Peter North | University of Liverpool (original) (raw)
Papers by Peter North
We would also like to thank the many other Liverpool businesspeople and others (both speakers and... more We would also like to thank the many other Liverpool businesspeople and others (both speakers and participants) who gave their time and insights, and helped make our seminars such a great success. As a 'knowledge exchange' project, the objectives were co-produced by all the partners. This is therefore not either a completely academic report conducted independently from any users of the research, nor a piece of consultancy delivered for a client. A knowledge exchange enables all the partners to think a little more deeply and long term than might otherwise be the case, but also does not assume that all of the partners agree with all the projects findings and recommendations. Rather, the report should be seen as part of an ongoing conversation, and alongside the other documents and strategies proposed by the partners as referenced. The responsibility for any mistakes and misunderstandings, of course, rests with the authors.
This policy brief summarises the findings of the Low Carbon Liverpool Project examining how Liver... more This policy brief summarises the findings of the Low Carbon Liverpool Project examining how Liverpool can sustain its prosperity while making its contribution to avoiding dangerous climate change
This policy brief looks at how social enterprise on Merseyside can engage with Low Carbon agendas... more This policy brief looks at how social enterprise on Merseyside can engage with Low Carbon agendas to ensure that low carbon opportunities can be equally accessed.
• Now Liverpool has re-branded itself, how can its economic development agencies effectively faci... more • Now Liverpool has re-branded itself, how can its economic development agencies effectively facilitate the transition to a low carbon economy? • Does the city have the right policies to combine a healthy, vibrant and socially inclusive local economy with what we need to do to avoid dangerous climate change in the future? • Specifically, what does this mean for the support of new and existing businesses and social enterprises? How can we ensure that socially excluded communities can benefit from low carbon opportunities? This brief focuses on support for businesses. Key recommendations 1. Levels of support for businesses engaging in low carbon issues on Merseyside reflect international best practice well, but support is inconsistent and often confusing. 2. Business people act on low carbon from a range of motivations, not just economic rationality. 3. Marketing strategies based on information deficit models rarely work. Low carbon support could reflect more widely the full range of motivations business people have. 4. There is a danger of good practice being lost in the current funding crisis. If so, business leadership will be crucial in driving low carbon forward. Businesspeople value 'war stories', and practical advice provided by another businessperson who has 'done it'. This is not public funding dependent.
• Now Liverpool has re-branded itself, how can its economic development agencies effectively faci... more • Now Liverpool has re-branded itself, how can its economic development agencies effectively facilitate the transition to a low carbon economy? • Does the city have the right policies to combine a healthy, vibrant and socially inclusive local economy with what we need to do to avoid dangerous climate change in the future? Key recommendations 1. Successful cities are those that combine a clear, locally-owned and widely accepted vision with strong and focussed leadership and a culture of partnership working at the strategic level. Liverpool achieved
Rethinking Marxism, 2020
This paper offers conceptual development of diverse economies thinking in terms of its relationsh... more This paper offers conceptual development of diverse economies thinking in terms of its relationship to antagonism. Rather than seeing antagonism as unhelpfully fuelling capitalocentric thinking, closing down possibilities and restricting our ability to conceptualise how we might live well together, we argue it can usefully recognise and engage with problematic forms of power and domination. Building on calls for a closer engagement of community economies thinking with wider anti-capitalist praxis, the paper explores how social and solidarity economy (SSE) practices sometimes reproduce, sometimes challenge, and sometimes build alternatives to the darker, constraining, entrenched and durable forms of power that attempt to shape, obstruct and obliterate-but fail to determineattempts to create better worlds. The paper develops conceptualisations of social enterprise, the social economy, and solidarity economies, before offering the novel concept of the antagonistic economy, which, we argue, can be a site from which angry opposition to constraining power relations can generate a more productive politics of possibility. We develop our conception of the antagonistic economy with a discussion of taking back labour (through recovered factories) and land (community land trusts).
Métropoles, 2014
Introduction The entrepreneurial city-a barrier to sustainability? Cities, climate change and the... more Introduction The entrepreneurial city-a barrier to sustainability? Cities, climate change and the ecological crisis The sustainable, post-political entrepreneurial city? Towards progressive urban emissions reduction strategies Geographies of Responsibility Adaptation and mitigation Flourishing locally and trading fairly The point, however, is to change it Conclusion Haut de page Texte intégral PDF Signaler ce document Copperfield". Mr Micauber always assumed that 'something would turn up' to save him from impending financial ruin. Consequently, 'Micauberism' suggests an irresponsibly optimistic and fatalistic orientation on the future, and about personal responsibility for what happens to individuals in the future resulting from their actions.
Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 2017
While the urban is identified as a productive site for addressing climate change, the ‘post-polit... more While the urban is identified as a productive site for addressing climate change, the ‘post-political’ critique dismisses climate policy as a vacuous discourse that obscures power relations and exclusion, defends the established neoliberal order, and silences challenges. This paper argues that rather than consensus, there is a conflict between urban climate policy and the need to reignite economic growth in the context of austerity urbanism, but also that we should not assume that challenges to neoliberal understandings of the ‘sensible’ will always be disregarded. Rather, urban climate policy can be progressed through partnership processes utilising ‘co-production’ techniques which entail significant agonistic, if not antagonistic, contestation. The argument is illustrated with a case study of climate policy making in the context of austerity urbanism in Liverpool, UK. While ‘low carbon’ is conceptualised by elite actors in Liverpool in neoliberal terms as a source of new low carbo...
Journal of Cleaner Production, 2016
An Enterprise Zone (EZ) based on cleaner production is an increasingly popular government policy ... more An Enterprise Zone (EZ) based on cleaner production is an increasingly popular government policy to accelerate the sustainable cities agenda. The purpose of this review paper is to critique EZ theory and the credibility of policy transfer to sustainable production in cities. To this end we undertook a literature review on EZ theory; produced a survey of cleaner production EZs to highlight its application in England; and developed a conceptual framework for a triple bottom line form of EZ. Based on our findings we argue that for the credible transfer of EZ theory to the sustainable cities agenda, policy should align to our conceptual framework for an Ecological Empowerment and Enterprise Zone (EEEZ). The EEEZ is an EZ which is ecologically restorative, places an emphasis on community involvement to better harness market forces, and understands the utility of state with the public sector as an entrepreneur. These research results will be of value to the literature focused on spatial low carbon enterprise strategy. Highlights: • Our survey results suggest that cleaner production EZs are a common phenomenon: in England four fifths of the 24 EZs in operation have an explicit interest. Examples include Sunderland's low carbon vehicle corridor and Hull's green port with offshore energy. • However, our typology to analyse EZs also indicates they display different sustainable characteristics: i) advanced standards for control of material throughputs during planning or operation; ii
Progress in Human Geography, 2000
Since 1980 the dominance of elected municipal government in Britain has given way to a broader lo... more Since 1980 the dominance of elected municipal government in Britain has given way to a broader local governance. While the precise configuration of this change has been debated in detail, approaches to the processes of restructuring and the operation and relative efficacy of new arrangements remain empirically limited and theoretically underdeveloped. We explore the usefulness of a range of contemporary theoretical accounts including regulationist approaches in responding to these lacunae. In developing our analysis we argue first that explaining the restructuring of local governance requires (amongst a range of developments) further theoretical and empirical work on local business interest representation; and, secondly, that attempts to move beyond partial evaluations of the new local governance must be predicated upon appropriate and rigorous theoretical foundations.
International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 2001
In this paper, we suggest that not enough attention is being paid to the place of political conte... more In this paper, we suggest that not enough attention is being paid to the place of political contestation and antagonism in terms of how SDGs are being rolled out as part of a broader consensual, liberal geo-politics under conditions of contemporary neoliberal capitalism. In particular, we argue for more consideration of the significance of the SSE as way to achieve the SDGs through responding to a broader crisis of social reproduction and work where millions of people cannot live with dignity, and looming climate crisis is not addressed. We want to foreground that the SSE is offering novel and tangible alternative forms of social production, useful work and means of the social reproduction of life beyond the current capitalist crisis that are being developed from the grassroots up, and which represent a challenge to conceptions of the SDGs as a policy prescription or mobilising utopia within an overall framework of neoliberal globalism. Consequently, we argue for policy in support of the SSEs that facilitates, rather than tames, these radical grassroots critiques and for the development of an autonomous, meso-civil society SSE sector
Geoforum, 2014
The 'urban' has emerged as a key site for policies to reduce greenhouse gasses in order to avoid ... more The 'urban' has emerged as a key site for policies to reduce greenhouse gasses in order to avoid dangerous climate change, especially given concerns at a lack of action at international and national levels. In cities, the private sector, especially SME owners, are key actors central to driving through emissions reduction at the level of the firm: yet they are often seen as laggards in emissions reduction. Drawing on data collected as a result of a recent Knowledge Exchange programme in Liverpool, UK, and on cultural and diverse economies perspectives, the paper argues that those SME owners can be effective change agents through their mobilisation of what they call 'war stories', through which they 'show and tell' other perhaps less convinced business people about the changes they have made.
