classes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
use of passive revolution is a proposal of <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/03058298070350031301">Morton’s
(2007)</a>, as a theory of state formation that bridges the internal within the
causal conditioning of “the international”. It explains how the internal
relations: such as productive relations, coercion, political parties, and all
the elements that constitute the hegemonic system of the “national” state, will
condition, and be conditioned by, aspects such as sovereignty, power status,
and transnational capital, that will create state arrangements in hegemonic
systems.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
first two chapters of Part I provide a strong foundation for the rest of the
book although they are also complex and difficult to follow for those not
already versed in Marxist theory. The book does not ease readers into its
arguments; it departs from the idea that readers will be familiar with a large
swathe of literature and some of the previous theoretical productions of the
authors. Nevertheless, structuring the book in a different way would be a
mammoth task.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Part
II of the book is dedicated to the deployment of the theoretical arsenal to a
thematic analysis of capitalist expansion (Chapter 4), geopolitics (Chapter 5),
and resistance (Chapter 6).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">It
begins with an account of the structuring conditions of global capitalism,
particularly the uneven and combined development of capitalism as a driver of
imperialism. The argument is that uneven development is a structural necessity
for capitalism’s reproduction. This unevenness produces a series of
contradictions that give rise to imperialism as a way of managing these
conflicts. This chapter examines the role of the state in this process, through
intervention in the economy to promote capitalist expansion, and the new social
forces that conflict with the old that rise from it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Chapter
5, “Geopolitics of Global Capitalism,” is more classic in that it addresses the
way in which the state intervenes in the international system to secure its
interests, from different forms of geopolitics, traditional forms of diplomacy
and war, to the more recent forms of neoliberalism and globalization, where the
state is not a passive actor in the international system but is constantly
engaged in the process securing its interests.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Exploitation
and Resistance” looks at the ways in which social forces resist the hegemony of
the state. From traditional forms of struggle, like strikes and protests, to
more recent forms of resistance, like social movements and terrorism. It argues
that resistance is a necessary part of the process of social transformation,
and that the state will always attempt to repress it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">This
section of the book is as rich and eclectic in its engagement with a myriad of
authors as the opening one, while simultaneously establishing the theoretical
framework under which the authors are operating more explicitly.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Part
III is dedicated to case study analysis. It first addresses the BRICS (Chapter 7),
with a heavy focus on China, followed by the Iraq War (Chapter 8), and finally
the Eurozone (Chapter 9).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
BRICS case study is particularly insightful, as it delivers a detailed account
of the rise of these countries and the ways in which they have challenged the
hegemony of the United States and Western capitalism, such as through the
growth of the global working class, the development of new technologies.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
case study of the Iraq War provides a comprehensive account of a war that is
often seen as a failure of Western imperialism, but also as a success for the
United States, in terms of its strategic objectives and class-driven
expansionary tendencies.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
final analysis is reserved for the current crisis in the Eurozone, and the ways
in which the Troika has responded to it, which has produced mass unemployment
and social inequality due to uneven and combined development.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
concluding chapter reifies the three core themes of the book and their global
dynamics as object of contestation and push back, wrapping up the analysis with
contemporary forms of resistance and a call for the ruptures that only emerge
from class struggle.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Walking
back through the book on some of its most striking aspects, the opportunities
for system rupture emphasized by Bieler and Morton are an excellent pointer for
potential study for those interested in this area of social science. So much so
that the three empirical chapters could be replaced by analysis of the war in
Ukraine, post-COVID austerity or cost of living crisis, or the energy crisis
currently rippling through the Eurozone, and it would still retain its explanatory
value. In its analysis of the Eurozone, the book makes one of its less understated
contributions: the application of the concept of passive revolution to the
analysis of region-wide processes, opening an avenue for the deployment of this
theoretical framework beyond IR and IPE and into the realm of area and regional
studies.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">However, if a second
edition of </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">Global Capitalism, Global War, Global Crisis</i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> were to be
launched, there would probably be more engagement with feminist and
environmentalist literature, two areas that the exhaustive theoretical
groundwork does not seem to cover sufficiently.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><i>Pedro Nunes is a Ph.D. student in the School of Politics and International Relations at Nottingham University/UK.</i> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">For further reviews, see <b><a href="https://andreasbieler.blogspot.com/2019/10/global-capitalism-global-war-global.html" target="_blank">Book Reviews</a></b>. </span></div></span>Andreas Bielerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08920020665441380498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081320827566289783.post-11300821265420282142022-12-16T11:15:00.019+00:002022-12-17T17:01:55.323+00:00COP 27 – Surviving the Apocalypse: From ‘me’ to ‘we’.<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJVJHXQHlZQRBsWULl4yFDwkeQEE49v4GxURbt9q5wIcz6EbibSHw64WHNFnOl4tuxXL-wP07sBXKZWxNF8lBMmusWZMDPYpGZ1YwHsjtNP3ZTV2kH-krUQBNBooczqKxTwGz8tEbGkB24wQ3inAiD_RSRwd-BLELqA7cnFXOCyHNx3IRbzUQt8qCI5w/s680/COP%206.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="680" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJVJHXQHlZQRBsWULl4yFDwkeQEE49v4GxURbt9q5wIcz6EbibSHw64WHNFnOl4tuxXL-wP07sBXKZWxNF8lBMmusWZMDPYpGZ1YwHsjtNP3ZTV2kH-krUQBNBooczqKxTwGz8tEbGkB24wQ3inAiD_RSRwd-BLELqA7cnFXOCyHNx3IRbzUQt8qCI5w/w200-h200/COP%206.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Ultimately, it comes down to political will, when
confronting the climate crisis. Instead of indulging in Elon Musk’s fantasies
about life on Mars, we need to focus on solutions in the here and now on earth,
argued Alan Simpson in his final TED talk on how to confront the climate
crisis. What is required is a visionary space for nature and the necessary
political will to enact it. Money is not the issue.</span></span></div><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<a name='more'></a>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">There are plenty of examples in the past and today of
how transformative steps can be accomplished. In 1831, engineer <a href="https://www.arnold-history-group.org/444584346">Thomas Hawksley</a>
established the first safe public water supply in Nottingham, which in turn
improved public health significantly. Today in Norway, a new scheme of tax
incentives and deposit/return facilities ensures that 97 per cent of all
plastic bottles are being recycled. It is this kind of achievements we have to
aspire to, if we want to avoid that humanity is falling over the precipice.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NOnTLMalkLA" width="320" youtube-src-id="NOnTLMalkLA"></iframe></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p>This talk concluded a series of talks all focused on
what people can do locally in view of the climate crisis.</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><a href="https://andreasbieler.blogspot.com/2022/11/cop-27-avoiding-apocalypse.html" target="_blank"></a></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFJaPiCUV5K--sQ_fJ_bIqi2NkhzR57glJvIsSekva9H46IkFoghdp5qDUAFmGBMm4TbysuBj2qTLEgQJpZfIViQmZWo8fkPR9RQn7cnnJKmM4xlhCsztxu6-krX-t13tW42sN88893ctUJMwgv4XLa16F28UjkpFBYPzl0okq8yhPpNrdZTcrfDBY0w/s320/COP%201.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="320" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFJaPiCUV5K--sQ_fJ_bIqi2NkhzR57glJvIsSekva9H46IkFoghdp5qDUAFmGBMm4TbysuBj2qTLEgQJpZfIViQmZWo8fkPR9RQn7cnnJKmM4xlhCsztxu6-krX-t13tW42sN88893ctUJMwgv4XLa16F28UjkpFBYPzl0okq8yhPpNrdZTcrfDBY0w/w200-h200/COP%201.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></b></div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><a href="https://andreasbieler.blogspot.com/2022/11/cop-27-avoiding-apocalypse.html" target="_blank">COP27 – Avoiding the Apocalypse</a><o:p></o:p></span></b><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In the first talk, Alan Simpson focused on the
damaging impact of the aviation, the automobile and fossil fuel industries. If
we want to confront the climate crisis successfully, everything has to change
radically including our way of thinking. The radical is the only reasonable!
Importantly, it is not the poor who have to pay for climate change adjustments.
It is the rich with their much larger carbon footprints, who will have to provide
the required finance and change their behaviour. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><a href="https://andreasbieler.blogspot.com/2022/11/cop-27-feeding-future.html" target="_blank"></a></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh7GtpVLWkqVZyrQicZvy9F0KMueCFh_BccNYdcQxaLS3bu-23pf9W90Lnn0ejizgGPLVpkncIa3CRjNU7c2O0vPFnmL2k1j4O379yakwvGLt9XCNI15z1SuY-IN32BSRzshHLQY500JFYszMu5HNYl-WOxkG6g4IfdmKM3wO8xpi5-Uvdko621o0O3g/s680/COP%202.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="680" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh7GtpVLWkqVZyrQicZvy9F0KMueCFh_BccNYdcQxaLS3bu-23pf9W90Lnn0ejizgGPLVpkncIa3CRjNU7c2O0vPFnmL2k1j4O379yakwvGLt9XCNI15z1SuY-IN32BSRzshHLQY500JFYszMu5HNYl-WOxkG6g4IfdmKM3wO8xpi5-Uvdko621o0O3g/w200-h200/COP%202.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></b></div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><a href="https://andreasbieler.blogspot.com/2022/11/cop-27-feeding-future.html" target="_blank">COP27 – Feeding the Future</a><o:p></o:p></span></b><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The way we produce food is crucial when confronting
the climate crisis. Instead of a global system based on fossil fuel fertilizers
and dominated by a few large corporations, we need to find novel ways of how to
produce food. The problem is not growing enough food, the problem is how to
ensure that food is produced sustainably and locally. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><a href="https://andreasbieler.blogspot.com/2022/11/cop-27-energy-back-to-future-local.html" target="_blank"></a></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-eE4O52kaIOyw3o_uF9D7R5uxR2bgcdUeM6cL9mu_ogWVFF1r5k1kFlFXkMLl8htVM50posoKBXkSqRwVwfVW_UFzsbwLaAUzhSkoQx6n_g55Wh9QsZoxcZrufOaGQ8vr_AT_XnHK29z5X4y53GKmenD5NtcksofPeEPhPeQJSXN9iYiUwDmn4o4ZWQ/s680/COP%203.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="680" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-eE4O52kaIOyw3o_uF9D7R5uxR2bgcdUeM6cL9mu_ogWVFF1r5k1kFlFXkMLl8htVM50posoKBXkSqRwVwfVW_UFzsbwLaAUzhSkoQx6n_g55Wh9QsZoxcZrufOaGQ8vr_AT_XnHK29z5X4y53GKmenD5NtcksofPeEPhPeQJSXN9iYiUwDmn4o4ZWQ/w200-h200/COP%203.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></b></div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><a href="https://andreasbieler.blogspot.com/2022/11/cop-27-energy-back-to-future-local.html" target="_blank">COP
27 – <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Energy:
Back to the Future, local democracy, public ownership and social inclusion.</span></a></span></b></div></b><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">If we want to avoid climate catastrophe, we need to
shift from fossil fuels to green, renewable energy sources. This is not simply
a technological issue. What is required is a fundamental change in social
relations of the production and distribution of energy. There are plenty of successful
examples, which demonstrate how this can be done. Whether it is hot water from a
disused, flooded coal mine in the Netherlands or local energy cooperatives in
Germany, alternatives are available. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://andreasbieler.blogspot.com/2022/12/cop-27-15-minute-city-connectivity-as.html" target="_blank"></a></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXX-eA5FIsNdibKjaZv51IfQ1RMWqTgHEiTN4cCZSoGYraXZAuh0uMwAilTf7HOPX_sdiKV00z4M869kcas2pfZgKIcg0tsWafcMFjFKSAd6qvlzRenNiCRd6XlC-OrDWdWKpjYso3G_SSINvlLiRuCHWwMHaStH2cgFImNggQbTaLnJGGLKH1yFBxUg/s1080/COP%204.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXX-eA5FIsNdibKjaZv51IfQ1RMWqTgHEiTN4cCZSoGYraXZAuh0uMwAilTf7HOPX_sdiKV00z4M869kcas2pfZgKIcg0tsWafcMFjFKSAd6qvlzRenNiCRd6XlC-OrDWdWKpjYso3G_SSINvlLiRuCHWwMHaStH2cgFImNggQbTaLnJGGLKH1yFBxUg/w200-h200/COP%204.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></b></div><b><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://andreasbieler.blogspot.com/2022/12/cop-27-15-minute-city-connectivity-as.html" target="_blank">‘COP27 – ‘The 15-minute city’: connectivity as driver of carbon reduction.</a></span></b></div></b><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Changing the way we move is key to transformative
change, shifting from cars to sustainable and collective forms of transport.
Paris shows the way of how it is possible to work towards a 15-minute city, in
which </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">all the necessary shops and services are reachable
within a distance of no more than 15 minutes of sustainable forms of transport.
