Babylon and Beyond: The Economics of Anti-Capitalist, Anti-Globalist and Radical Green Movements

233 Pages·2005·2.36 MB·English

by  Derek Wall

Babylon and Beyond
The Economics of Anti-Capitalist,
Anti-Globalist and Radical Green Movements
Derek Wall
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Pluto Press
LONDON (cid:127) ANN ARBOR, MI
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First published 2005 by Pluto Press
345 Archway Road, London N6 5AA
and 839 Greene Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48106
www.plutobooks.com
Copyright © Derek Wall 2005
The right of Derek Wall to be identifi ed as the author of this work has been asserted by
him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 0 7453 2391 X hardback
ISBN 0 7453 2390 1 paperback
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data applied for

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Designed and produced for Pluto Press by
Chase Publishing Services Ltd, Fortescue, Sidmouth, EX10 9QG, England
Typeset from disk by Stanford DTP Services, Northampton, England
Printed and bound in the European Union by
Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham and Eastbourne, England
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To Jean-Pierre Faure and Brad Warner
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Contents
Acknowledgements x
Foreword by Nandor Tanczos xii
1 Warm Conspiracies and Cold Concepts 1
2 Vaccinating against Anti-capitalism: Stiglitz, Soros and
Friends 23
3 White Collar Global Crime Syndicate: Korten, Klein and
other Anti-corporatists 44
4 Small is Beautiful: Green Localism 64
5 Planet Earth Money Martyred: Social Credit and
Monetary Reform 84
6 Imperialism Unlimited: Marxisms 101
7 The Tribe of Moles: Autonomism, Anarchism and Empire 123
8 Marx on the Seashore: Ecosocialist Alternatives 153
9 Life after Capitalism: Alternatives, Structures, Strategies 171
Bibliography 193
Index 207
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The Green Economics Institute
Directors: Volker Heinemann, Goettingen University, and Miriam Kennet,
Mansfi eld College, Oxford University
The Green Economics Institute (GEI) seeks to promote an economy that
puts people and planet before profi t. Green economics opposes the
commodifi cation of life and democracy. It adds a spiritual and ethical
element to decision making, while acknowledging the pivotal role of
women and nature in real wealth creation. It also opposes the growth
imperative, injustice and patriarchy inherent in capitalism. Prosperity,
without cancerous expansion of GNP growth, can become compatible with
ecological considerations through the principle of ‘usufruct’ where goods
are shared rather than simply produced, consumed and thrown away by
private owners. Green economists strive to reclaim economics from being
the preserve of purely quantitative measurement, graphs and statistics.
Economics should focus on happiness rather than econometrics. The
GEI series examines the pathologies of global capitalism as well as critically
discussing green economic alternatives including commons regimes, fi scal
measures and new monetary instruments. GEI titles build on insights from
ecological and post-autistic economics, ecofeminism, stakeholder theory,
Marxism, post-structuralism and post-Keynesian ideas, but moves beyond
them to create a discipline that seeks to nurture radically new alternatives
based on equity, intergenerational social justice as well as concern for non
human species and the biosphere.
GEI titles argue for economic development based on cultural diversity,
transparent community control and decision making.
www.greeneconomics.org.uk
www.inderscience.com/ijge Academic Journal International Journal of
Green Economics
Email: [email protected]
Green Economics
Institute
Economics as if people mattered.
www.greeneconomics.org.uk
[email protected]
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Mr. Lebeziatnikov who keeps up with modern ideas explained
the other day that compassion is forbidden nowadays by science
itself, and that that’s what is done now in England, where there is
political economy.
Dostoevsky 1993: 14
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Acknowledgements
To Nandor, of course. Peter Lockley worked with heroic dedication,
reading the whole thing and making lots of useful corrections and
suggestions; also thanks for the Rings of Saturn, Open Source, Robin
Hood, beer and conversation. Xanthe Bevis for her many virtues
including being thorough, keeping me laughing in diffi cult situations
and partnering me in several rash political projects. She is one of