Under Review, 2020
This article discusses left-wing thought in today's Poland as a case study of resistance to right... more This article discusses left-wing thought in today's Poland as a case study of resistance to right-wing populism in east central Europe (CEE). In contrast with deeply pessimistic, structural 'Gramscian' analyses of a neoliberalised, formerly backward, peripheral, 'eastern' Poland re-joining the 'west' before turning to right-wing populism, the article argues that as much attention should be paid to its left-wing opponents as to neoliberalism and populism themselves. The article acknowledges that given the pathologies of what was called 'actually existing socialism' in Poland, historical and contemporary discourses are utilised to attempt to aggressively delegitimise what are pejoratively called lewacy-'lefties'-in contemporary Poland with the result that the left's successes in conventional electoral terms is limited. But that is not the whole story. What is more interesting is to explore how contemporary lay anticommunism shapes the conditions of, rather than determines, the fundamental limits of progressive imaginations for today's Poland. Given the context in which Polish leftists operate, what do they argue for in order to counter and ameliorate aggressive discourses? The article argues that the Polish left counters right-wing populism by (1) drawing inspiration from social democracy, welfare states and past histories of Polish thought on cooperation and self-management; (2) by linking with and building from vibrant movements opposing populism's reactionary cultural stances, and (3) by taking opportunities afforded by Poland's electoral system. The article concludes that to move forward it might be more fruitful to explore less state-focused, less paranoid, non-capitalocentric conceptualisations of oppositions to right-wing populism in CEE.
Rethinking Marxism, 2020
This paper explores how social and solidarity economy (SSE) practices overtly challenge and build... more This paper explores how social and solidarity economy (SSE) practices overtly challenge and build alternatives to the darker, constraining, entrenched and durable forms of power that attempt to shape, obstruct and obliterate -but fail to determine -the political articulations looking to create better worlds upon which diverse economies research focus. The diverse SSE sector is often shaped, channelled or diverted by capitalist discourses in ways that its protagonists do not always recognise, but the extent that this is inevitable can be overstated. SSE activists recognise constraining forms of power, which they challenge, work around -and rethink, developing alternative practices in concrete ways. Offering the concept of the antagonistic economy, this paper suggests that opposition to constraining practices can be a generative form of power. The antagonistic economy is developed with a discussion of taking back labour through recovered factories, and taking back land through Community Land Trusts
Liverpool is a city which has, in many ways, undoubtedly and observably benefitted from Objective... more Liverpool is a city which has, in many ways, undoubtedly and observably benefitted from Objective One EU funding to the extent that there is pretty much universal agreement that this has underpinned the city's recent renaissance. That said, outside the city centre persistent long term economic problems endure. This paper reviews the mixed experiences of Merseyside's Objective One 'Pathways to Inclusion' programme as an attempt to solve problems of concentrated deprivation, arguing that the success of conventional approaches has been mixed. Brexit provides an opportunity for a rupture with forms of local economic development that have been progressively neoliberalised through time. It argues for a focus on opportunities, not deficits and
While the urban is identified as a productive site for addressing climate change, the 'post-polit... more While the urban is identified as a productive site for addressing climate change, the 'post-political' critique dismisses climate policy as a vacuous discourse that obscures power relations and exclusion, defends the established neoliberal order, and silences challenges. This paper argues that rather than consensus, there is a conflict between urban climate policy and the need to reignite economic growth in the context of austerity urbanism, but also that we should not assume that challenges to neoliberal understandings of the 'sensible' will always be disregarded. Rather, urban climate policy can be progressed through partnership processes utilising 'co-production' techniques which entail significant agonistic, if not antagonistic, contestation. The argument is illustrated with a case study of climate policy making in the context of austerity urbanism in Liverpool, UK. While 'low carbon' is conceptualised by elite actors in Liverpool in neoliberal terms as a source of new low carbon jobs and businesses, with an emphasis on energy security and fuel poverty, this view is not unchallenged. The paper recounts how an ad hoc group of actors in the city came together to form a partnership advocating for more strategic decarbonisation, which should be progressed through a bid for the city to be European Green Capital. The disputes that emerged around this agenda suggest that in the context of austerity urbanism the need for cities to act to mitigate against dangerous climate change is not as uncontested as conceptions of the post-political suggest.