Reducing carpark spaces, adding cycle lanes and improving public transport all have
an important role to play in this transformation. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><a href="https://andreasbieler.blogspot.com/2022/12/cop-27-greening-everything.html" target="_blank"></a></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpw_GxuBrdcSfXqRJ-BMkzzGYpQO5e70dZ_7a0eHEtqyzndJc4BzBYuRTUHKhvYdVy3Pj9Brd9UbHNlO1vKWd_3P7PX-zmee2VhTihsyRO6UEK9dxRieZNJm-Ps23PcUyE419wncloNUU_ajHsnf95xhuL6EOHpTACG3Elp0ImYjrxdSSu4mvnqhi1_w/s200/Cop%205.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpw_GxuBrdcSfXqRJ-BMkzzGYpQO5e70dZ_7a0eHEtqyzndJc4BzBYuRTUHKhvYdVy3Pj9Brd9UbHNlO1vKWd_3P7PX-zmee2VhTihsyRO6UEK9dxRieZNJm-Ps23PcUyE419wncloNUU_ajHsnf95xhuL6EOHpTACG3Elp0ImYjrxdSSu4mvnqhi1_w/s1600/Cop%205.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></b></div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><a href="https://andreasbieler.blogspot.com/2022/12/cop-27-greening-everything.html" target="_blank">COP
27 – <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Greening
Everything: Putting back more than we take out. </span></a></span></b></div></b><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Transforming local transport and the way we produce
and distribute energy is only one part of the story of how we need to
restructure our cities. To ensure that CO2 emissions are absorbed and to facilitate
general well-being, greening our cities is absolutely essential. The planting
of trees including fruit trees, rooftop gardens and forest belts around cities
such as it is currently planned in Madrid/Spain are all crucial steps in making
our cities more habitable, more enjoyable. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">In order to achieve this transformation, we need to
move from individualism to collectivism. Mutual security implies security
against the climate crisis. We need to put back into earth more than we take
out. With a call for widespread collective, grassroots initiatives Alan Simpson
concluded his series of TED talks. Change is still possible, but it requires
the necessary will to do so, and it is here that the power of mobilisations
from below will be crucial. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Andreas Bieler</span></p><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Professor of Political Economy</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">University of Nottingham/UK</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Andreas.Bieler@nottingham.ac.uk</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; text-align: left;">16 December 2022</span></p></div>Andreas Bielerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08920020665441380498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081320827566289783.post-16137916507725798662022-12-12T15:49:00.010+00:002022-12-13T22:21:04.620+00:00COP 27 – Greening Everything: Putting back more than we take out.<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhMsgAm5z5Gp3cDpnwGwd_YhhKsdO9EoXfS6fBz6g5tYVX23sZ-whd0CVokNipBIRdsAJTGM_uScDkqmeKaSfBjwT3qp53fdRw0ajKAUwpKYjV-WCCvzDVogJcIHXWT_EbvZgz7PlQ2r6KbTBCGSeTt5nFNM-reqk3vsl-y-JD3eLy-maTvsWIjOEzXg/s1080/Cop%2027%20-%205.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhMsgAm5z5Gp3cDpnwGwd_YhhKsdO9EoXfS6fBz6g5tYVX23sZ-whd0CVokNipBIRdsAJTGM_uScDkqmeKaSfBjwT3qp53fdRw0ajKAUwpKYjV-WCCvzDVogJcIHXWT_EbvZgz7PlQ2r6KbTBCGSeTt5nFNM-reqk3vsl-y-JD3eLy-maTvsWIjOEzXg/w200-h200/Cop%2027%20-%205.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>If
we want to confront the climate crisis successfully, greening everything and
here especially our cities is key, argued Alan Simpson in the fifth talk of his
COP 27 series. Rather than paving over everything in our cities, which is often
the cause of flooding, we need to enlarge our green spaces. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div><a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Non-woodland
trees are one of the key elements in greener cities. They function as CO2
storage, offer cooling in summer and provide nesting space for birds. In short,
they are an essential part of our general well-being. Vertical gardens too are
excellent for biodiversity in cities as well as the absorption of greenhouse
gases. Pavement planting as in Montreal/Canada, for example, combined with streets
free of cars are another important step. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As
always, positive examples do already exist. <a href="https://www.greenroofs.com/projects/thammasat-university-urban-rooftop-farm-turf/" target="_blank">Thammasat University</a> has the largest urban rooftop farm in Asia, covering 22000 square meters. In <a href="https://www.smartgreenpost.com/2020/01/23/copenhagen-will-plant-fruit-trees-across-the-city/">Copenhagen/Denmark,
people have planted fruit trees in the streets</a> with a direct impact on
people’s nutrition and general well-being, while providing food for birds at
the same time. <a href="https://www.creatingtomorrowsforests.co.uk/blog/the-miyawaki-method-for-creating-forests">Miyawaki
forests</a> in cities are part of the solution as is <a href="https://www.metropolis.org/blog/madrids-metropolitan-forest-forest-belt-reconnect-citys-population-nature">Madrid’s
plan for a forest belt</a> around the city. In the UK, <a href="https://www.greenestatelandscapes.co.uk/case-study/rotherham-river-of-flowers/#:~:text=Rotherham%20River%20of%20Flower%20was,duel%20carriageway%20through%20the%20city.">Rotherham’s
rivers of flowers</a> are an example of what can be possible when greening our
cities. In <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/tree-plantation-drive-india-climate-change-b1878813.html">Uttar
Pradesh/India</a>, 800000 volunteers planted 50 million trees in one day. The
list goes on. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oUt8UV5f6Wg" width="320" youtube-src-id="oUt8UV5f6Wg"></iframe></div><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In
Nottingham, we could establish vegetable and fruit gardens on University ground
in a collaboration between students and the local community. Anchor
institutions such as the local hospitals could commit themselves to buy local
for their catering operations. Volunteers have already lined up for greening
the courtyard of the Clive Granger building on University Park. Planters in
roundabouts could be filled with berry bushes instead of ornamental flowers,
streets could develop wild edges. The solutions are there, what is necessary is
the political will to enact them!</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Andreas Bieler</span></p><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Professor of Political Economy</span></div><div><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">University of Nottingham/UK</span></div><div><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Andreas.Bieler@nottingham.ac.uk</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; text-align: left;">12 December 2022</span></p></span></div>Andreas Bielerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08920020665441380498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081320827566289783.post-22231154579680226862022-12-08T19:13:00.004+00:002022-12-08T19:18:24.581+00:00Watch out Benjamin Zephaniah! International Relations Theory poetry.
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZBvntBLaGh6DctNspkBcGjyEMQ-RiUVVygEQfLugtngb-94Gx-X2YWFi4LSTPta8rLXSq5YLzCPLQl5UyYklWcaWL5IJJNoYHSt9UOvSiZRp3m5ex2VRJR9EvGwiMld302nuzyW_LoV_ock6hudiE5MaYCL4C3wxoPUqaDlUVuN11nGRP7g7JSPSGqQ/s658/Poetry.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="438" data-original-width="658" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZBvntBLaGh6DctNspkBcGjyEMQ-RiUVVygEQfLugtngb-94Gx-X2YWFi4LSTPta8rLXSq5YLzCPLQl5UyYklWcaWL5IJJNoYHSt9UOvSiZRp3m5ex2VRJR9EvGwiMld302nuzyW_LoV_ock6hudiE5MaYCL4C3wxoPUqaDlUVuN11nGRP7g7JSPSGqQ/s320/Poetry.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">With
a view to engaging students through different teaching methods, Andreas Bieler
and Adam David Morton launched a poetry competition in 2011 on their core
MA module "Theories and Concepts in International Relations". After
all, </span><a href="http://www.polsis.uq.edu.au/bleiker" style="font-size: 12pt;">Roland Bleiker</a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> has
himself emphasised the role of the poetic image in
challenging dominant modes of thinking and practice within International
Relations. With that aim in mind and the permission by the author, I am happy to publish this winning poem by
Zubeda Mir that may surely rival the social criticism of </span><a href="http://www.benjaminzephaniah.com/content/index.php" style="font-size: 12pt;">Benjamin Zephaniah</a><span style="font-size: 12pt;">!</span></div></span><o:p style="font-size: 12pt;"></o:p></span><p></p>
<a name='more'></a>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Machiavelli.
Morgenthau. Weber. Marx. Foucault.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">So many others but I really don’t care though<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Tell me how to change the system; this is what I need
to know<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Tell me why illegal wars and occupations continue to
grow<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I don’t let concepts define and constrain me<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But I want to live the words of respected
revolutionaries<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Now don’t get it twisted I’m not saying I’m on par to
be in this category<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But teach me the words of Malcolm X, Che Guevara, Fidel
Castro and Marcus Garvey<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">So many more but you feel what my words are trying to
say<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">If we don’t act now we won’t have tomorrows, we’ll
only have yesterdays<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I don’t have time for narrow theories and philosophy<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Teach me the present and how to change this reality<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Tell me why capitalism as a system is failing those in
poverty<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Hell, we have the world in the palms of our hands, yet
half the world is hungry<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Whilst the empire feeds itself abundantly, raping its
colonies<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Don’t tell me how states are acting because of
national security<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It’s an imperial mindset that’s clear to see within
American hegemony<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">That’s why innocents are locked up and thrown into
Guantanamo Bay<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">9/11 constantly occurring in Palestine, Iraq,
Afghanistan everyday<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Seems like powers that be are creating modern day
holocausts, whichever way<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Same people will shut you down like a wikileaks site,
but my thoughts are here to stay<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But thoughts are provoked when questions are asked<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Deciphering the answers makes an addict reach for his
flask<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">War propaganda doesn’t make bombing a country an easy
task<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Yet Neanderthals line up and shoot their way to the
top of the class<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">When will we wake up and realise that the war is
happening on our streets<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This is way beyond the war on terror, it not selective
of race, religion, gender caste or creed<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The rich elitist, ethnocentric men controlling
structures are killing humanity<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It’s selective in its nature that’s why those who will
suffer are you and me<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Those at the bottom, barely surviving are being made
to bleed<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">And that’s why the cycle of famine, backed by the IMF,
chains Africa to poverty<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">That’s why a divide is created and the people are
oppressed mentally<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">You see if you contain the people then you contain the
problem, allegedly <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Hold up, its international relations I’m talking
about, let me bring it back<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Sit down, belt up I’m going on the attack<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">My man Machiavelli will tell you if it’s in the state’s
interest, you’ve got valid causes<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">That’s why we are seeing the colonisation of Africa
‘cos they want the natural resources<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Realist thinking will tell you that states are
inherently aggressive<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">And will continue to do what they please if it’s in
their national interest<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Now that doesn’t really sit right with me<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">You can see how that is implemented within American
hegemony<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">At this rate you could wage countless wars against a
global enemy<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But what do you do when the face of evil is just an
ideology<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">And what about the evil that resides in the white
house and palaces and kingdoms<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Don’t switch though the people are regaining their
mental freedom<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Can you hear the rumble as the tremors grow<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">2011 being the year when the people rose<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Imperialists sitting in ivory walls overawed<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Revolutionaries unleashed as dictators are overthrown<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Mothers burying children, fathers burying families
chasing the dream of freedom<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A term which only makes sense when the soul is
sleeping<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">See capitalism has us chained into a never-ending
system<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But if you’re white and some private school boy your
life is breezin’<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But if you’re poor and brown your life will be spent
chasing<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The money that will be enough to just get you through
to the next day<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Where one hand feeds you and the other lines the
pocket of the rich but that’s okay<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Cos this system was developed overtime to keep the
rich man fat<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Whilst those at the bottom fail to climb up, it’s
destroying society and that’s a fact<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">So whilst you so called theorists and philosophers,
sit back and relax<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">With a glass of champagne in one hand and in the other
a hypocrisy axe<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">And whilst you laugh with the same people that you
angrily criticise<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I will laugh at you because you have failed to realise<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">You didn’t change the system but you became a part of
it, open your eyes<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">You have churned out robotic apolitical individuals
who have failed to materialise<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The same institution which practices hierarchy doesn’t
let its people rise<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">So yes, let’s learn about liberalism, realism,
constructivism and other concepts<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">And let’s fail to challenge and speak out for those
who the system squeezes to death.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Zubeda
Mir<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Andreas Bielerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08920020665441380498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081320827566289783.post-5568041652226293742022-12-06T12:36:00.014+00:002022-12-07T20:22:36.345+00:00COP 27 – ‘The 15-minute city’: connectivity as driver of carbon reduction.<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5zcQBvNZ2qoLgQCSw26zW44x5SMdVIXD1O5n5_GJ4SEQj5Qdpy61LvQ3Ui845iJPgH4aFmdVaqfUgEsQIJvUW3CrFWU20CJvRuzFcm1p93tTqa-utxfSJpq5-cgPJ4EQT7ryt7yuSIHJCbY3V1vcFt-aoN2CD_VDq2mJ_48kY8afsJFk-qMKofDwqLA/s1080/Cop%2027%20-%204.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5zcQBvNZ2qoLgQCSw26zW44x5SMdVIXD1O5n5_GJ4SEQj5Qdpy61LvQ3Ui845iJPgH4aFmdVaqfUgEsQIJvUW3CrFWU20CJvRuzFcm1p93tTqa-utxfSJpq5-cgPJ4EQT7ryt7yuSIHJCbY3V1vcFt-aoN2CD_VDq2mJ_48kY8afsJFk-qMKofDwqLA/w200-h200/Cop%2027%20-%204.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We do have the necessary alternatives. What is missing
are politicians with the necessary radical vision to put these alternatives
into practice, declared Alan Simpson at the opening of his fourth talk on how
to confront the climate crisis. At the heart of this talk was the question of
how can we rethink transport and mobility to overcome our addiction to cars? Ultimately,
improved local transport combined in a joined-up system with local energy
generation and food production is the way forward.</span></div></span><p></p>
<a name='more'></a>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Paris is a clear example of a ’<a href="https://www.transformative-mobility.org/assets/publications/TUMI_The-15-Minute-City_2021-07.pdf" target="_blank">15-minute city</a>’, the
idea that all the necessary shops and services should be reachable within a
distance of no more than 15 minutes of transport. Driven by the mayor Ann
Hidalgo, Paris is in the process of transforming its local transport network.
To move away from car traffic, 70000 parking spaces have been removed and 50 km
of cycling only routes developed. No diesel-based cars are allowed by 2024, no
fossil fuel cars by 2030. Additionally, the taxi fleet in Paris is going to
become completely electric.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Nottingham provides another positive example.
