P2P Foundation

The Foundation for Peer to Peer Alternatives

Commons-economist Wolfgang Hoechsele on European lecture tour during the summer of 2012

The Economics of Abundance: Toward Greater Freedom, Equity andSustainability


Talks by Wolfgang Hoeschele, Summer 2012


In his book on the Economics of Abundance, see http://p2pfoundation.net/Economics_of_Abundance, Wolfgang Hoeschele develops an alternative to our present scarcity-based economy in which only things that are scarce can fetch a profit and are therefore valued, while anything that is abundant or cannot be made profitably scarce (ranging from air to love, but including many more “material” resources) is not valued. As a result, there is a strong incentive to make abundant resources scarce, by either limiting supplies or inflating demand. For this purpose, there are a variety of “scarcity generating institutions” ranging from race and gender discrimination, to inequitable property rights and property rights that encourage the depletion of natural resources, to advertising and “radical monopolies” that make us dependent on expensive technologies and centralized institutions while undermining individual and community-level selfreliance (e.g., in the realms of transportation, health care, education, energy provision, and finance).


These scarcity generating institutions undermine individual freedom, social equity, and environmental sustainability. Hoeschele points out numerous ways to promote abundance instead of
scarcity, including various forms of common or shared property, easier access to information and knowledge, and urban and transportation planning that prioritize walking, cycling and public
transport and help build communities that are healthy in all respects. Innumerable initiatives along these lines already exist; a theory and vision of abundance can show how they can all support each other, and offer a viable and coherent alternative to the destructive path of neoliberalism. There IS an alternative, and it's called abundance!


More information about Wolfgang Hoeschele is available on his webpage at Truman State University in Missouri (USA) where he is employed as a professor of geography:


http://societyandenvironment.truman.edu/Faculty/Facultyweb/Wolfgang....

He can be reached at his email address, whoesch@truman.edu.


From early June to mid-August of 2012, Wolfgang Hoeschele is planning to travel first to Germany and Austria, and then the United Kingdom, Spain, and potentially Denmark and Sweden
in order to network with people with similar visions and in order to give talks. Dates for the UK should be in early to mid-July, those for Spain in late July to early August, and those for Denmark
and Sweden in late June to early July.

Views: 124

Add a Comment

You need to be a member of P2P Foundation to add comments!

Join P2P Foundation

Badge

Loading…

© 2024   Created by Josef Davies-Coates.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service