Planning Theory & Practice, 2001
The economic crisis that broke out in 2007–2008 and the ongoing crisis in the Eurozone has given ... more The economic crisis that broke out in 2007–2008 and the ongoing crisis in the Eurozone has given a new urgency to discussions about alternatives to capitalism, and a new salience to proposals for monetary reform and for grassroots economic alternatives. Using Marx and Engel's concept of Utopianism as an analytical tool to distinguish between what is the work of 'cranks', and what of 'brave heretics', the paper examines four monetary responses to the crisis: (1) Positive Money's call for a state monopoly on money issuance; (2) the reintroduction of national currencies, in particular the drachma; (3) proposals for state-issued parallel currencies; and (4) grassroots or subaltern money networks of various types. The paper argues that the dominance of neoliberal ideology at a European Union level means that proposals for monetary reform at the international and national level are unlikely to be taken seriously by elites and consequently seem utopian in Marxian terms. There seems to be little political will to engage with the complexities of and potential opportunities of a more diverse monetary architecture within the Eurozone, and a perceived need to 'discipline' potentially 'irresponsible' governments like Greece's SYRIZA, although 'responsible' actors in the north of the Eurozone get more leeway. The potential of grassroots alternatives is also too often overstated. While alternative currency networks developed as part of the Greek crisis are not particularly well developed, alternative currency networks could work as sites of innovation, normal-ising the idea that there are progressive alternatives to Eurozone breakup.
Progress in Human Geography, 2000
Since 1980 the dominance of elected municipal government in Britain has given way to a broader lo... more Since 1980 the dominance of elected municipal government in Britain has given way to a broader local governance. While the precise configuration of this change has been debated in detail, approaches to the processes of restructuring and the operation and relative efficacy of new arrangements remain empirically limited and theoretically underdeveloped. We explore the usefulness of a range of contemporary theoretical accounts including regulationist approaches in responding to these lacunae. In developing our analysis we argue first that explaining the restructuring of local governance requires (amongst a range of developments) further theoretical and empirical work on local business interest representation; and, secondly, that attempts to move beyond partial evaluations of the new local governance must be predicated upon appropriate and rigorous theoretical foundations.
We would also like to thank the many other Liverpool businesspeople and others (both speakers and... more We would also like to thank the many other Liverpool businesspeople and others (both speakers and participants) who gave their time and insights, and helped make our seminars such a great success. As a 'knowledge exchange' project, the objectives were co-produced by all the partners. This is therefore not either a completely academic report conducted independently from any users of the research, nor a piece of consultancy delivered for a client. A knowledge exchange enables all the partners to think a little more deeply and long term than might otherwise be the case, but also does not assume that all of the partners agree with all the projects findings and recommendations. Rather, the report should be seen as part of an ongoing conversation, and alongside the other documents and strategies proposed by the partners as referenced. The responsibility for any mistakes and misunderstandings, of course, rests with the authors.
This policy brief summarises the findings of the Low Carbon Liverpool Project examining how Liver... more This policy brief summarises the findings of the Low Carbon Liverpool Project examining how Liverpool can sustain its prosperity while making its contribution to avoiding dangerous climate change
This policy brief looks at how social enterprise on Merseyside can engage with Low Carbon agendas... more This policy brief looks at how social enterprise on Merseyside can engage with Low Carbon agendas to ensure that low carbon opportunities can be equally accessed.
• Now Liverpool has re-branded itself, how can its economic development agencies effectively faci... more • Now Liverpool has re-branded itself, how can its economic development agencies effectively facilitate the transition to a low carbon economy? • Does the city have the right policies to combine a healthy, vibrant and socially inclusive local economy with what we need to do to avoid dangerous climate change in the future? • Specifically, what does this mean for the support of new and existing businesses and social enterprises? How can we ensure that socially excluded communities can benefit from low carbon opportunities? This brief focuses on support for businesses. Key recommendations 1. Levels of support for businesses engaging in low carbon issues on Merseyside reflect international best practice well, but support is inconsistent and often confusing. 2. Business people act on low carbon from a range of motivations, not just economic rationality. 3. Marketing strategies based on information deficit models rarely work. Low carbon support could reflect more widely the full range of motivations business people have. 4. There is a danger of good practice being lost in the current funding crisis. If so, business leadership will be crucial in driving low carbon forward. Businesspeople value 'war stories', and practical advice provided by another businessperson who has 'done it'. This is not public funding dependent.