Proceeds from the</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Workplace
Parking Levy went into the construction of a new tram network with two lines
completed to date. It will be important to expand this network into a whole
city network. This solution is not novel. In 1936 Nottingham had already had a
much larger tram network. Re-establishing it now is ‘back to the future’. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Nottingham tram network in 1936: </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwSt7Z5tc2Pv-Vy-qtpTE31moB84IVWeLT-PkPmaCtXoGS9EbNUOjD1kg04MjPV1MPXivwG8ucIL2HiNU-L5oxcKpU-e6aCrgstXNr2UniwZ5-hwBU_1tuN4f4-cGXGLySGWAf5Wn2G4DQZAvU6dD4OHFRatcQWoPymKBmRggje8jw20WoIBJrIl6sgg/s1233/Picture1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1233" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwSt7Z5tc2Pv-Vy-qtpTE31moB84IVWeLT-PkPmaCtXoGS9EbNUOjD1kg04MjPV1MPXivwG8ucIL2HiNU-L5oxcKpU-e6aCrgstXNr2UniwZ5-hwBU_1tuN4f4-cGXGLySGWAf5Wn2G4DQZAvU6dD4OHFRatcQWoPymKBmRggje8jw20WoIBJrIl6sgg/w400-h234/Picture1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The
15-minute city, however, does not only depend on an expansive local transport
network. The generation of energy as well as the production of food needs to be
integrated. The importance rests on a local joined-up system. For example, in
Freiburg/Germany the <a href="http://www.rolfdisch.de/wp-content/uploads/BROSCHU%CC%88RE_THE_SUN_SHIP-2.pdf">Sonnenschiff
estate</a> generates four times more solar energy than it consumes itself,
providing the basis for clean public transport (see also <a href="https://andreasbieler.blogspot.com/2022/11/cop-27-energy-back-to-future-local.html" target="_blank">Energy - Back to the Future</a>). Bristol’s bio bus runs on
biofuel created from local sewage. Local food production provides another
jigsaw of the puzzle, as for example the <a href="https://montreal.lufa.com/en/about">Lufa farms in Montreal</a> (see <a href="https://andreasbieler.blogspot.com/2022/11/cop-27-feeding-future.html">Feeding
the Future</a>). Local allotments in addition to food production can also
contribute to general well being through the revival of links between people
and between people and nature. To revive the local economy, commercial rents
need to be socialised and, thus, become affordable for small businesses. In
short, the more activity takes place locally in an integrated, joined up system
the easier it will be to meet the 10 per cent target of annual carbon
reduction.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oNJnwB2i3zk" width="320" youtube-src-id="oNJnwB2i3zk"></iframe></div><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Discussions
provided a glimpse of what such a future could look like in Nottingham. Why not
combine free local transport with an extensive cycle lane network? How about
communal eating places as locations for social interaction, food and the
learning of cooking skills? Ensuring affordable retail space in the city centre
could provide space for Repair Cafés, Surplus Stores and pop-up shops. In
general, retail should be brought back from the periphery into the city centre,
contributing to the reduction in car traffic. The alternatives are there, now
we need the necessary political will to put them into practice. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Andreas Bieler</span></p><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Professor of Political Economy</span></div><div><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">University of Nottingham/UK</span></div><div><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Andreas.Bieler@nottingham.ac.uk</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; text-align: left;">6 December 2022</span></p></span></div>Andreas Bielerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08920020665441380498noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081320827566289783.post-33733707344710302242022-11-29T07:36:00.007+00:002022-12-17T16:59:28.341+00:00COP 27 – Energy: Back to the Future, local democracy, public ownership and social inclusion.<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzOtti3h4MMPnv-OiIdMbJH5hBXzucm5dOvNj_dERFgQmASqYpzX7gd4l_kd8yO4Sh8Yv7W-1-3Hq5NTQMWI9lT0RoF-VWywLgIjgLmXd-BfvGSZVW0Wmvnf8VfaRq1hQEQ4MXTDQL1TUGrVbN_Ft8HvUcLvBDlbxscrxZTp1zCJsBFWUoBqFii7VCBw/s1080/Cop%2027%20-%203.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzOtti3h4MMPnv-OiIdMbJH5hBXzucm5dOvNj_dERFgQmASqYpzX7gd4l_kd8yO4Sh8Yv7W-1-3Hq5NTQMWI9lT0RoF-VWywLgIjgLmXd-BfvGSZVW0Wmvnf8VfaRq1hQEQ4MXTDQL1TUGrVbN_Ft8HvUcLvBDlbxscrxZTp1zCJsBFWUoBqFii7VCBw/w200-h200/Cop%2027%20-%203.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In his third talk on the Climate Crisis, Alan Simpson tackled
the issue of energy production and distribution in a shift away from fossil
fuel and towards green energy. Importantly, this is not simply a technological
question of new inventions. This is about how to organize socially the
production and distribution of energy differently, challenging directly the
private ownership of the big energy companies.</span></span></div><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<a name='more'></a>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Considering how much energy is lost at the point of
production in large power plants and during the transmission of energy across
the national grid, it will be key to re-organise the production, distribution and
storage of energy locally. And there are plenty of examples across Europe,
where this is already being done successfully, argued Alan Simpson. In France,
car parks with more than 80 places will have to have solar roofs to generate
energy. In Munich/Germany, the </span><span lang="FI"><a href="https://www.baunetzwissen.de/solar/objekte/wohnen/wohnsiedlung-ackermannbogen-in-muenchen-2292113"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Ackermannbogen estate</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> is an example of solar district heating covering 50
per cent of the estate’s heating needs. In </span><span lang="FI"><a href="https://guidetodistrictheating.eu/heerlen/"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Heerlen/The Netherlands</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">, hot water from a disused, flooded coal mine is being used to provide
heating for the whole city. In the UK, there are ca. 25000 disused coal mines,
which could similarly be used for generating heating, supplying one in four
people of the population. These are innovative, local solutions based on
sustainable and renewable energy. They are based on legislation, permitting the
local production and feeding of energy into the grid. There are, for example,
700 plus energy cooperatives in Germany alone, producing and selling energy in
their locality. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/o0Yfcpcyb4c" width="320" youtube-src-id="o0Yfcpcyb4c"></iframe></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Equally important to local networks is the fundamental
nature of the energy system. In Denmark, electricity was re-defined as an
essential service in the early 1970s, not as a commodity produced for making
profit. Rather than struggling with record profits by large energy
corporations, energy is consequently produced to cater for social needs.
Unsurprisingly, it is the private energy sector, which has mobilized against
localized, public energy systems. There is a clear concern about losing a
hugely profitable market.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The model of how to generate energy collectively is
not something we need to invent, Alan Simpson pointed out. It is right there in
our history. The first municipal energy company was set up in Manchester in
1817 by the police commissioners to light the police station and main streets.
This became the basis for municipal gas, energy and water companies across
Britain in subsequent decades. By 1947, 50 per cent of municipalities’ income resulted
from these companies, providing the basis for social infrastructure projects
including local libraries, swimming pools, etc. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In subsequent discussions, participants debated
possibilities for similar solutions in Nottinghamshire. How can we take control
of energy production locally and use, for example, the roofs of schools for
electricity generation to cover the school’s needs, but also provide energy in
the local neighbourhood? How can we adjust planning permissions so that solar
panels on roofs and heat pumps become a requirement for developers? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Importantly, people pointed to the wider social
changes necessary to transform energy production. We need to re-appraise what
is ‘security’ away from military security to the security of essential
provisions such as energy underpinning a decent life. How can we define energy
as a commons, a resource jointly produced and governed as well as jointly
enjoyed? Clearly, the current legislative environment requires significant
adjustments to make these transformative steps possible. And yet, there are
clearly solutions. What has been missing to date is the political will to facilitate
them. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Andreas Bieler</span></p><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Professor of Political Economy</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">University of Nottingham/UK</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Andreas.Bieler@nottingham.ac.uk</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; text-align: left;">29 November 2022</span></p>Andreas Bielerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08920020665441380498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081320827566289783.post-89938369091212608632022-11-22T12:18:00.006+00:002022-11-29T07:44:00.045+00:00COP 27 – Feeding the Future<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrrdmMkCbKkJR5TgXNuT7Vn7eEm_FmB3J_nqEbOPFBUHuiB_nUbE1Ti5nvMEaFHJPK1YMnnv6k9_GaobSRSTRhrYKHXfu9pIhm0liubgnw55O8Elo4KGkzxY0Ugax0fWvEuiG6S5gfPzt-svGMYelMkdbJ9C01ahlE9lDvppHjAx2u74H7aesArcDCdg/s680/COP%202.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="680" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrrdmMkCbKkJR5TgXNuT7Vn7eEm_FmB3J_nqEbOPFBUHuiB_nUbE1Ti5nvMEaFHJPK1YMnnv6k9_GaobSRSTRhrYKHXfu9pIhm0liubgnw55O8Elo4KGkzxY0Ugax0fWvEuiG6S5gfPzt-svGMYelMkdbJ9C01ahlE9lDvppHjAx2u74H7aesArcDCdg/w200-h200/COP%202.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In his second talk on the Climate Crisis, Alan Simpson
focused on how to ensure sufficient, sustainable production of food for the
future. The global food production system, based on ‘free’ trade and tightly
controlled by a few large transnational corporations, results in one-third of
what we produce being wasted. At the same time, offloading our surpluses in
developing countries destroys the local food production there. In short, the
problem is not growing enough food, the problem is how to ensure that food is
produced sustainably and locally reaching everybody.</span></span></div><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<a name='more'></a>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The UK food market is beset by a whole range of
problems. Britain only produces 50 per cent of the food it consumes, while the
rest is imported. At the same time, ending the production of biofuel would free
up land to feed 3.5 million people locally. Eight large companies control 90
per cent of UK food supplies. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">And yet, there are positive examples elsewhere, which
demonstrate how food production and consumption could be organized differently.
Alan Simpson pointed to the <a href="https://communitiesforfuture.org/get-inspired/liege-food-belt-belgium/">food-land
belt in Liège/Belgium</a>, which has the goal of producing 50 per cent of
regional food supplies within five years. In <a href="https://www.euronews.com/green/2022/10/19/french-farmers-are-covering-crops-with-solar-panels-to-produce-food-and-energy-at-the-same">Amance,
France</a>, 5500 solar panels are placed across the farm above the grain
production. Renewable energy and local food production go hand-in-hand.
Floating gardens safe crops from flooding in Bangladesh (<a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200910-the-remarkable-floating-gardens-of-bangladesh">BBC
11 September 2020</a>), while initiatives such as <a href="https://regather.net/">Regather in Sheffield</a>, the <a href="https://bhfood.org.uk/">Brighton Food Partnership</a>, <a href="https://www.alimentaciosostenible.barcelona/en/protecting-planet/urban-agriculture">urban
agriculture in Barcelona</a>/Spain or <a href="https://montreal.lufa.com/en/about">rooftop greenhouse farms in
Montreal/Canada</a> emphasize the production of food directly in cities. The
latter is able to fill 20000 food trolleys per week. Other alternatives include
the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_Food#:~:text=Slow%20Food%20began%20in%20Italy,by%20delegates%20from%2015%20countries.">slow
food movement</a> or sharing of food cultures as in Italy. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QKRq87EKUZc" width="320" youtube-src-id="QKRq87EKUZc"></iframe></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">In short, the way forward is to share knowledge about
how we can adapt food production to climate change while reclaiming it from large
corporations.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In subsequent discussions, the focus was on what could
be done about growing food locally. Participants pointed to the largely unused
green space of the University of Nottingham. Provided we can move away from
this idyllic notion of British parkland spaces, there is a lot of local food
production possible. Students may not be on campus all year round in large
numbers, but cooperation with local allotment holders and food growing
initiatives could ensure that enough people are at hand during the main growing
season over the summer. Such cooperation does not only provide food production
but can actually strengthen the integration of students including many
international students into local communities. Considering that there are
currently long waiting lists for allotments in Nottinghamshire, there will be
plenty volunteers to step in, when students are away. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CONfhrASy44" width="320" youtube-src-id="CONfhrASy44"></iframe></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The role of education too was identified as crucial
for an alternative future. Too many people do not know where our food is
actually coming from. This can include new information systems about what is
produced where locally, allowing for a better redistribution of food in times
of harvest surpluses. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The University of Nottingham has a lot of
opportunities for co-creating space between students and the wider public. To
put it into practice requires the necessary political will by its
administration!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Andreas Bieler</span></p><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Professor of Political Economy</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">University of Nottingham/UK</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Andreas.Bieler@nottingham.ac.uk</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; text-align: left;">22 November 2022</span></p>Andreas Bielerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08920020665441380498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081320827566289783.post-21716892969388584952022-11-21T15:18:00.025+00:002022-11-21T23:49:55.513+00:00Neoliberal strikes for the neoliberal university!<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvh8uqeoRyXN7GoSBPn3X9dAMY3HCrtFgfKONYqEmi4QZVKBFPH9FOC_msM2GQScB5vE4bMc28ms_y1qCfsiydsmP3ezgaxrgL4muObcyE0f_CsAcyg93-735p_ah6vpyIeE15g2k9zUI6vmbWAMK_DUB6f1iv6dMnDtD_nTZy7R_f_b0t4-Kcku8DFg/s331/UCU%201.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="331" data-original-width="234" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvh8uqeoRyXN7GoSBPn3X9dAMY3HCrtFgfKONYqEmi4QZVKBFPH9FOC_msM2GQScB5vE4bMc28ms_y1qCfsiydsmP3ezgaxrgL4muObcyE0f_CsAcyg93-735p_ah6vpyIeE15g2k9zUI6vmbWAMK_DUB6f1iv6dMnDtD_nTZy7R_f_b0t4-Kcku8DFg/s320/UCU%201.png" width="226" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">UCU has yet again called for industrial action of
academics and Administrative, Professional & Managerial (</span><em><span style="font-style: normal;">APM</span></em>) staff over </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">drastic – and unjustified – cuts to pensions, eroded pay
and deteriorating working conditions. Indeed,
considering the more general cost of living crisis across the UK at the moment,
the situation for action has become even more pressing now than it was a year
ago. On last year’s experience, however, it is also clear that striking in the
traditional way of everyone out does no longer work. At Nottingham University, management
sat out easily 18 days of strike. Considering that learning objectives had not
been damaged and students could not, therefore, reclaim some of their tuition
fees, management was very relaxed. Only the marking boycott in May 2021 brought
them suddenly to the negotiating table resulting in a local agreement (see <a href="https://uonucu.org/?p=900">UCU Nottingham University 2022</a>). In this
guest post, </span><b>Faiz Sheikh</b> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">outlines what an alternative
approach to industrial action in the neoliberal university could look like,
potentially overcoming the shortcomings of the traditional approach.</span></div></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a name='more'></a>Students are allies in UCU’s fight for decent
pensions, salaries, and a just education system, as they are end users as much
as collaborators of the learning process whose deteriorating learning
conditions reflect Higher Education (HE) workers’ deteriorating working
conditions. But students are also consumers, and consumers are the <i>vector </i>through
which effective leverage is applied on the HE sector. HE institutions need the
consumers’ money and, if withdrawn, this applies real pressure to university
managers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Put another way, students are victims of the HE
system’s inexorable move to privatisation (£9000 a year in fees for UK students
– <i>a minimum of £18,000 of debt</i> when finishing a 3 year undergraduate
degree and an increasing need to work part-time while studying full-time!). But
consumers are <i>complicit</i> in those same dynamics. The student wants to
learn, to attend teach outs, to support UCU in improving our collective
working/learning conditions. The consumer, however, wants their degree
certificate, their weekly power point and lecture recording. The consumer wants
the product they paid for. Consumer-students are at once players in the game of
HE privatisation and resistance, and they are also the ball who can win this
struggle.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNoCs5deqhcek7lNLDHNy2CNcKMYmCJeeFqYFRZnf8X54ESe36axUnBYn6ytw_7rYSI1SmSwytJDebEYhpj5c7_IgnszNoZ_14R8ZCrguRvSXhsb7XRuqK7yeB7fMuumeHoAe_XVlTC99dP3oc_Q_4I8AdJeqJZBBl-G2phPPivqsQpHir-1As-CL1sw/s234/ucuRISING_EmailBanner_600px_01_Defend_221103.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="59" data-original-width="234" height="81" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNoCs5deqhcek7lNLDHNy2CNcKMYmCJeeFqYFRZnf8X54ESe36axUnBYn6ytw_7rYSI1SmSwytJDebEYhpj5c7_IgnszNoZ_14R8ZCrguRvSXhsb7XRuqK7yeB7fMuumeHoAe_XVlTC99dP3oc_Q_4I8AdJeqJZBBl-G2phPPivqsQpHir-1As-CL1sw/w320-h81/ucuRISING_EmailBanner_600px_01_Defend_221103.png" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Teachers too, are now better understood as the
teacher-HE professional. The more precarious among us, especially postgraduate
researchers engaged in teaching, are particularly aware of this fact. Such casualised
teachers are the Uber drivers of HE, a disposable workforce given and declined work
not by the vagaries of an algorithm, but by the vagaries of consumer-student
numbers and the institution’s desire to deliver teaching as cheaply as
possible. As teachers it is incredibly difficult to face our students and
disrupt their education. As HE professionals we should feel more able to face
the consumer and withhold the product, and I will outline below how this change
in perspective might be affected. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Note that the distinction between, and hyphenation of,
the consumer-student, is an analytical convenience which does not do justice to
the manifold identities our students possess, wield, and are subjected to through
their university education. The term consumer-student will be used none-the-less,
to draw attention to the two particular dynamics of student-ally, and consumer-complicity.
