Discussing the civilizatory crisis and processes of refeudalization this volume brings into dialogue two of the most creative approaches, in Olaf Kaltmeier and Edgardo Lander, to rethink capitalism in the 21st century.
In Part 1, Olaf Kaltmeier, takes issue with the state of social inequality in the region, highlighting the concentration of wealth within the upper 1% of society in Latin America. Comparing the current economic situation with the ancient regime, the discussion centers around the new phenomena like billionaires as president, increased luxury consumption, an emerging culture of distinction, and the intensification of land and spatial segregation. In Part 2, Lander urgently assesses the current state and political legacy of the "Pink Tide" governments in his essay "Crisis of Civilization." Reviewing the past two decades of the new millennium, Lander critiques the failure of these governments to provide alternatives to extractivism and economic dependencies. Finally, Hans-Jürgen Burchardt connects the arguments through interviews where both authors sum their efforts to open the issues to future dialogue.
Refeudalization in Latin America provides an accessible and thought-provoking political diagnosis from the Global South which departs from the oft idiosyncratic and cyclical debates of the Global North to offer new vocabulary for social change. It will interest scholars and students of global studies, sociology, and political science.
Author(s): Olaf Kaltmeier, Edgardo Lander
Series: Coping with Crisis - Latin American Perspectives
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 247
City: New York
Cover
Half Title
Series Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Contents
List of figures
Introduction: Refeudalization and the Crisis of Civilization
1. Crisis of Civilization: Experiences of Progressive Governments and Debates in the Latin American Left
Introduction
The Terminal Crisis of the Modern Colonial Pattern of Civilization
Accelerated Destruction of the Conditions That Have Made Possible the Creation and Reproduction of Life
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Planetary Boundaries
Biocapacity and Ecological Footprint
The Anthropocene and the Sixth Great Extinction
Present and Future Socio-Environmental Impacts of Global Climate Change
How Do the Powers That Be Respond to These Challenges?
What Would Have to Be Changed for Nothing to Change?
The Green Economy
Geoengineering
Anthropocene or the Age of Plutocracy? The Profound Inequalities in the Distribution of Wealth and Political, Communicational, and Military Power That Characterizes the Present Post-Democratic World
Who Decides the Future of the Planet?
Progressive Latin American Governments in the Face of the Civilizational Crisis
Constituent Processes
Ecuador Mineral-State?
Bolivia: From Buen Vivir to Extractivist Developmentalism
The TIPNIS Road
Venezuela: The Paroxysm of Extractivism
Extractivism and the Utopian Prospects of Transformations That Were Announced
Extractivism, Geopolitics, and Latin American Integration
Debates of the Left on Current Anti-Capitalist Struggles in Latin America
The Emergence of New Forms of Anti-Systemic Politics
Other Forms of Politics and Seizure of Power by Progressive Governments
Socialism of the 21st Century
Foro de São Paulo
Perspectives of the Foro de São Paulo on Today’s World
The Primacy of Geopolitics
China’s Role as a Blind Spot
Dichotomous Perspectives on Political Ethics
Nicaragua
Venezuela
The Crisis of the Left
A Final Insistence on the Left
Bibliography
2. The Refeudalization of Society: Social Inequality and Political Culture in Latin America
Global Refeudalization or Latin American “Feudal Mania?”
The 1% and the Refeudalization of the Social Structure
Refeudalization of the Social Structure in Latin America
The Moneyed Aristocracy in Latin America
From Class to Estate
The Refeudalization of the Economy
Landlordism and Extractivism
The New Robber Barons
Robbery by Omission: From Panama to Paradise
Consumer Identities: Between Luxury and Debt Bondage
Consumption, Luxury, and Prestige
A New Debt Bondage
Of Citadels, Fortresses, and Walls
Castles in the City
From Gentrification to Retro-Colonial Archipelago
Millionaires in Power
The Body of Money
Identity Politics and Political Rationalities: Racism and the Right to Kill
From Refeudalization to a New Communism?
Bibliography
Understanding Multiple Crises: Interview with Olaf Kaltmeier and Edgardo Lander
Index