• Now Liverpool has re-branded itself, how can its economic development agencies effectively faci... more • Now Liverpool has re-branded itself, how can its economic development agencies effectively facilitate the transition to a low carbon economy? • Does the city have the right policies to combine a healthy, vibrant and socially inclusive local economy with what we need to do to avoid dangerous climate change in the future? Key recommendations 1. Successful cities are those that combine a clear, locally-owned and widely accepted vision with strong and focussed leadership and a culture of partnership working at the strategic level. Liverpool achieved
Rethinking Marxism, 2020
This paper offers conceptual development of diverse economies thinking in terms of its relationsh... more This paper offers conceptual development of diverse economies thinking in terms of its relationship to antagonism. Rather than seeing antagonism as unhelpfully fuelling capitalocentric thinking, closing down possibilities and restricting our ability to conceptualise how we might live well together, we argue it can usefully recognise and engage with problematic forms of power and domination. Building on calls for a closer engagement of community economies thinking with wider anti-capitalist praxis, the paper explores how social and solidarity economy (SSE) practices sometimes reproduce, sometimes challenge, and sometimes build alternatives to the darker, constraining, entrenched and durable forms of power that attempt to shape, obstruct and obliterate-but fail to determineattempts to create better worlds. The paper develops conceptualisations of social enterprise, the social economy, and solidarity economies, before offering the novel concept of the antagonistic economy, which, we argue, can be a site from which angry opposition to constraining power relations can generate a more productive politics of possibility. We develop our conception of the antagonistic economy with a discussion of taking back labour (through recovered factories) and land (community land trusts).
Métropoles, 2014
Introduction The entrepreneurial city-a barrier to sustainability? Cities, climate change and the... more Introduction The entrepreneurial city-a barrier to sustainability? Cities, climate change and the ecological crisis The sustainable, post-political entrepreneurial city? Towards progressive urban emissions reduction strategies Geographies of Responsibility Adaptation and mitigation Flourishing locally and trading fairly The point, however, is to change it Conclusion Haut de page Texte intégral PDF Signaler ce document Copperfield". Mr Micauber always assumed that 'something would turn up' to save him from impending financial ruin. Consequently, 'Micauberism' suggests an irresponsibly optimistic and fatalistic orientation on the future, and about personal responsibility for what happens to individuals in the future resulting from their actions.
Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 2017
While the urban is identified as a productive site for addressing climate change, the ‘post-polit... more While the urban is identified as a productive site for addressing climate change, the ‘post-political’ critique dismisses climate policy as a vacuous discourse that obscures power relations and exclusion, defends the established neoliberal order, and silences challenges. This paper argues that rather than consensus, there is a conflict between urban climate policy and the need to reignite economic growth in the context of austerity urbanism, but also that we should not assume that challenges to neoliberal understandings of the ‘sensible’ will always be disregarded. Rather, urban climate policy can be progressed through partnership processes utilising ‘co-production’ techniques which entail significant agonistic, if not antagonistic, contestation. The argument is illustrated with a case study of climate policy making in the context of austerity urbanism in Liverpool, UK. While ‘low carbon’ is conceptualised by elite actors in Liverpool in neoliberal terms as a source of new low carbo...
Journal of Cleaner Production, 2016
An Enterprise Zone (EZ) based on cleaner production is an increasingly popular government policy ... more An Enterprise Zone (EZ) based on cleaner production is an increasingly popular government policy to accelerate the sustainable cities agenda. The purpose of this review paper is to critique EZ theory and the credibility of policy transfer to sustainable production in cities. To this end we undertook a literature review on EZ theory; produced a survey of cleaner production EZs to highlight its application in England; and developed a conceptual framework for a triple bottom line form of EZ. Based on our findings we argue that for the credible transfer of EZ theory to the sustainable cities agenda, policy should align to our conceptual framework for an Ecological Empowerment and Enterprise Zone (EEEZ). The EEEZ is an EZ which is ecologically restorative, places an emphasis on community involvement to better harness market forces, and understands the utility of state with the public sector as an entrepreneur. These research results will be of value to the literature focused on spatial low carbon enterprise strategy. Highlights: • Our survey results suggest that cleaner production EZs are a common phenomenon: in England four fifths of the 24 EZs in operation have an explicit interest. Examples include Sunderland's low carbon vehicle corridor and Hull's green port with offshore energy. • However, our typology to analyse EZs also indicates they display different sustainable characteristics: i) advanced standards for control of material throughputs during planning or operation; ii
Progress in Human Geography, 2000
Since 1980 the dominance of elected municipal government in Britain has given way to a broader lo... more Since 1980 the dominance of elected municipal government in Britain has given way to a broader local governance. While the precise configuration of this change has been debated in detail, approaches to the processes of restructuring and the operation and relative efficacy of new arrangements remain empirically limited and theoretically underdeveloped. We explore the usefulness of a range of contemporary theoretical accounts including regulationist approaches in responding to these lacunae. In developing our analysis we argue first that explaining the restructuring of local governance requires (amongst a range of developments) further theoretical and empirical work on local business interest representation; and, secondly, that attempts to move beyond partial evaluations of the new local governance must be predicated upon appropriate and rigorous theoretical foundations.