The combination of consumer-student highlights the inherent, though overlooked,
tension in our relationship as UCU members towards our consumer-students. Exploring
this tension and leveraging it will be key to effective industrial action. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">What consumer-students mean to marketised
HE<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">In the <a href="https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-7973/">21/22
academic year</a>, student fees from UK and EU students accounted for approximately
£10 billion of the funding for UK HE. Research council funding, meanwhile, (for
which universities jump through the hoops of the Research Excellence Framework)
accounted for only £4 billion. Adding international student fees to these
figures will move the weighting of total university income further towards
student fees.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG0i4Z4IAszTIrbSzSZHPwig8gakOHfYaXJOCQXSd2LfNN6BtKWUEoDYkSI-SO0QJHEJizMCQ50TLiFju64AH8x4cMLQ712bA2b0IYb6evzj05_L_JBIGOecjjSiY4cgMG8OejkEris-ic3uzdJbVqJe8FF8H143ZVoEfHPQdBbcjEMha4fC2sE19SRg/s524/Picture1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="293" data-original-width="524" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG0i4Z4IAszTIrbSzSZHPwig8gakOHfYaXJOCQXSd2LfNN6BtKWUEoDYkSI-SO0QJHEJizMCQ50TLiFju64AH8x4cMLQ712bA2b0IYb6evzj05_L_JBIGOecjjSiY4cgMG8OejkEris-ic3uzdJbVqJe8FF8H143ZVoEfHPQdBbcjEMha4fC2sE19SRg/w400-h224/Picture1.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><p></p>
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</tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-7973/"><i>Source</i></a><i>:
House of Commons Library 2021 briefing on HE funding<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">At the University of Sussex, <a href="https://www.sussex.ac.uk/about/documents/financial-statements-2020-21.pdf">data
from 2020/21</a> of actual university income, including sources beyond UK
government funding, still showed student fees comprising 64% of total income,
at £202.7 million.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The funding structure of UK universities shows that
successive governments have succeeded in divesting from direct public funding
of HE, towards a consumer model where the ‘customer’ – the student – has
purchasing power over universities. This trend is more-or-less part of a
project of neoliberal economics that sees public services gutted at the expense
of the marginalised and poor, in order to give freedom of choice to the
privileged and wealthy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">This is not the same as saying that students are
privileged and wealthy, they too have been subject to, and suffer from, this neoliberal
dynamic. In <a href="https://protect-eu.mimecast.com/s/o_SQCyXJ0c4z9kWFZaZsL?domain=openletter.earth">October
2022</a> Sussex undergraduate students occupied a building which is to be
demolished on campus, to protest the destruction of the most affordable housing
available, and the construction of luxury accommodation (accommodation being a
not insignificant source of income for the university). The tension here is
indicative of the consumer-student identity. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib1WZX9NEUReF-1ZghPYhXx8DpcfSvEu9aeYWhlPb_duK9NaTDYYvqArB9qCnNa1rN9AQpkD4DhqvH8nI_yyrfKCZf8988TT7MXq3w4_Ve_rbGNQorv5OarVwtheIQnxfJDPB4o58fq0C9oS1G5Jj3KdKoCLDBvZ0UVgBib33Y2e6L9VD0hI65nPjPZg/s234/Makes_us_strong_50mm_no_bleed.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="234" data-original-width="234" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib1WZX9NEUReF-1ZghPYhXx8DpcfSvEu9aeYWhlPb_duK9NaTDYYvqArB9qCnNa1rN9AQpkD4DhqvH8nI_yyrfKCZf8988TT7MXq3w4_Ve_rbGNQorv5OarVwtheIQnxfJDPB4o58fq0C9oS1G5Jj3KdKoCLDBvZ0UVgBib33Y2e6L9VD0hI65nPjPZg/s1600/Makes_us_strong_50mm_no_bleed.png" width="234" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Striking to what end?</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">When UCU strikes using picket lines for 1 working
week, we have ‘shut down’ the institution, or all institutions in light of the
recent breathtaking success of the national ballot. This looks good, it is a
lively and solidarity building performance. But is it effective industrial
action in the context of HE outlined above? I argue no. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Industrial action <i>should </i>be solidarity
building. It <i>should </i>be accessible. It <i>should </i>have student
support. But it <i>must </i>be effective. It <i>must </i>hurt the employer
materially to be a credible threat and leverage for negotiators. To do this, we
must use our leverage over the consumer, while winning the argument that doing
so will benefit the student. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">When the RMT strike for a week, that is a week of
travel chaos for the railways and considerable lost income for their employers.
When UCU strike for a week, students miss a<i> </i>class or two. Some management
projects get delayed. <i>But the university’s income is unaffected </i>in any
meaningful way. The consumer-students, who overwhelmingly fund the institution,
have <i>already </i>paid their fees. The consumer-student will not get a rebate
on fees for a few missed classes. In fact, by collecting fees and not paying
staff for strike days, in the HE context, when we strike, <i>we make the
institution richer</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">A new approach</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGghykBAXpIznJhMhYFNNpmegdsLdTWicJTEqhLALFrKJNWIxO2O2T7WZqY-Cvk3z6JY6TaHyfa4c-Mty-5aTncjqQFf2wGw5oMQyFEoamidgPxY9ffPUpIh2Lu-8D2ZgTMRtk11uV200STljyls9mUW_1A83p55Gukf95U1jgSmEXIkbZ3TnYxSq_cA/s1000/UCU%204.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="707" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGghykBAXpIznJhMhYFNNpmegdsLdTWicJTEqhLALFrKJNWIxO2O2T7WZqY-Cvk3z6JY6TaHyfa4c-Mty-5aTncjqQFf2wGw5oMQyFEoamidgPxY9ffPUpIh2Lu-8D2ZgTMRtk11uV200STljyls9mUW_1A83p55Gukf95U1jgSmEXIkbZ3TnYxSq_cA/s320/UCU%204.png" width="226" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">So exactly how many weeks of strike action is
necessary to impact the consumer-student to the extent that their purchasing
power over the institution becomes a liability for the institution? In the spring
term of the 2021/22 academic year, UCU called 5 weeks of strike action across
both USS and Four Fights disputes. That had the potential of cancelling 5 weeks
of classes </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">if</i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> your institution was in both disputes and </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">if </i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">your
classes fell on the days of the week on which strikes were called. My class was
such a class, my institution such an institution. Despite this, the University
of Sussex argued that learning objectives had been met, and that students were
therefore not due a partial refund of fees, despite student efforts to achieve
this, notably at </span><a href="https://goldsmithsucu.org/2021/04/01/gucu-solidarity-with-goldsmiths-fees-strike/" style="font-size: 12pt;">Goldsmiths</a><span style="font-size: 12pt;">.
Universities did acknowledge that they were </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">making money </i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">when we went on
strike, and offered some amount towards student hardship funds, in lieu of fee
refunds.</span></div><o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">So, presumably, we need to strike for longer than 5
weeks to leverage, activate, or perhaps the word is empower, the
consumer-student vector in industrial action. I think that we need to strike
for an entire term to make the consumer-student a liability for the sector. By
striking in such a way that consumer-students do not receive an entire term of education
they can, in their capacity as consumers, demand a refund of their fees. Fees
which constitute well over 50% of the sectors funding. <i>This will materially
impact the HE bosses in a way UCU has not achieved to date</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Using the regulatory framework of HE
against the institution <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">How many lecturers have taught on a module not because
they had knowledge of the subject, but because modules had been ‘advertised’ to
students the previous year? This is the HE regulatory framework in action,
forcing miserable teaching experiences on staff and students (if only they
knew).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Office for Students (OfS) is the independent
public body set up as part of the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2017/29/part/1/enacted">2017 Higher
Education Act</a>. In that Act, section 15 gives the OfS the ability to impose
monetary penalties on HE institutions that breach the conditions of their
registration with the body. Among these <a href="https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/media/a32be394-72ba-4975-bd7e-5a9b5d8c0ece/regulatoryframework.pdf">registration
conditions</a>, importantly, is Condition C1: Guidance on consumer protection
law. Note how the Office for <i>Students, </i>has regulatory power on protecting
the <i>consumer</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirM97dLSM1TCme2UU1KOgiDsut8qktUeMo8o_W5O26y0R_rV1FXl732mF0mnI_Fi8DX6ibLJeW8rxj4nFfm34sKl-cIyyp_QnczGfF2stw8C-FPANW52N68TAR_diO1TmSdRDjwye_jmZ43lzMbcYZIXw4stRTZ-49veQdeYC_xCR-6m436Zph9NBrSw/s234/ucuRISING_EmailBanner_600px_01_Defend_221103.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="59" data-original-width="234" height="81" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirM97dLSM1TCme2UU1KOgiDsut8qktUeMo8o_W5O26y0R_rV1FXl732mF0mnI_Fi8DX6ibLJeW8rxj4nFfm34sKl-cIyyp_QnczGfF2stw8C-FPANW52N68TAR_diO1TmSdRDjwye_jmZ43lzMbcYZIXw4stRTZ-49veQdeYC_xCR-6m436Zph9NBrSw/w320-h81/ucuRISING_EmailBanner_600px_01_Defend_221103.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Condition C1: Guidance on consumer protection law, incudes
provisions for providing accurate information about courses and entering into
transparent contracts with students. Condition C3: Student protection plan,
includes provisions to protect students from course changes. Taken together,
this is why universities are compelled to deliver courses their staff have no
specialism in.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">A
lecturer develops a course<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">It
is advertised and consumer-students sign up for it<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">A
contract has been entered into with the consumer-student<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
lecturer who developed the course leaves the institution <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
university is compelled to adhere to its contract with the consumer-student,
and protect students from course changes<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">A
non-specialist is brought in to try and teach a topic they are not qualified –
at the outset - to teach.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">So what happens when entire modules are removed from
spring term, in ways that the university cannot anticipate (it cannot know
before hand who has taken industrial action and therefore which modules are
affected). It will surely be in breach of its registration with the OfS. It
would need to quickly and transparently explain to students how their contacts
remain valid and what the institution will do to make sure student outcomes are
not affected (presumably force majeure). What if consumer-students are
unconvinced? Enter, the <a href="https://www.oiahe.org.uk/">Office of the
Independent Adjudicator</a> (OIA). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The OIA is an independent body which reviews student
complaints in England and Wales. An <a href="https://www.oiahe.org.uk/resources-and-publications/briefing-notes/oia-briefing-note-complaints-arising-from-strike-action/">OIA
briefing on industrial action</a> outlines the student complaints procedure as
regards to industrial action:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">OIA
establishes what the HE institution promised, and what the consumer-student
could reasonably expect<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">OIA
then looks at what the institution delivered <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Did
the institution remedy any shortfall through internal complaints procedures? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">If
the institution did not recognise or remedy a shortfall in delivery, OIA steps
in to put things right for the consumer-student. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Note this passage on force majeure: “There is also a
debate to be had about whether strike action is genuinely force majeure – that
is, out of the control of the provider”. Juicy stuff. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The above is not hypothetical. <a href="https://www.oiahe.org.uk/resources-and-publications/case-summaries/industrial-action-cs052204/">Case
CS052204</a> from May 2022 resulted in a recommended pay out of £600 to a
student who complained about lost teaching due to the previous round of
strikes. In this case, the institution had apparently provided alternative
teaching sessions, but this complaint was upheld merely because the institution
failed to communicate the availability of those alternative sessions to the consumer-student!