the people who keeps me doing ‘real’ things when the temptation is
simply to hole out in trailer trash land, drinking, smoking Bolivars,
reading the Grundrisse and Gary Snyder and writing in pleasurable
isolation. Her academic contribution was also essential. X you shine.
And thank Will for the Slough song. Also to Christina who was
happy to roll a spliff or pass a can of red stripe in moments of stress
… Christina Borgenstierna made me think deeply, introduced me
to squatting, made me aware of that place known as Europe, read
and commented, helped with lots of cool political interventions
and was continually good for my sanity, thanks Chris, your merit is
great. Matthew Tempest for some good advice on the chapter one,
lots of encouragement and the hotel fl oor in Weston-super-Mare,
immortal line ‘lets share a room and the Guardian will pay’. Chris
Cotton read the whole thing and was continuously enthusiastic
while catching lots of typos. Andrew Copeman, another friend and
a poet, was a source of great encouragement, we once walked 50
miles together which helped; Andrew, have fun with the trees. Adam
Buick and Richard Kuper read my stuff on Marx with more care than
I deserve. Victor Anderson, John Barry, Michael Babula, Molly Scott
Cato, Steve Dawe, Richard Douthwaite, Brian Heatly, Gary Holden,
Nadia Johanisova, Chris Keene, Miriam Kennet, Jim Killock, Brian
Leslie, Brian Orr, Frank Rotering and Stephen Young also gave me
detailed feedback.
David Castle for being a patient editor even when I was a desperately
impatient writer. Kate Brennan for rescuing me from the gutter when
I was homeless. Joel Kovel, may you live long and usufruct strongly,
for carrying the ecosocialist cause into many diffi cult battles, your
comments were as always erudite and relevant.
x
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Acknowledgements xi
For those friends who I sit with in the South and West London
Dojos, sesshins in Sheringham and Galway Bay, Zen days especially
Alex and Jim.
Caroline Lucas for generally being right, always been inspiring
and being as innocent as a lamb when it comes to deals, intrigue
and manoeuvres, all the usual stuff politicians do but she doesn’t,
although it would be nice if she could sew some meetings up and
do at least some Machiavellian deals just once in a while. Thanks for
your continued support for Babylon.
For my band of travelling anarchists Larry Wall, Peter Wall and
Vincent Wall for their enthusiasms for cookery, wildlife, Jackie Chan,
Japanese popular culture (all right yu-gi-oh) hi to the women formerly
known as Mrs Wall, if only by the secretary of St Francis primary
school.
For my bosses, especially Clive Denning, for being to capitalism
what Caroline is to backroom politics.
Walt Contreas Sheasby, whose death has robbed me of a good
friend for whom all the important bases green, red and Zen were
covered; a dear friend, the world diminished without you. Mike
Woodin is also sadly missed. Both died from environmental causes,
Mike, never a smoker, from lung cancer, something that is diffi cult to
pin down to a precise cause but increasingly is a product of pollution;
Walt from the West Nile Virus that global warming has brought to
California …
Peter Lockley and Beth Collar researched the illustrations, Xanthe
Bevis completed the index, all with their usual fl air and effi ciency.
And thanks to anybody who I have forgotten in the rush to fi nish!
The mistakes are all mine.
Derek Wall
July 2005
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Foreword
by Nandor Tanczos
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Human beings face the greatest challenge in the history of our species.
We face the destruction of the life support systems on which our very
existence depends, and we face it because of our own activity.
There are some who deny or diminish that threat. They mostly
either retreat into fairy tale thinking – that technology, or the ‘free’
market, or UFOs will save us – or hope that by closing their eyes they
can make it go away.
Yet the evidence is mounting almost daily that the threats are
very real and are gathering momentum. A new report from the UK
is saying that if we don’t turn carbon emissions around in the next
decade, we will not be able to stop runaway climate change whatever
we do.
Authoritative voices are warning us that we are very close to the
point where world demand for oil will outstrip the capacity of the
oilfi elds to supply. Our total dependence on fossil fuels, the use of
which has provided the energy for an enormous expansion of human
xii
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