International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 2001
In this paper, we suggest that not enough attention is being paid to the place of political conte... more In this paper, we suggest that not enough attention is being paid to the place of political contestation and antagonism in terms of how SDGs are being rolled out as part of a broader consensual, liberal geo-politics under conditions of contemporary neoliberal capitalism. In particular, we argue for more consideration of the significance of the SSE as way to achieve the SDGs through responding to a broader crisis of social reproduction and work where millions of people cannot live with dignity, and looming climate crisis is not addressed. We want to foreground that the SSE is offering novel and tangible alternative forms of social production, useful work and means of the social reproduction of life beyond the current capitalist crisis that are being developed from the grassroots up, and which represent a challenge to conceptions of the SDGs as a policy prescription or mobilising utopia within an overall framework of neoliberal globalism. Consequently, we argue for policy in support of the SSEs that facilitates, rather than tames, these radical grassroots critiques and for the development of an autonomous, meso-civil society SSE sector
Geoforum, 2014
The 'urban' has emerged as a key site for policies to reduce greenhouse gasses in order to avoid ... more The 'urban' has emerged as a key site for policies to reduce greenhouse gasses in order to avoid dangerous climate change, especially given concerns at a lack of action at international and national levels. In cities, the private sector, especially SME owners, are key actors central to driving through emissions reduction at the level of the firm: yet they are often seen as laggards in emissions reduction. Drawing on data collected as a result of a recent Knowledge Exchange programme in Liverpool, UK, and on cultural and diverse economies perspectives, the paper argues that those SME owners can be effective change agents through their mobilisation of what they call 'war stories', through which they 'show and tell' other perhaps less convinced business people about the changes they have made.
Under Review, 2020
This article discusses left-wing thought in today's Poland as a case study of resistance to right... more This article discusses left-wing thought in today's Poland as a case study of resistance to right-wing populism in east central Europe (CEE). In contrast with deeply pessimistic, structural 'Gramscian' analyses of a neoliberalised, formerly backward, peripheral, 'eastern' Poland re-joining the 'west' before turning to right-wing populism, the article argues that as much attention should be paid to its left-wing opponents as to neoliberalism and populism themselves. The article acknowledges that given the pathologies of what was called 'actually existing socialism' in Poland, historical and contemporary discourses are utilised to attempt to aggressively delegitimise what are pejoratively called lewacy-'lefties'-in contemporary Poland with the result that the left's successes in conventional electoral terms is limited. But that is not the whole story. What is more interesting is to explore how contemporary lay anticommunism shapes the conditions of, rather than determines, the fundamental limits of progressive imaginations for today's Poland. Given the context in which Polish leftists operate, what do they argue for in order to counter and ameliorate aggressive discourses? The article argues that the Polish left counters right-wing populism by (1) drawing inspiration from social democracy, welfare states and past histories of Polish thought on cooperation and self-management; (2) by linking with and building from vibrant movements opposing populism's reactionary cultural stances, and (3) by taking opportunities afforded by Poland's electoral system. The article concludes that to move forward it might be more fruitful to explore less state-focused, less paranoid, non-capitalocentric conceptualisations of oppositions to right-wing populism in CEE.
