The Subsistence Perspective: Beyond the Globalised Economy [Paperback]

Veronika Bennholdt-Thomsen (Author), Maria Mies (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 2000

A product of twenty years of analysis and activism, this unique book poses a radical alternative to the current free-market industrial system. A book of history, theory and polemic, the authors show how, if we are to survive, economies must become needs-based, environmentally sustainable, co-operative and local. They explain how the current capitalist system is none of these things, is inherently unstable and is dependent on the exploitation of various marginalized groups, particularly women, and of the environment. They call instead for a new politics and economics based on subsistence and present examples of such a perspective in practice.

Editorial Reviews

Review

‘In 1995, America’s First Lady, Hillary Clinton, visited Bangladesh to interview a group of village women who had received assistance from the Grameen Bank. Hillary wanted to see whether the ‘microcredits’ had truly succeeded in empowering these women. ...But the village women then asked HIllary about her own situation. Did she own any cows? No. Did she have her own income? Well no, not since Bill came to the White House. How many children? Only one? Poor Hillary. The village women of Bangladesh felt sorry for her, since obviously she - unlike them - was not empowered.

... Here you will find many unsung heroes whose solidarity and determined adherence to the subsistence ethic have helped them to retain power over their lives and to resist being swallowed by the global economy.’ - Resurgence

'A thought-provoking, challenging work, equally appropriate for development studies, women's studies or environmental studies' - Progress in Development Studies

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: German --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Zed Books (January 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1856497763
• ISBN-13: 978-1856497763
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #747,080 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Bottom-Up Look at Labor, Development, and Economics, October 24, 2008

By 

Renee A. Davis (Olympia, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Subsistence Perspective: Beyond the Globalised Economy (Paperback)

Maria Mies and Veronica Bennholdt-Thomsen take a critical look at the neoliberal capitalist creed that has shaped the global economy and propose a new economic viewpoints. It is the subsistence perspective: a way of looking at the economy and development from the bottom-up.

Drawing from their work in the women's movement, the authors began to look at the subject of housework as it relates to the women's movement. This inquiry broadened and they began to investigate the role of housework in global capitalism, asking: Why is it not seen as work? Why is it non-paid labor? Recognizing that housework and other types of subsistence work cannot be paid work in the global economy, because the accumulation model would collapse, they set to look beyond global capitalism and define the subsistence perspective. As a result of their analysis, the authors propose the development of a new concept of labor and a new valuation of wageless labor.

What is the "subsistence perspective?" To begin with, commodity production is the goal of capitalist production. Everything is to be transformed into a commodity that is then marketable. But subsistence production has an entirely different goal: the direct satisfaction of human needs. Its goal is the support of life directly. And this type of production is necessary as a prerequisite for all types of paid labor. Thus, subsistence is the opposite of commodity production. It's not an economic model, but a new economic perspective.

Meis and Beholdt-Thomosen take a critical look at the neoliberal capitalist tenets that have shaped the contemporary global economy. One of the most prominent of these is the perceived necessity of unlimited growth. Without growth, there is no development, and the entire economy stagnates and collapses--according to the credo. But in practical terms, in a world of finite resources this aim can only be realized at the expense of others. Furthermore, the primary indicators of growth are the GNP and the GDP. This narrow measure of growth does not account for the bulk of the work of women, subsistence peasants, or those in the informal sector because it is not wage labor. Wage labor is sharply contrasted with unpaid work, creating a misguided perception that only work that produces wages is gainful. Since subsistence work is not wage labor, much work is invisible under this system, and can thus be exploited.

As the authors analyze these economic structures, they point out that patriarchy is a structural necessity for capitalism. This becomes apparent in their analysis of the "housewifeisation" of labor. Gender roles were used to create an asymmetric sexual division of labor: The males are the "breadwinners" of the household, and the women are the "housewives". This would place males primarily in the world of wage labor, and women with the wageless reproduction of labor power, which is the cheapest and most exploitable kind of production work. Therefore, they make the case that the women's movement ought to create an alternative to the capitalist system and the modern notion of progress, and not merely fight for equal rights within it.

Additionally, the authors discuss the role of development and colonialism in the pervasive growth and of this system. Prior to World War II, many subsistence economies existed in both rural and urban areas worldwide. The near demise of these societies and this way of life in the years that followed was none other than intentional. To illustrate how subsistence production had to be eliminated for the expansion of capitalist ventures, the authors quote a US politician: "Before the US can achieve its main economic objective, namely dramatic increases in grain sales [to Europe], they must first destroy the European food security policies that encourage domestic production." . As another example, the authors call on the peasant resistance communities of the Mayan people in response to Guatemala's seizure of their village common lands. A large part of their resistance efforts was the refusal of any paid or migrant labor as well as the rebuilding of their peasant subsistence economy, threatened by the government due to pressure to acquire land for foreign agricultural transnational corporations.

In sum, the subsistence perspective is not an economic model, but a new way of looking at the economy. It is concerned with the production and reproduction of life directly, and not just commodity production. It's a vision of development from the bottom-up, where the aim is happiness, quality of life, and human dignity as opposed to the accumulation of wealth. In the end, Mies and Bennholdt-Thomsen describe a persective of labor and economics that serves societies--not the other way around. The reader will benefit greatly from this book as it offers a radical yet grounded view of the contemporary economic creed that has formed current economic practices, and what the wisdom of life-supporting subsistence work can bring to such a system.