I wonder how many of our consumer-students know about this case? How many of
them complained to the OIA? How many know about their power <i>as consumers</i>?
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicDFxiux2nYO5oXEY07pEXLPyNA8swR78giFJ4d7rfmuMIlD6D6y6mUxDxmwu7Cbod-5hYIo4hlPdAipBtkPKkklPwT42A-VAtW23XBkrtjgbaMEQP4tSNNjUcyqCJTq8hvJMvEVPF6KlVLc5ubFuNM1nJXL3vC9lr-q9FvqklaYoVRqrRlgCddu8W7g/s1000/UCU%205.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="707" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicDFxiux2nYO5oXEY07pEXLPyNA8swR78giFJ4d7rfmuMIlD6D6y6mUxDxmwu7Cbod-5hYIo4hlPdAipBtkPKkklPwT42A-VAtW23XBkrtjgbaMEQP4tSNNjUcyqCJTq8hvJMvEVPF6KlVLc5ubFuNM1nJXL3vC9lr-q9FvqklaYoVRqrRlgCddu8W7g/s320/UCU%205.png" width="226" /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I’ve had enough of being pushed around by the
consumer-student relationship as defined in HE’s regulatory framework. I’ve had
enough of UCUs transparency and democracy being used by managers to divide us. Let’s
use that very same regulatory framework to force the institution to dance to
the tune of the consumer-student. Let’s use that regulatory framework to force
the institution into transparent plans to mitigate disruption, as they are
obliged to by the OfS. Let’s use that transparency to make sure any plan fails,
and that consumer-students have recourse to the OIA. Let’s make sure that
consumer-student disruption can </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">plausibly lead to material losses for the institution.</i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
The more credible the threat, the more leverage we give negotiators, and the
less likely we need to use such a strategy.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">How to strike for an entire term at
minimal cost to our members? <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">We as members likely cannot afford to strike for an
entire term. Though national and local strike funds exist and should absolutely
empower us all to take action, the loss of income over such a long period, in
the context of unprecedented inflation would be self defeating. But we don’t
need to take prolonged action to achieve maximum disruption. Those teaching one
session per week, per module, need only take 11 days of action, on teaching
days, to knock out an entire module. That’s the kind of efficiency that would
make a Vice Chancellor proud! <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">To achieve this, I am relying heavily on the model of
industrial action forwarded by the likes of Nottingham and SOAS UCU branches. In
such a strategy, UCU national calls for long periods of strike action,
presumably covering the entire spring term. Then, local branches identify and
organise a specific pattern of action for their institution. UCU national will
of course call for traditional pickets as well, to build solidarity and create
a public profile for the dispute. So it becomes necessary to distinguish
between two types of overlapping actions: 1) picket line action, and 2) teaching
targeted action. Non-teaching staff are still part of picket line action, as
always, and such disruption follows its own strategy which I will not elaborate
on here. Teaching targeted action, like the Marking and Assessment Boycott
(MAB), includes teaching staff only, and like the MAB, promises big results. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The flexibility and unpredictability of such a
strategy not only achieves the leverage I have thus far been arguing for,
through the vector of the consumer-student, but is also allows us to respond to
management pressure. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">On management sanction:<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Institutions where management impose salary reductions
for every day teaching is not rescheduled, can respond by limiting teaching
target action to only, say, finalist classes. This has maximum impact as university
plans to provide alternative teaching sessions, to ‘make up’ the lost teaching,
are less and less credible the closer a finalist comes to graduation. Such a
strategy keeps pressure on the consumer-student, and transmits that pressure to
the institution, but also allows UCU strike funds to support members for the
extent of the teaching targeted action. Those members not engaged in teaching
targeted action can be mobilised to donate to local or national strike funds. One
of us, all of us. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">On student solidarity:<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">We must work, as we have been doing, with the National
Union of Students, to create broad <i>student</i> support for our action. But
what about the many, many students who lean into their <i>consumer </i>identity?
No amount of solidarity resolves the tension of the consumer-student. UCU and
NUS cannot lift the consumer-student out of the structures of funding and
regulation which I have outlined above. Teaching targeted action will activate the
consumer, making them unwitting allies to our dispute as they go to the OIA in
anger. Teaching targeted action gives the student ally a new way in which to
enact solidarity, as they go to the OIA in support. Either way, we create
leverage in our dispute with employers.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnCF3A7GFX4WD-5ZN3vQYbslkAjG2yrEjyZ3EKfA1YyUxeMBctPurZSw95a7ZjvFqYgcAYwDtqoB9DpBXbw3_Zi7V2pFvt7DCmlbmnbBZmGguaY1Na8v1FZY7FsJ20cvlhdvxuDFAJpY9yjvLl5cRrdr52hbOwkA7iHf0BwjmL35eSm8PGIB_-v1evSQ/s234/ucuRISING_EmailBanner_600px_01_Defend_221103.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="59" data-original-width="234" height="81" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnCF3A7GFX4WD-5ZN3vQYbslkAjG2yrEjyZ3EKfA1YyUxeMBctPurZSw95a7ZjvFqYgcAYwDtqoB9DpBXbw3_Zi7V2pFvt7DCmlbmnbBZmGguaY1Na8v1FZY7FsJ20cvlhdvxuDFAJpY9yjvLl5cRrdr52hbOwkA7iHf0BwjmL35eSm8PGIB_-v1evSQ/w320-h81/ucuRISING_EmailBanner_600px_01_Defend_221103.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">On uneven implementation:</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Four words: Marking and Assessment Boycott. The MAB’s
effectiveness was also dependent on uneven membership density. Some departments
saw no marking take place during the MAB, other departments saw no disruption,
and yet <i>some</i> disruption was <i>enough</i> to extract concessions from
the management of many of the institutions who implemented an MAB last academic
year. That is how effective action that targets the consumer is. So likewise,
teaching targeted action need not be perfectly implemented in order to be
effective. Given the aggregated ballot, things are different now, and it may
well be the case that there are branches whose teaching targeted action is
easily subverted by non-striking colleagues. In such cases of low UCU membership,
teaching focused action is no less effective than picket line action.
Recruitment campaigns during the autumn term help both types of action. And
besides, having some institutions more affected than others might help sow
division among VCs. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">On student communication:<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicKHV6WDzQk-Iz18QHC3hCGXBJu0bpS32pg-YrPN3p2-bmDblOwwm6sHJXQWBqjzIyeeWeJYbriwIJMMKdJlr2xMQxnf7VxcLFH9iujHvvOOTlGGi3JKDtyAjfTyxayP4x7Nh9FUjRo7z5Lf-ajZ-ul-nRv8lgsYRA2GQX2ZNO_NTvnmcnNTVKbPot-g/s1000/UCU%206.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="707" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicKHV6WDzQk-Iz18QHC3hCGXBJu0bpS32pg-YrPN3p2-bmDblOwwm6sHJXQWBqjzIyeeWeJYbriwIJMMKdJlr2xMQxnf7VxcLFH9iujHvvOOTlGGi3JKDtyAjfTyxayP4x7Nh9FUjRo7z5Lf-ajZ-ul-nRv8lgsYRA2GQX2ZNO_NTvnmcnNTVKbPot-g/s320/UCU%206.png" width="226" /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">It is ‘easy’ to hide behind UCU national mandates for
action. In actuality, as educators in a sector with deteriorating labour
conditions, if we’re still here, we must love our students and the relationship
we can form with them </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">despite</i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> the structural constraints on that
relationship. In these conditions, it is never easy to go on strike. UCU
national mandates for strikes provide a buffer. “I’m sorry to strike, but my
membership to the union compels me”. In teaching targeted strikes, this buffer
is removed. “I’m sorry to strike, but I am choosing to do so when your classes
are scheduled”. Ouch. But we can engage in teaching targeted action with our
heads held high. This is a legitimate strategy because of the structures of
funding and regulation in which consumer-students find themselves. These are structures
that we as UCU have fought against, as allies to the NUS’s battles against
fees. We can remind students of this fact, give them the tools needed (OfS and
OIA) to take their grievances to the people responsible; HE managers who could
avoid all of this through meaningful negotiation with the union.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">I do not want students to suffer. But students are
already suffering. Increasing numbers in rooms too small to accommodate them.
Worsening staff-student ratios. Staff too burnt out to create meaningful
relationships. Lecturers here one term, gone the next. Staff too overworked to give
more than the most passing of thoughts to curriculum design and teaching
methods. Student suffering achieves nothing but further alienate them from the
institution which treats them as transient rent providing tenants. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Let us feel less sorry for them, and allow them to
feel less sorry for themselves, by recognising the power they have as
consumers. If the product they buy from HE cannot be provided due to our
action, the provider of that product, our employers, are in for a rough ride. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">I am advocating for neoliberal strikes for the
neoliberal university. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">In solidarity, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Faiz Sheikh<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRLuEcU6k01KR7gmZJoXtY3SLsFU4lnwCWL1NkWtmM99r682weI5hoRepEKNnrz41fdWgKWYKb-LtneJveZE-cfnZ75qbkE-rDAAF3e60XazLfW-WTWyUgARi6G_GrDPVtp3Oq3wBL3ClhNdzEE85tEQMc9DOaAyjJMpLkMhTQ9nyKA7fGJ46Z0jgCnw/s234/ucuRISING_EmailBanner_600px_01_Defend_221103.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="59" data-original-width="234" height="81" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRLuEcU6k01KR7gmZJoXtY3SLsFU4lnwCWL1NkWtmM99r682weI5hoRepEKNnrz41fdWgKWYKb-LtneJveZE-cfnZ75qbkE-rDAAF3e60XazLfW-WTWyUgARi6G_GrDPVtp3Oq3wBL3ClhNdzEE85tEQMc9DOaAyjJMpLkMhTQ9nyKA7fGJ46Z0jgCnw/w320-h81/ucuRISING_EmailBanner_600px_01_Defend_221103.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />Andreas Bielerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08920020665441380498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081320827566289783.post-81668768077581466372022-11-17T14:19:00.012+00:002022-11-29T07:44:20.973+00:00COP 27 – Avoiding the Apocalypse<p style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnXQ6CfbbP8_mutEujol5RPvYZeg7SagfieuB6PIbk9RDcm-sJJpns9_v4zdo3xPsrYpDDQsSQWquxcYysuxPpDwFxens2mt4MPwOAkcwRv_3CAWIfA5eH-34v2pHXvaK2VZ038SZKEFJnv0ooOq9AJcJRK4QrhPKbv73Bs5Lie9m-eaF1urvv1HCVdw/s1490/COP%2027.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1490" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnXQ6CfbbP8_mutEujol5RPvYZeg7SagfieuB6PIbk9RDcm-sJJpns9_v4zdo3xPsrYpDDQsSQWquxcYysuxPpDwFxens2mt4MPwOAkcwRv_3CAWIfA5eH-34v2pHXvaK2VZ038SZKEFJnv0ooOq9AJcJRK4QrhPKbv73Bs5Lie9m-eaF1urvv1HCVdw/s320/COP%2027.jpg" width="232" /></a></span></div><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">There is currently no pathway in place to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees C</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">, but it is still
possible, maintained Alan Simpson at the opening of the first lecture of six on
the global climate crisis, a series of TED Talks at Nottingham University.
Nevertheless, if we do want to hit this target, everything has to change,
including our way of thinking. The Radical is the only Reasonable! In this blog
post, I provide a brief summary of the key points of this first lecture.</span></div></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></p>
<a name='more'></a>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">It is not the poor, who must pay for adjustments to
the climate crisis. After all, the poorest 50 per cent are only responsible for
around 10 per cent of total lifestyle consumption emissions. If at all, the
poor still need to grow in order to secure a decent life. The picture is
equally stark at the global level. </span><span lang="FI" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">While the industrialised countries of the
Global North have historically contributed 92 per cent of green house gas
emissions, it is now countries in the Global South, which face the most drastic
consequences. ‘According to data from the Climate Vulnerability Monitor, the
South bears 82% of the total costs of climate breakdown, which in 2010 added up
to $571 billion in losses due to drought, floods, landslides, storms and
wildfires’ (</span><span lang="FI"><a href="https://www.jasonhickel.org/less-is-more"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Hickel 2020: 114</span></a></span><span lang="FI" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">).</span><span lang="FI" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Aviation and car mobility are two of the main drivers
underpinning greenhouse gas emissions and, thus, climate change. As for aviation,
the industry as a whole is organized in an unsustainable way. Since 2019, Alan
Simpson outlined, there have been thousands of so-called ‘ghost flights’, that
is flights which travel empty between their destinations. 35000 flights were
less than 10 per cent full. Currently, there are about 500 ghost flights
operated by UK airports a month. It is difficult to imagine a more damaging way
of organizing the aviation industry. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">When it comes to the number of flights per person per
year, there too usage is rather uneven between the rich and the poor.
Market-based solutions focusing on sustainability via higher prices are not a
way forward, as the rich will always be able to pay for further flights
whatever the price. Hence, instead of higher prices, we could envisage a
scenario in which from the third flight onwards, people have to put back into
nature via, for example, a week of repair work in the countryside. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbuGnTNCtbuyv4ltyJIEErOkQ4glt3-pdyPZzMlE2vRPlf_1hFfUXh26KH3W5t7Z_K-lRO_gPVa-SDVxyroFuJQTgdxI9AF1ttgEGpCihOZo_1_nBJxxYHTimJjD26Wu67dEawlAQFcjCB4r3qnnoiEG4D5whqkPTL-82LiH7swDG6iUSViTEHHnN-wg/s1080/Climate%201.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbuGnTNCtbuyv4ltyJIEErOkQ4glt3-pdyPZzMlE2vRPlf_1hFfUXh26KH3W5t7Z_K-lRO_gPVa-SDVxyroFuJQTgdxI9AF1ttgEGpCihOZo_1_nBJxxYHTimJjD26Wu67dEawlAQFcjCB4r3qnnoiEG4D5whqkPTL-82LiH7swDG6iUSViTEHHnN-wg/s320/Climate%201.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Car travel too has to be re-thought drastically.