Rethinking Marxism, 2020
This paper explores how social and solidarity economy (SSE) practices overtly challenge and build... more This paper explores how social and solidarity economy (SSE) practices overtly challenge and build alternatives to the darker, constraining, entrenched and durable forms of power that attempt to shape, obstruct and obliterate -but fail to determine -the political articulations looking to create better worlds upon which diverse economies research focus. The diverse SSE sector is often shaped, channelled or diverted by capitalist discourses in ways that its protagonists do not always recognise, but the extent that this is inevitable can be overstated. SSE activists recognise constraining forms of power, which they challenge, work around -and rethink, developing alternative practices in concrete ways. Offering the concept of the antagonistic economy, this paper suggests that opposition to constraining practices can be a generative form of power. The antagonistic economy is developed with a discussion of taking back labour through recovered factories, and taking back land through Community Land Trusts
Liverpool is a city which has, in many ways, undoubtedly and observably benefitted from Objective... more Liverpool is a city which has, in many ways, undoubtedly and observably benefitted from Objective One EU funding to the extent that there is pretty much universal agreement that this has underpinned the city's recent renaissance. That said, outside the city centre persistent long term economic problems endure. This paper reviews the mixed experiences of Merseyside's Objective One 'Pathways to Inclusion' programme as an attempt to solve problems of concentrated deprivation, arguing that the success of conventional approaches has been mixed. Brexit provides an opportunity for a rupture with forms of local economic development that have been progressively neoliberalised through time. It argues for a focus on opportunities, not deficits and
While the urban is identified as a productive site for addressing climate change, the 'post-polit... more While the urban is identified as a productive site for addressing climate change, the 'post-political' critique dismisses climate policy as a vacuous discourse that obscures power relations and exclusion, defends the established neoliberal order, and silences challenges. This paper argues that rather than consensus, there is a conflict between urban climate policy and the need to reignite economic growth in the context of austerity urbanism, but also that we should not assume that challenges to neoliberal understandings of the 'sensible' will always be disregarded. Rather, urban climate policy can be progressed through partnership processes utilising 'co-production' techniques which entail significant agonistic, if not antagonistic, contestation. The argument is illustrated with a case study of climate policy making in the context of austerity urbanism in Liverpool, UK. While 'low carbon' is conceptualised by elite actors in Liverpool in neoliberal terms as a source of new low carbon jobs and businesses, with an emphasis on energy security and fuel poverty, this view is not unchallenged. The paper recounts how an ad hoc group of actors in the city came together to form a partnership advocating for more strategic decarbonisation, which should be progressed through a bid for the city to be European Green Capital. The disputes that emerged around this agenda suggest that in the context of austerity urbanism the need for cities to act to mitigate against dangerous climate change is not as uncontested as conceptions of the post-political suggest.
Planning Theory & Practice, 2001
The economic crisis that broke out in 2007–2008 and the ongoing crisis in the Eurozone has given ... more The economic crisis that broke out in 2007–2008 and the ongoing crisis in the Eurozone has given a new urgency to discussions about alternatives to capitalism, and a new salience to proposals for monetary reform and for grassroots economic alternatives. Using Marx and Engel's concept of Utopianism as an analytical tool to distinguish between what is the work of 'cranks', and what of 'brave heretics', the paper examines four monetary responses to the crisis: (1) Positive Money's call for a state monopoly on money issuance; (2) the reintroduction of national currencies, in particular the drachma; (3) proposals for state-issued parallel currencies; and (4) grassroots or subaltern money networks of various types. The paper argues that the dominance of neoliberal ideology at a European Union level means that proposals for monetary reform at the international and national level are unlikely to be taken seriously by elites and consequently seem utopian in Marxian terms. There seems to be little political will to engage with the complexities of and potential opportunities of a more diverse monetary architecture within the Eurozone, and a perceived need to 'discipline' potentially 'irresponsible' governments like Greece's SYRIZA, although 'responsible' actors in the north of the Eurozone get more leeway. The potential of grassroots alternatives is also too often overstated. While alternative currency networks developed as part of the Greek crisis are not particularly well developed, alternative currency networks could work as sites of innovation, normal-ising the idea that there are progressive alternatives to Eurozone breakup.
Progress in Human Geography, 2000
Since 1980 the dominance of elected municipal government in Britain has given way to a broader lo... more Since 1980 the dominance of elected municipal government in Britain has given way to a broader local governance. While the precise configuration of this change has been debated in detail, approaches to the processes of restructuring and the operation and relative efficacy of new arrangements remain empirically limited and theoretically underdeveloped. We explore the usefulness of a range of contemporary theoretical accounts including regulationist approaches in responding to these lacunae. In developing our analysis we argue first that explaining the restructuring of local governance requires (amongst a range of developments) further theoretical and empirical work on local business interest representation; and, secondly, that attempts to move beyond partial evaluations of the new local governance must be predicated upon appropriate and rigorous theoretical foundations.
