The imperial mode of living : everyday life and the ecological crisis of capitalism / Ulrich Brand and Markus Wissen ; foreword by Liliane Danso-Dahmen ; translated by Zachary Murphy King ; edited by Barbara Jungwirth.
First published in English by Verso 2021. Originally published in German as Imperiale Lebensweise : Zur Ausbeutung von Mensch und Natur im globalen Kapitalismus, Oekom Verlag 2017. Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents:
At the boundaries of a mode of living -- Multiple crises and socio-ecological transformation -- The concept of the imperial mode of living -- The historical making of the imperial mode of living -- The global universalization and deepening of the imperial mode of living -- Imperial automobility -- False alternatives from the green economy to a green capitalism? -- Contours of a solidary mode of living -- Intensifying or overcoming the imperial mode of living: an afterword in times of corona.
Summary:
Brand and Wissen highlight the fact that capitalism implies uneven development, as well as a constant and accelerating universalisation of a Western mode of production and living. The logic of liberal markets since the 19th century, and especially since World War II, has been inscribed into everyday practices that are usually unconsciously reproduced. The authors show that these practices are a main driver of the ecological crisis and economic and political instability. The book also implies that people's everyday practices, including individual and societal orientations and identities, rely heavily on the unlimited appropriation of resources; a disproportionate claim on global and local ecosystems and sinks; and cheap labour from elsewhere. This availability of commodities is largely organised through the world market, backed by military force and/or the asymmetric relations of forces as they have been inscribed in international institutions. Moreover, the 'Imperial Mode of Living' implies asymmetrical social relations along class, gender and race within the respective countries. Here too, it is driven by the capitalist accumulation imperative, growth-oriented state policies and status consumption.
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