Carbon emissions per car user should be rationed beyond which the car can no
longer be used. Public car parking spaces could be drastically reduced as in
Paris, where some of the saved space has been transformed into land for food
production. In general, it is public transport networks, which have to be
expanded, while the usage of cars should generally be disincentivized.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) is one of the most
disastrous international agreements when it comes to climate change. It allows
fossil fuel corporations to sue countries for damages, if a change in public
policy towards green energy and away from fossil fuels is damaging their investments
and expected future profits. ‘For example German coal giant RWE is suing the
Netherlands for €1.4 billion in “compensation” for the Dutch coal phase-out’ (</span><span lang="FI"><a href="https://www.tni.org/en/ECTpetition"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Transnational Institute 2021</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">). The only way forward is for all EU member states to follow Italy’s
example, which left the ECT in 2016. Several countries including France and
Germany have already taken this step (</span><span lang="FI"><a href="https://www.climatechangenews.com/2022/10/25/european-exodus-from-energy-charter-treaty-raises-climate-questions/"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Climate Home News, 25 October 2022</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">). <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3ViVjWigK2I" width="320" youtube-src-id="3ViVjWigK2I"></iframe></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Importantly, whatever radical solutions are to be
pursued, they need to follow the ‘Great Law of Peace’ of the Iroquois
Confederacy. Their Council could only adopt policies, the implications of which
had been thought through for the next seven generations. In other words, any
policies confronting climate change must be long-term solutions, not short-term,
quick fixes.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">During the discussion, the potential role of citizens
assemblies in confronting climate change was discussed. While political
accountability through elections is important, these assemblies could provide
the impetus for radical action and a well of ideas, so urgently needed.
Combined with re-empowered local government, in which more and more decisions
are being taken locally, these assemblies could provide the engine motivating
broader sections of the public to engage with the climate crisis. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></p>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Importantly, Alan
Simpson concluded, we need to offer alternatives. It is no longer enough, he
argued, to assess the problems underpinning the climate crisis. We need
concrete alternative ways forward. The next five lectures in this Ted Talks
series will focus precisely on a range of such alternatives.</span><div><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div><div><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div><div><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Andreas Bieler</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Professor of Political Economy</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">University of Nottingham/UK</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Andreas.Bieler@nottingham.ac.uk</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">17 November 2022</span></p></span></div>Andreas Bielerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08920020665441380498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081320827566289783.post-55149250463094236082022-09-30T22:37:00.017+01:002023-01-16T11:06:35.860+00:00Rise UP, Notts! Organizing for Social Justice<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7rfXMk1cPYGqFJozse5mgrSWVBkXwPjmg_FTbRaHZFKNhzPXDStdnlCXlPrZKuDjyQ5whB8lcPVK--ifgySYfsX0b3_K65nUUyaxGqhshyls1-vH9QTDOR5vVIzUA5zn-qN-5Ksta7NmoXctV27htnyfTia4dA1ezgowJqTJzAz3en14mtz_BSAYefA/s1200/Rise%20up%20Notts%202.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="846" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7rfXMk1cPYGqFJozse5mgrSWVBkXwPjmg_FTbRaHZFKNhzPXDStdnlCXlPrZKuDjyQ5whB8lcPVK--ifgySYfsX0b3_K65nUUyaxGqhshyls1-vH9QTDOR5vVIzUA5zn-qN-5Ksta7NmoXctV27htnyfTia4dA1ezgowJqTJzAz3en14mtz_BSAYefA/s320/Rise%20up%20Notts%202.jpg" width="226" /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">On 3 September, about 100 local activists met in Nottingham/UK to discuss how to best organize in view of increasing
injustices and global challenges. In nine panels and two plenaries, discussions
ranged from how to meet the refugee crisis, the possibilities of trade unions
in the 21</span><sup>st</sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> century to the challenges of climate change and the
crises in education and the National Health Service (NHS). The panel <i>Outside
Westminster</i> also presented solutions, be it the charity </span><a href="https://sharewearclothingscheme.org/" style="font-size: 12pt;">Sharewear</a><span style="font-size: 12pt;">, a clothing scheme which offers
free-of-charge clothing choices to people in economic difficulty, be it
the </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/may/26/paint-your-town-red-by-matthew-brown-and-rhian-e-jones-review-the-preston-model" style="font-size: 12pt;">Preston
Model</a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> and its focus on local sourcing. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">In this blog post, I will make five observations
in relation to current struggles over social justice.</span></span></div><p></p>
<a name='more'></a>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">First, the scale of the challenges is enormous after
12 years of Conservative-led governments. The education system has been ripped
apart through academization of especially secondary schools, Further Education
has been savaged as a result of widespread cuts and Higher Education
transformed into a quasi-market, in which public education has been turned into
a commodity. The NHS urgently needs at least £20 billion to meet daily demands,
while the inhumane practice of removing asylum seekers to Rwanda is being revived
by the current government. Add to the mix the challenges of climate change and
one could be forgiven to think that we find ourselves in a hopeless situation. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj_IcWJMhp7rGRRcb1Mo1GZnepTIcQqP8KZKSSTtsU_sf2Ruf946SFCQ9sxwlHspXEgQoTMDdk8DvNU-VYgRTd30Vw1rYRCAqTQD8To2ElUtz8bikXGnQSR69mvkDrwc-551xBPea5OEgnrU9PneopKtGMRIBOD5yoJofmerXRxeGiKPqw5wfxd4i04A/s1500/Rise%20up%20Notts.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="1500" height="107" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj_IcWJMhp7rGRRcb1Mo1GZnepTIcQqP8KZKSSTtsU_sf2Ruf946SFCQ9sxwlHspXEgQoTMDdk8DvNU-VYgRTd30Vw1rYRCAqTQD8To2ElUtz8bikXGnQSR69mvkDrwc-551xBPea5OEgnrU9PneopKtGMRIBOD5yoJofmerXRxeGiKPqw5wfxd4i04A/s320/Rise%20up%20Notts.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Second, a majority of activists present did not regard
the Labour Party as a solution to these problems. While Labour under Corbyn had
been a well of alternative policy proposals, there is largely silence now, even
though the recent party congress resulted in some new ideas such as the
setting up of a public energy company. Some, of course, may argue that the
people attending <i>Rise Up Notts</i> would not be representative of the wider
British public and they may well have a point. Nonetheless, those present were
predominantly activists, who have been involved in concrete struggles against
injustices for many years. Could Labour really so easily disregard these
people? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Third, the panel on trade unions and their role in the
21<sup>st</sup> century highlighted the importance of current strike actions,
be it in postal services, be it in rail transport. And indeed, there is a kind
of renaissance when it comes to trade union strikes. Speakers stressed
the importance of these industrial actions being rooted in communities, the historical
birthplace of trade unions. One could even go one step further. To make a real
impact, these trade union struggles need to link up with climate change
struggles by <i>Fridays For Future</i> and <i>Extinction Rebellion </i>or fights against
systemic racism such as the <i>Black Lives Matter</i> movement. Are trade unions
prepared to move beyond struggles in the workplace and reach out to groups
engaged in conflicts in wider society? This remains to be seen. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij6rvqSymybG91QVY8woDGfqHcbEwfnfe9fj2i7Cg8OWNgy5034CCXZMPwGx30SmAIDuSJNKen4qHeoC5jv9pH7pRr0diSiSb6uRE2W-XI5rsGsTSyJFxKYouezEWZKkWmGHfSh7OH9G3cPiKR8EBN7IrgpywsMeD7XhPMj-PxDRgJf0SN2AVjfjJQnQ/s1500/Rise%20up%20Notts.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="1500" height="107" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij6rvqSymybG91QVY8woDGfqHcbEwfnfe9fj2i7Cg8OWNgy5034CCXZMPwGx30SmAIDuSJNKen4qHeoC5jv9pH7pRr0diSiSb6uRE2W-XI5rsGsTSyJFxKYouezEWZKkWmGHfSh7OH9G3cPiKR8EBN7IrgpywsMeD7XhPMj-PxDRgJf0SN2AVjfjJQnQ/s320/Rise%20up%20Notts.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Fourth, the discussion of what kind of action was
appropriate in view of injustice occupied a prominent space at the meeting. </span><a href="https://www.palestineaction.org/stop-elbit/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Shut Elbit Down</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> is a
direct action campaign group, which disrupts and shuts down arms manufacturing
by the company Elbit, </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Israel’s largest
privately-owned arms company which makes huge profits from Israel’s attacks on
Palestinians. And these direct actions have not been without success. Only four
arms factories are still operating, after the one in Oldham and the headquarters
in London were shut down. Perhaps such direct action is the way forward in the
face of huge injustices? Interestingly, <i>Shut Elbit Down</i> was
one of the few organisations, going ahead with their protest actions despite
the Queen’s death and funeral.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Finally, as inspiring as these discussions were, there
can be no doubt that the event did not link up with wider society. As well organized as the whole
day was, <i>Rise Up Notts</i> did not attract attention beyond those, who have
already been active. <i>Rise Up Notts</i> was not the spark, which ignited more
widespread action. Ultimately, it is difficult if not impossible to plan wider
uprisings and we are clearly not there yet despite the challenges we are
facing. What <i>Rise Up Notts</i> did manage successfully was to nurture the
seeds of resistance, ready to come to live when the moment of wider contestation
arises. Considering the current implosion of the latest Conservative government,
this day may come sooner rather than later!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh24gliKgWq8zHSY6Wth28-j13iN4XcEBpHycheM5yvISWp5UnLxncMXQbMGPqgzb2EVZfDFnv5j0seP_J2RK-tKmMOoQEc9JpB_41Lw02Gf4OLJ4Ak-LbUO0pXs4KPoqVBZUUI4dpiK0ZOt7sVmLpZGPbgq_eYQfW-fODvwnaNCEm8dAEZu3JvrtvPMQ/s1500/Rise%20up%20Notts.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="1500" height="107" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh24gliKgWq8zHSY6Wth28-j13iN4XcEBpHycheM5yvISWp5UnLxncMXQbMGPqgzb2EVZfDFnv5j0seP_J2RK-tKmMOoQEc9JpB_41Lw02Gf4OLJ4Ak-LbUO0pXs4KPoqVBZUUI4dpiK0ZOt7sVmLpZGPbgq_eYQfW-fODvwnaNCEm8dAEZu3JvrtvPMQ/s320/Rise%20up%20Notts.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Andreas Bieler</span></p><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Professor of Political Economy</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">University of Nottingham/UK</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Andreas.Bieler@nottingham.ac.uk</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; text-align: left;">30 September 2022</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Andreas Bielerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08920020665441380498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081320827566289783.post-73767407791266528082022-08-26T18:19:00.017+01:002023-01-16T11:14:37.999+00:00Analyzing, Strategizing and Taking action: The European Summer University of Social Movements in Mönchengladbach. <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis9KD6UyWfwNSGhRhoL1uZdfsxBzpNtVnbpRw8nfCQOa0VpTS7aiBVGUBdg-zURuzvMwAecf5C-hPbmHkS4heA0dpaglhj5X8gcacaabPyORNbvcHZi3lkS3jmocKhBt-1OKKNSTZtDeSujaYpf9GFr-RGFq8Jfq6y0D-U49F4BNatz6zE_YC7QZirJA/s1282/ESU2022.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1282" data-original-width="911" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis9KD6UyWfwNSGhRhoL1uZdfsxBzpNtVnbpRw8nfCQOa0VpTS7aiBVGUBdg-zURuzvMwAecf5C-hPbmHkS4heA0dpaglhj5X8gcacaabPyORNbvcHZi3lkS3jmocKhBt-1OKKNSTZtDeSujaYpf9GFr-RGFq8Jfq6y0D-U49F4BNatz6zE_YC7QZirJA/s320/ESU2022.JPG" width="227" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">From 17 to 21 August 2022,
over 600 activists from more than 20 countries in Europe and beyond gathered in
Mönchengladbach/Germany for the <span lang="FI"><a href="https://www.esu22.eu/en/home"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">2022 European Summer University of Social Movements</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">, organized by Attac and
other allied social movements. In dozens of Forums, workshops, excursions,
exhibitions and film screenings participants analyzed the current crises in
Europe and the wider world, strategized about how best to respond to these
challenges and engaged in concrete actions of resistance culminating in a
protest march in the coal mining area around </span><span lang="FI" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Lützerath</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">. In this blog post, I will
provide some reflections on the summer university. </span></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></p>
<a name='more'></a>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The current historical conjuncture could not be more dramatic. Unprecedented
high temperatures and widespread drought have led to water shortages and forest
fires across Europe highlighting to everyone the dire consequences of climate
change. This is combined with heightened geo-political tensions reflected in
the ongoing war in Ukraine, including the threat of nuclear disaster, and
increasing tensions between the USA and China over Taiwan. Rampant inflation
and skyrocketing energy prices signal an ongoing, deep economic crisis of
global capitalism. Never before has it been more important to discuss and
identify alternative ways of how humans can live together with each other and
nature. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">In her opening lecture, </span><span lang="FI"><a href="https://www.ipe-berlin.org/en/institute/members/birgit-mahnkopf/"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Birgit Mahnkopf</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> identified a shift from
geo-economic competition to geo-political confrontation in the global political
economy. The war in Ukraine has not only dramatic consequences for the people
directly affected, but it also stalled the necessary socio-ecological
transformation. Instead of moving towards renewable energy, there is a renewed
reliance on fossil fuels such as coal, gas and oil, including discussions about
a revival of fracking. Importantly, related new infrastructure investment implies a long-term commitment, hindering transition for years if not decades to
come. At the same time, nuclear energy is touted as a climate friendly
solution. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GFbKqqd3854" width="320" youtube-src-id="GFbKqqd3854"></iframe></div><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">And yet, the energy crisis is only a crisis for some. While individual
households are worried whether they will be able to heat their homes in the
coming winter, large corporations are reaping record profits. Participants at
the summer university agreed that the power of transnational corporations
(TNCs) had to be challenged head-on. The cost of living crisis featured
prominently in discussions – ‘Inflation is the new Austerity’ (</span><a href="https://www.jku.at/institut-fuer-soziologie/abteilungen/soziologie-mit-den-schwerpunkten-innovation-und-digitalisierung/team/julia-eder/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Julia
Eder</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">) – and activists pointed out that we need to develop alternatives
from a left perspective, if we want to prevent far-right groups soaking up
mounting discontent. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Another widely debated topic was trade. The new type of trade agreements
such as CETA between the EU and Canada and the EU – Mercosur agreement have
little to do with lowering tariffs to facilitate the trading of goods. These
agreements are at the very heart of the capitalist economy in that they deal
predominantly with the harmonization of regulations, intellectual property
rights and new areas such as e-commerce. Unsurprisingly, these treaties have
undermined countries’ space to decide on the best developmental practices for
their populations. Nothing illustrates this more than the widespread Investor
State Dispute Settlement mechanisms, in which corporation can sue countries, if
they feel that specific social or environmental policies are undermining expected future profits.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://www.tni.org/en/profile/luciana-ghiotto">Luciana Ghiotto</a>
highlighted that the promises of this expanded trade regime around job creation
and export diversification have been rather hollow on the ground. The EU – Mercosur
trade agreement, for example, is highly likely to deepen extractivism in
Mercosur countries. While they will be able to increase the
export of primary commodities such as meat, soy and raw materials, EU members
in turn will increase exports of motors, planes, cars, pharmaceuticals and
chemicals, some of which corporations are no longer allowed to sell in the EU
because of their harmful effects. 180000 jobs in Argentine car manufacturing
alone are likely to be lost, if this treaty is signed. The treaty will, therefore,
increase the imbalance between the two blocs, locking in an uneven relationship.