This article discusses left-wing thought in today's Poland as a case study of resistance to right... more This article discusses left-wing thought in today's Poland as a case study of resistance to right-wing populism in east central Europe (CEE). In contrast with deeply pessimistic, structural 'Gramscian' analyses of a neoliberalised, formerly backward, peripheral, 'eastern' Poland re-joining the 'west' before turning to right-wing populism, the article argues that as much attention should be paid to its left-wing opponents as to neoliberalism and populism themselves. The article acknowledges that given the pathologies of what was called 'actually existing socialism' in Poland, historical and contemporary discourses are utilised to attempt to aggressively delegitimise what are pejoratively called lewacy-'lefties'-in contemporary Poland with the result that the left's successes in conventional electoral terms is limited. But that is not the whole story. What is more interesting is to explore how contemporary lay anticommunism shapes the conditions of, rather than determines, the fundamental limits of progressive imaginations for today's Poland. Given the context in which Polish leftists operate, what do they argue for in order to counter and ameliorate aggressive discourses? The article argues that the Polish left counters right-wing populism by (1) drawing inspiration from social democracy, welfare states and past histories of Polish thought on cooperation and self-management; (2) by linking with and building from vibrant movements opposing populism's reactionary cultural stances, and (3) by taking opportunities afforded by Poland's electoral system. The article concludes that to move forward it might be more fruitful to explore less state-focused, less paranoid, non-capitalocentric conceptualisations of oppositions to right-wing populism in CEE.
This paper builds on engagements in community economies thinking with the social and solidarity e... more This paper builds on engagements in community economies thinking with the social and solidarity economy (SSE) by advancing a fourfold conceptualisation of the sector which draws distinctions between (1) social enterprise and social entrepreneurialism which uses 'business skills' to do 'good'; (2) the social economy which aims to include those 'left out' or 'behind' in otherwise capitalist economies-both of which have tendencies to advance processes of neoliberalisation-;(3) the solidarity, community or diverse economy, focusing on ethical conversations how we can live with others with dignity in the Anthropocene; and (4) a novel conceptualisations of what we call the antagonistic economy, challenging (particularly Anglo-Saxon) neoliberalism's malignant effects. We advance the argument through a discussion of Polanyi's three fictitious factors of capital: labour (recovered factories), finance (alternative currencies) and land (community land trusts). This matters as there is currently little clarity over how far the SSE represents, variously, a variety of capitalism, a manifestation of actually-existing diverse forms of market activity, or a challenge to and transformation of capitalism. We argue that we need a greater understanding of the latter, and in particular of when we can and cannot have inclusive ethical conversations about how our interconnectedness; when someone is 'outside' these conversations; and when this is either dangerously prescriptive strategy or a positive mobilising discourse providing more motive power for the task of building better worlds.
While the urban is identified as a productive site for addressing climate change, the ‘post polit... more While the urban is identified as a productive site for addressing climate change, the ‘post political’ critique dismisses climate policy as vacuous discourse about the necessity to avoid catastrophe that obscures power relations and exclusion, and silences challenges. This paper argues that the construction of climate policy in conflict with other drivers is more contested than this perspective recognises, and illustrates this with a case study of climate policy making in Liverpool, UK. It shows why some cities struggle to become the ‘greenest cities’.
United Nations, Interagency Task Force, Knowledge Hub, 2019
Paper prepared for the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on the Social and Solidarity Econom... more Paper prepared for the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on the Social and Solidarity Economy (UNTFSSE) Call for Papers 2018 - Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals: What Role for Social and Solidarity Economy?
AUTHORS: Paul CHATTERTON - Ana Cecilia DINERSTEIN - Peter NORTH - F. Harry PITTS
In this paper, we suggest that not enough attention is being paid to the place of political contestation and antagonism in terms of how SDGs are being rolled out as part of a broader consensual, liberal geo-politics under conditions of contemporary neoliberal capitalism. In particular, we argue for more consideration of the significance of the SSE as way to achieve the SDGs through responding to a broader crisis of social reproduction and work where millions of people cannot live with dignity, and looming climate crisis is not addressed. We want to foreground that the SSE is offering novel and tangible alternative forms of social production, useful work and means of the social reproduction of life beyond the current capitalist crisis that are being developed from the grassroots up, and which represent a challenge to conceptions of the SDGs as a policy prescription or mobilising utopia within an overall framework of neoliberal globalism. Consequently, we argue for policy in support of the SSEs that facilitates, rather than tames, these radical grassroots critiques and for the development of an autonomous, meso-civil society SSE sector.
Paper prepared for the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on the Social and Solidarity Economy (UNTFSSE) Call for Papers 2018
Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals: What Role for Social and Solidarity Economy?