Economic Theory and Community Development
Why putting community first is essential to our survival
Howard Richards, with the assistance of Gavin Andersson
Published June 2022
458 pages, paperback
ISBN 978-1-952292-08-8
26.95 USD, 23.95 EUR; free worldwide shipping
About the Book
This book critiques not just neoliberal economics but also the fundamental separation among humans that all economic theories presuppose. Excessive reliance on economic assumptions and practices has created a world bent on self-destruction while serving the true interests of no one.
This book celebrates community-based approaches now blossoming on all continents. Unbounded organizing, together with moral and ethical realism, offers a field-tested philosophy and methodology to provide dignity for all while nurturing the biosphere.
Please read more in this article by Howard Richards that provides an introduction to the book:
"A Call to Practice an Ethic of Care by Sharing Surplus"
Table of Contents
Foreword by Evelin Lindner
Introduction
Chapter 1: South Africa Now as a Land of Credible Threats and Incredible Promises
Chapter 2: Community as a Guiding Star for Navigating the Seas of Late Modernity in Neurath’s Boat
Chapter 3: Economics as Social Structure
Chapter 4: Two Staggering Facts That Change Everything
Chapter 5: The Community Work Programme as a Sea Change in Public Policy
Chapter 6: India’s Employment Guarantee as an Accumulation of Anomalies
Chapter 7: The Swedish Model as Programmed for Failure
Chapter 8: Neoliberal Economics as an Imaginary World That Holds the Real World Captive
Chapter 9: The Community Work Programme at Orange Farm as Community Development
Chapter 10: The Fiscal Crisis of the State as a Philosophical Problem: Part One
Chapter 11: The Fiscal Crisis of the State as a Philosophical Problem: Part Two
Praise for Economic Theory and Community Development
This is a book for those who are seeking political economy alternatives both in academia and in wider communities. While providing a scholarly discussion of many heterodox (and orthodox) theories, Howard Richards shows that several already existing alternatives can work. They worked for a while in various countries such as Sweden during the social democratic era, and also today there are illuminating examples such as the Community Work Programme in South Africa. The book sets community against economy, especially as the latter is currently understood by mainstream economics. Richards argues not only that theory and practice must be consistent, but also that local community experiments can become the method of changing the ‘basic social structure.’ While Economic Theory and Community Development stresses the role of globalization, it sees the future of human survival and flourishing in terms of developing communities that respect and meet the needs of everyone in a generalizable manner. This book is a noteworthy contribution to the ongoing discussions about what will come after neoliberalism and what will make our global civilization sustainable.
– Heikki Patomaki, Professor of World Politics, University of Helsinki
Strategies for economic development, besides being grounded in the varied realities that exist around the world, ought to have an ethical basis. This book with its underlying philosophy of unbounded organization provides guidance in the form of mental models, tools, and experiments. This is sorely needed at a time when the world needs to activate all available resources and optimize adaptive responses. Facing a global pandemic, wrestling with the climate crisis, and undoing the ravages of late-stage capitalism require that we widen the pool from which we draw knowledge. I highly recommend the perspectives of Richards and Andersson as an invaluable part of our conceptual exploration and purposeful change journey.
– Gillian Marcelle, economist, CEO of Resilience Capital Ventures LLC