Not all is lost, however. Broader alliances are already forming up in the <a href="https://stopeumercosur.org/">Stop Mercosur transnational alliance</a>. As
social movements managed to stop the Transatlantic Trade and Investment
Partnership between the EU and USA, so they can stop the EU – Mercosur treaty
from being ratified. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/svo2_sQEJ00" width="320" youtube-src-id="svo2_sQEJ00"></iframe></div><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Throughout the summer
university, participants highlighted the links between destructive economic policies
and climate change. The Global South is sacrificed for Europe’s interests in
gas and raw materials. At the core were debates about the ways of how to
overcome the capitalist ‘growth imperative’, abandoning our </span><span lang="FI"><a href="https://www.versobooks.com/books/3691-the-imperial-mode-of-living"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">imperial mode of living</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> and moving towards a
solidary mode of living in which life does not depend on the exploitation of
others and nature. Challenging large mining corporations with demands for
climate reparations could be one way forward, a shift to ecological agriculture
another.</span></div></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Struggles against the commodification
of water were also discussed at the summer university. Importantly, this does
not only refer to attempts at making profits with water such as the selling of
bottled water – see, for example, the case of </span><span lang="FI" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsSQmWHQnPs">Nestlé in Vittel</a></span><span lang="FI" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">– or the privatization of municipal water companies. It also includes
scenarios, in which the supply of drinking water is threatened through, for
example, the </span><span lang="FI" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">burial of industrial waste in the galleries of former mines, as is the
case in <a href="https://www.destocamine.fr/">Alsace/France</a>. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Experienced European
campaigners discussed the problems of the EU Internal Market. Yet again,
business organizations are demanding the completion of the Internal Market,
implying further liberalization and deregulation. This would further limit the
room of manoeuvre of national and local governments in pursuing social and
environmental policies. Already now, cities in the EU are constrained in their
efforts to limit the spread of AirB&B, for example. The idea of banning short-haul
flights in France is equally challenged by the EU Commission. And this, while
social rights are not enforced and the abuse of workers from outside Europe is
especially rampant in transport, construction and food production. Is it
perhaps time to contest the Internal Market in full instead of resisting
individual Directives? Perhaps we need to speak about the ‘four chains’ instead
of ‘the four freedoms’ of the Internal Market, </span><a href="https://www.selbstorganisierung.at/team/strickner/" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Alexandra Strickner</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
from Attac Austria declared.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Over twenty years, I have
observed the efforts of European civil society to resist capitalist
exploitation and develop alternatives. Hopes had been high when 60000 activists
gathered in Florence/Italy in November 2002 for the first European Social Forum
(ESF) (see </span><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1474773042000308622" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Bieler
and Morton 2004</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">). The social forums, however, petered out towards the end
of the 2000s, the 2012 meeting in Florence was much smaller and less ambitious
(see </span><a href="https://andreasbieler.blogspot.com/2012/11/firenze-1010-reflections-on-left-in.html" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Firenze
10 + 10</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">), while a number of other initiatives attempted to keep the flames
of resistance alive without succeeding, however, at mobilizing the same amount
of people or generating the same kind of dynamic (see, for example, </span><a href="https://andreasbieler.blogspot.com/2011/03/first-social-conference-in-europe-move.html" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
First Social Conference in Europe</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> and </span><a href="https://andreasbieler.blogspot.com/2018/11/bilbao-european-forum-european-left-re.html" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Bilbao
European Forum</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">). This summer university is clearly in this line and yet it
also promises to be the start of something bigger. While the presence of
activists from the 2002 ESF showed continuity, there were also many younger, new activists present.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="FI"><a href="https://twitter.com/tommasofattori?lang=en"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Tommaso Fattori</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">, one of the co-organizers
of the 2002 ESF, concluded the summer university with a call for a revival of
the forum process in <a href="https://2022firenze.eu/" target="_blank">Florence, 10 to 13 November 2022</a>. Considering the economic,
environmental and war related challenges, the European social movements must
overcome their fragmentation and build a broad, more permanent alliance with a
joint programme at least across Europe, he argued.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">Where there is exploitation, there is resistance. The passage towards
Florence 2022 may indicate a broader revival of social movement contestation in
Europe, providing hope for ways out of current crises.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Andreas Bieler</span></p><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Professor of Political Economy</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">University of Nottingham/UK</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Andreas.Bieler@nottingham.ac.uk</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Personal website: </span><a href="http://andreasbieler.net/" style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">http://andreasbieler.net</span></a></p><div style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; tab-stops: 42.55pt;"><span style="font-family: times new roman, serif;">26 August 2022</span></p>Andreas Bielerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08920020665441380498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081320827566289783.post-44488394513379842342022-08-13T10:12:00.028+01:002023-01-16T11:16:48.407+00:00Why public ownership is key: private water and the problems of sewage pollution and leaks. <p style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; text-align: left;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rtpeat/52256412703/in/photolist-2nDseGE-2nCBhyw-2nDuJqA-2nyYYdS-2nDA39e-2n1zdjP-2n1E8w6-2n1FQTW-2n1E7rL-2n1ExQt-2n1FQAX-2n1FPC9-2n1ze3N-2nDTpbU-2nDTp9u-2nDKTzF-2nDQVat-2nBK6BY-2nBHLUP-2nBK6Db-2nDKTwV" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8lIsjZWh-PqDVxR_JybNrE4_usgsHQOnIq8G49ulwviELcmFeWZuywsA419U0pP8nQOg_whM_F0QBYf5HvLrdaj1NmMVeRtWcJYSp_ldb4-NTAwc3tz7-DyuDFDfO4bfYjUYIsoNw8YMYxnHmDgIhAYFRdHacwalPd274_Eag3qqVQ3iXWUEodBT3EQ/s320/52256412703_ae927e6c13_c.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; text-align: left;"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Britain’s private
water companies are yet again in the news. After reports on high and regular discharge
of raw sewage into the country’s rivers (</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/mar/31/sewage-released-into-english-rivers-for-27m-hours-last-year-by-water-firms"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The Guardian, 31 March 2022</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">), it is their high levels of water leakage, which make the headlines in
the current drought. While 14 billion litres are the daily demand in England
and Wales, another 3 billion litres are lost due to leaks (</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-62464387"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">BBC, 12 August 2022</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">). In this blog post, I will argue that the type of ownership is
fundamental when thinking about how to tackle these problems</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" lang="FI" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">.</span></p></div></span></span><p></p>
<a name='more'></a>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi13d_cHHFbl86hAAi-fsGY7Zryg5m4hX6aygLDMtHf0bTKobVXy-mTZD7u7t35Liody3FFfaZfjxCgZUqNOQ1zj6yUayPxJWjPCpqnugEwqQhc99aDUbij5x-UtWngxCZUJAnLWCuz68Qr6FKien1anQOj71P9-wqJkQbWL0Dke4IoRlqyM7E5T6IqrQ/s250/Fighting%20for%20Water%20cover.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="160" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi13d_cHHFbl86hAAi-fsGY7Zryg5m4hX6aygLDMtHf0bTKobVXy-mTZD7u7t35Liody3FFfaZfjxCgZUqNOQ1zj6yUayPxJWjPCpqnugEwqQhc99aDUbij5x-UtWngxCZUJAnLWCuz68Qr6FKien1anQOj71P9-wqJkQbWL0Dke4IoRlqyM7E5T6IqrQ/s1600/Fighting%20for%20Water%20cover.jpg" width="160" /></a></span></div><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">England’s private water companies, owned by shareholders, pension funds
and international investors, inevitably focus on maximizing profits in their
operations. Competing on global financial markets for investment, they are
structurally forced to maximize payouts to the private sector in order to avoid
investors moving their money elsewhere. Capitalist competition leaves them with
no alternative. Public regulators may be able to limit profits. They may be
able to make profits conditional on meeting certain performance targets. As I
show in my book </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/fighting-for-water-9781786995087/">Fighting
for Water: Resisting Privatization in Europe</a></i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> (Zed Books: 2021), they
cannot, however, challenge the principle of profit maximization itself. The
consequences are clear. High increases in water charges for consumers, in fact
40 per cent since privatization in the late 1980s, as well as low investment in
infrastructure maintenance. Hence the problems of sewage pollution and water
leaks.</span></div></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Any profit, even if circumscribed by a regulatory authority, ultimately
reduces the possibilities of tackling these problems. It is, therefore, not
surprising that public water companies have a better record when it comes to
infrastructure investment. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">’Scottish
Water is already publicly owned and invests £72 more per household per year. If
England had copied the Scottish model we’d have spent £28 billion more on
improving our infrastructure since privatisation’ (</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://www.express.co.uk/comment/expresscomment/1652779/privatised-english-water-companies-environment-crisis"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Cat
Hobbs, The Express, 10 August 2022</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">).</span></p>
<p class="xxmsonormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/45909111@N00/52279458357/in/photolist-2nDseGE-2nCBhyw-2nDuJqA-2nyYYdS-2nDA39e-2n1zdjP-2n1E8w6-2n1FQTW-2n1E7rL-2n1ExQt-2n1FQAX-2n1FPC9-2n1ze3N-2nDTpbU-2nDTp9u-2nDKTzF-2nDQVat-2nBK6BY-2nBHLUP-2nBK6Db-2nDKTwV" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhym9yKimyWXIVDswHrU6ZhS2tTWOPtEcBdatGIh_5Jr2KrVQI38EAshvH6j9AqSGeBKVAViWLaCMlGqBT52qFGOaoKkQMpHa2JfcFGJ83N9oJttbLFdb-XwoRYoP_W9lD8YQpVZRDVkFe-C7WIJFTEeDjawe0kzaNA444l7GhysbYR-h3xUiCswL3VFg/s320/52279458357_b4859e78bd_c.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p class="xxmsonormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">At the same time,
re-nationalisation/re-municipalisation of private water companies in itself
does not automatically reverse this situation. At times, publicly owned
companies are run like private companies with a focus on maximising returns for
the respective municipality, as it is the case in many Italian cities such as
Turin or Milan. Equally, just because a water company is in public hands, this
does not mean that the company is run well. Nevertheless, public ownership at least provides
the option to run the company in a sustainable and environmentally friendly
way. A publicly owned company provides the option to offer lower water charges
to poorer sections of society and to re-invest more money into infrastructure
maintenance, thereby avoiding the high levels of water losses due to leaking
pipes. Public ownership is, therefore, the basic precondition for more
efficient services. In order to ensure that public companies
operate along these lines, the way they are governed, however, also matters. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="xxmsonormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSjqcBzjrgK5yu7LJ0gc9PuHsKgWpUfmQdV19X1U7NYNu0aj2LtXd4XXcnU0vWY81ntnNUqPeEwVlyJl6vQuknzqeG-cCaXJLA7Jz1W-QmoW1GzotGp7r8uSGsYIl6zUynehYgTQ6Fn58eGYkVVI-EXU6-VceaMyuZHokoTJvfgTyQTvBeDG7RWKqljg/s659/When%20We%20Own%20It.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="586" data-original-width="659" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSjqcBzjrgK5yu7LJ0gc9PuHsKgWpUfmQdV19X1U7NYNu0aj2LtXd4XXcnU0vWY81ntnNUqPeEwVlyJl6vQuknzqeG-cCaXJLA7Jz1W-QmoW1GzotGp7r8uSGsYIl6zUynehYgTQ6Fn58eGYkVVI-EXU6-VceaMyuZHokoTJvfgTyQTvBeDG7RWKqljg/s320/When%20We%20Own%20It.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><p class="xxmsonormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">There are currently experiments across
Europe of how such public companies can be run more democratically including
user and worker participation in their governance. Prominent examples include
the city of Terrassa in Catalonia/Spain, Naples in Italy and Grenoble and Paris
in France. In the UK, the campaign group <a href="https://weownit.org.uk/" target="_blank">We Own It</a> published a plan - <i><a href="https://weownit.org.uk/sites/default/files/attachments/When%20We%20Own%20It%20-%20A%20model%20for%20public%20ownership%20in%20the%2021st%20century.pdf" target="_blank">When We Own It</a></i> - outlining in detail how re-nationalised, democratised public services could be organised. </span></p><p class="xxmsonormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">It is this combination of public ownership with participatory
democratic decision-making procedures, which offers the chance of a more
sustainable response to droughts such as the one we are currently experiencing.
And consumers tend to benefit too. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">When
municipal water had been taken back </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">in Paris in 2010, ‘Eau de Paris saved the
city about €35 million with the shift to public ownership, leading to a
reduction of water tariffs by 8% compared to 2009’ (</span><a href="https://www.tni.org/files/download/remunicipalisation_book_final_for_web_0.pdf" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Pigeon 2012: 25</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">).</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><b>The Future is Public!</b></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Andreas Bieler</span></p><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Professor of Political Economy</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">University of Nottingham/UK</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Andreas.Bieler@nottingham.ac.uk</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Personal website: </span><a href="http://andreasbieler.net/" style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">http://andreasbieler.net</span></a></p><div style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; tab-stops: 42.55pt;"><span style="font-family: times new roman, serif;">13 August 2022</span></p>Andreas Bielerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08920020665441380498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081320827566289783.post-1962034150376964932022-07-31T18:25:00.028+01:002023-01-16T11:17:39.761+00:00Labour Conflicts in the Global South! <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; tab-stops: 36.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmSVHgiFN7sz07oKqhaMlEWK90W4lBHoHUscsYBVyMT2IeMWfCTzzOBlvCAGSJSIhYL1fyy8lO6u5UQqSwAc5dAktTfasO3p6KDXTUmjPInAfHPfBqniAzFPWZUlw_epkN8j-QXyGmUFVpIdOaS9lYh9hhQb531wutsaFm5P4MbcoxZxbau2L1p8X4Ig/s529/Global%20South.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="529" data-original-width="350" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmSVHgiFN7sz07oKqhaMlEWK90W4lBHoHUscsYBVyMT2IeMWfCTzzOBlvCAGSJSIhYL1fyy8lO6u5UQqSwAc5dAktTfasO3p6KDXTUmjPInAfHPfBqniAzFPWZUlw_epkN8j-QXyGmUFVpIdOaS9lYh9hhQb531wutsaFm5P4MbcoxZxbau2L1p8X4Ig/s320/Global%20South.jpg" width="212" /></a></span></div><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Against the background of the global economic
crisis since 2007/2008 and increasing inequality across the world, the Global
South has experienced widespread, large-scale industrial action, including in countries
such as China, Brazil, India and South Africa, which had been hailed as the new
growth engines of the global political economy as part of the so-called BRICS.
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">In this blog post, I will introduce my recently published co-edited
volume (together with Jörg Nowak) <i><a href="https://www.routledge.com/Labour-Conflicts-in-the-Global-South/Bieler-Nowak/p/book/9781032211275">Labour
Conflicts in the Global South</a></i> (Routledge, 2022). </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a name='more'></a>This volume systematically evaluates how the new
forms of labour mobilization witnessed in the past ten years responded to the
predominance of the informality-precarity complex of industrial relations and
what conclusions can be drawn for potentially successful strategies against
exploitation in the future. Can we identify a convergence of new approaches
across the Global South, or do we witness an ongoing fragmentation of actors,
models and strategies?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span a="" as="" book="" chapters="" i="" in="" issue="" journal="" lang="EN-US" nbsp="" of="" originally="" published="" special="" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; text-align: left;" the="" this="" were="">
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">While precarity has always been a predominant
feature of labour markets in the Global South, informal working practices are
increasingly also permeating labour markets in the Global North. Hence, this is
the moment when labour organisers in the latter should start learning from the
former, as organisers in the Global South have already successfully established
forms of mobilisation in these rather difficult circumstances for many years. This
volume, thus, also calls for a reversal of traditional North-South trade union
relations. While in the past it was the North, which provided some kind of
‘development assistance’ to labour movements in the Global South, it is now
organisers from the Global South, who provide valuable lessons for organising
in the North. <o:p></o:p></span></p></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span a="" as="" book="" chapters="" i="" in="" issue="" journal="" lang="EN-US" nbsp="" of="" originally="" published="" special="" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; text-align: left;" the="" this="" were=""><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue
of the journal </span><i><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rglo20/18/8" target="_blank">Globalizations</a></i></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">, Vol.18/8 (2021)
and individual chapters can be accessed as follows:</span></div></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Table of contents<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 8pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 7.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">1. Andreas Bieler and Jörg Nowak – </span><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14747731.2021.1884331"><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Labour Conflicts in the
Global South: An Introduction</span></a><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 7.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 7.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">2. </span><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Jörg Nowak – </span><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14747731.2021.1874210"><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">From industrial relations research to
Global Labour Studies: moving labour research beyond Eurocentrism</span></a><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">3. Maurizio Atzeni
- </span><span lang="FI"><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14747731.2021.1877970"><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Workers’
organizations and the fetishism of the trade union form: toward new pathways
for research on the labour movement?</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 7.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">4. Edward Webster, Carmen Ludwig, </span><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Fikile Masikane and Dave Spooner</span><span lang="EN-ZA" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> – </span><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14747731.2021.1874253"><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Beyond traditional trade unionism:
innovative worker responses in three African cities</span><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">.</span></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">5. Fahmi Panimbang – </span><span lang="FI"><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14747731.2021.1884789"><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Solidarity
across boundaries: a new practice of collectivity among workers in the
app-based transport sector in Indonesia.</span></a></span><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">6. Pun Ngai – </span><span lang="FI"><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14747731.2021.1884329"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: ZH-HK;">Turning Left:
Student-Worker Alliance in Labor Struggles in China</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: ZH-HK;">.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: ZH-HK;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">7. Michaela Doutch
– </span><span lang="FI"><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14747731.2021.1877007"><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">A
gendered labour geography perspective on the Cambodian garment workers’ general
strike of 2013/2014</span></a></span><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">8. Madhumita Dutta
– </span><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14747731.2021.1877972" target="_blank">Becoming‘active labour protestors’: women workers organizing in India’s garment exportfactories</a></span><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">9. </span><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Tsz Fung Kenneth NG - </span><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14747731.2021.1884330" target="_blank">Overcoming‘small peasant mentality’: semi-proletarian struggles and working-classformation in China</a>.</span></p><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">10. </span><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Isil Erdinc – </span><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14747731.2021.1884937" target="_blank">Revisitingthe ‘boomerang effect’: the international relations of the trade unions inTurkey under the Justice and Development Party (AKP) rule</a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">.</span></p><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: ZH-HK;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">11. Andreas Bieler
and Jörg Nowak – </span><span lang="FI"><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14747731.2021.1915611"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Labour conflicts in the Global South: towards a new
theory of resistance?</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Andreas Bieler</span></p><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Professor of Political Economy</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">University of Nottingham/UK</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Andreas.Bieler@nottingham.ac.uk</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Personal website: </span><a href="http://andreasbieler.net/" style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">http://andreasbieler.net</span></a></p><div style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><br /></div></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; tab-stops: 42.55pt;"><span style="font-family: times new roman, serif;">31 July 2022</span></p>Andreas Bielerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08920020665441380498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081320827566289783.post-85803892523448073672022-07-04T16:57:00.009+01:002022-07-04T17:08:51.395+01:00Public Water Services in times of emergency: the case of the Covid19 outbreak. <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE2q4_qCvN0qZDbckjinUItcdnA8sdETA-g-6jNdjxTZacJ3Iew4YbL1hcq4f4C5brdseAe3kt2bFN64NVXerr4tm6aMdIRNaDHmgJVByCV4lFJugOT60-mLc891-0ZNW7h9ccKk1QW0hKJNbC5KnEfefyoP5SDHbIMDrmOydpwvCAZC1wEK_U_uo2JA/s275/Public%20Water.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="275" data-original-width="183" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE2q4_qCvN0qZDbckjinUItcdnA8sdETA-g-6jNdjxTZacJ3Iew4YbL1hcq4f4C5brdseAe3kt2bFN64NVXerr4tm6aMdIRNaDHmgJVByCV4lFJugOT60-mLc891-0ZNW7h9ccKk1QW0hKJNbC5KnEfefyoP5SDHbIMDrmOydpwvCAZC1wEK_U_uo2JA/s1600/Public%20Water.jpg" width="183" /></a></span></div><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The Covid19 outbreak has underlined once again the
importance of basic services for human life, including water services. At the
same time, it re-opened the debate on the role of the state in managing such
services. How did public water operators react to the outbreak of the Covid19
pandemic? The book </span><span lang="IT"><a href="https://www.tni.org/en/public-water-and-covid-19"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Public Water and Covid-19: Dark Clouds and Silver Linings</span></i></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (Transnational Institute, 2021), edited by David McDonald, Susan Spronk and
Daniel Chavez, provides some answer(s) to this question. In this guest post, <b>Gemma
Gasseau</b> provides a critical review of the book’s key contributions.</span></div></span><p></p>
<a name='more'></a>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Through the narration of over 40 contributors, the
book brings the reader on a journey around the world, exploring issues of
public water services provision during the Covid19 outbreak. Through this
journey, we also discover territories, with their diverse geographical
characteristics, history, socio-political context, and knowledge. While
embarking on this journey, we get to listen to voices: those of workers, of
public water operator activists, scholars, network organizers – they open for
you the doors of water operators and the issues they faced during the pandemic.
Listening and observing, we discover that ‘public’ is not an homogenous
category, but rather that there are different public management models:
examples include community-based aqueducts, to publicly-owned independent
companies, through direct management by municipalities and re-municipalized
operators.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The wide variety of cases explored – 25, to be
precise! – cover territories in Europe, Africa, the US, Canada and South
America, and one city in Asia (Jackarta). Such a sample does not aim at
exhaustion, nor at formal comparison or generalizations. Instead, the
perspective is one of ‘lessons learnt’, may they be positive or negative, in a
pragmatic, policy-oriented perspective – more specifically, emancipatory
policy, that means aimed at guaranteeing the human right to water. As we read,
one of the goals is to “identify and critically examine what can be considered
‘good’ (as opposed to ‘best’) practices and how these might be transferable to
different locations” (pg.17). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In all this variety, we are surprised by the
commonalities across distant places – but also how much we can learn from the
differences. Through the pages, common struggles emerge, brought by or
exacerbated by the pandemic. Among these, the daily management of water
provision during a lockdown, which implies telework and changing water flows
demand. More generally, the tension between guaranteeing water access to a
population in dire need and sustaining revenues for the economic management of
a publicly owned water company, thus bringing up issues of affordability. But
also, facing a changing regulatory and legal framework, with its bureaucratic
burdens that may neglect some types of operators. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">While the cases explored vary by geography, management
models, and issues faced, some common threads can be found. Rather than
summarizing the cases one by one, for this review I decided to focus on two
broad themes that emerge from the different cases as important for water
services provision, during a global pandemic and beyond.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">One recurrent theme that emerges across the pages is
knowledge – with the questions of who owns it, whose is legitimized, and how it
is shared. In the case of Buenaventura, in Colombia, we learn about the
importance of knowing the local history of water services and its
contextualization within broader political and social dynamics. For the case of
community-based aqueducts in Colombia, the knowledge of the physical territory
is paired with the proximity of the users – who collectively manage, repair and
finance the infrastructure. The cases of two networks of water operators – Aqua
Publica Europea, in the European Union, and France Eau Public, in France,
underline the importance of owning and sharing publicly the knowledge that
operators have acquired, especially in an emergency situation. Finally, the
Global Water Operator’s partnership alliance (GWO-PA), a United Nations agency,
highlights the necessity of knowledge sharing based on the principles of
solidarity and non-for profit collaboration, which they addressed through
surveys and internal communication within the network, resulting in online
campaigns, ‘communities of practice’ and the organisation of webinars.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">A second overarching theme unfolding from different
perspectives is decision-making: who takes decisions on water services, how,
and with what consequences. In fact, in the case of the US the multi-level
character of water governance slowed down the implementation of prompt
emergency measures. In the case of community aqueducts in Colombia, the
national regulatory framework posed obstacles inasmuch it did not consider
their specificities in defining the bureaucratic and administrative burdens to
access facilitations and subsidies. In Burkina Faso, a hierarchical crisis
management prevailed, with the government developing the response plan together
with donors and neglecting to consult with trade unions or households. While
taking the positive step of providing water for free for three months in urban
areas, the plan did not target the most vulnerable households in rural areas.
Moreover, democratic participation in decision-making has proven of key
importance in taking decisions regarding water access in the cases of
re-municipalized water operators in Europe, particularly in Terrassa and Paris.
In the case of Jakarta, activists advocating for re-municipalization underline
the importance of not only ownership transfer and network expansion, but also
of public participation. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">To enrich the debate over public or private provision,
to deepen the understanding of both “knowledge” and “decision-making” across
cases and their connections, it is fruitful to reflect on these two categories
through a critical, political ecology lens: on the one hand, how knowledge is
constructed, owned and shared; on the other hand, how decisions are taken, by
whom and with what consequences. This book goes in this direction brilliantly,
by unpacking what role public operators have in water services governance and
how they can behave in situations of emergency. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">With the pandemic exacerbating social inequality
within and across countries, and pairing with multiple ecological, geopolitical
and reproductive crises, it would be interesting to carry out further research
with these and other cases to investigate the long-term strategies of water
operators, beyond the first emergency reactions to the Covid19 outbreak. To
conclude, I highly recommend this book to anybody interested in water services,
not only in their theoretical problematique but also practical challenges. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">This review was first published on the blog <i><a href="https://undisciplinedenvironments.org/2022/06/07/public-water-services-in-times-of-emergency-the-case-of-the-covid19-outbreak/">Undisciplined
Environments</a></i> on 7 June 2022. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Gemma Gasseau is a PhD Candidate in Transnational
Governance at Scuola Normale Superiore & Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna
(Italy), interested in political economy and ecology, currently researching
water services governance in the EU.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>Andreas Bielerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08920020665441380498noreply@blogger.com0