The Political Economy of Sustainability

Fred P. Gale, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, University of Tasmania, Australia

This theoretical and practical book builds on the knowledge that sustainability’s value pluralism cannot be reconciled with the value monism of classical, neoclassical, nationalist or socialist political economy. Developing the concept of sustainability value (SV), which requires integrating economic (exchange), social (labour), environmental (intrinsic) and cultural (use) values in all processes of extraction, manufacturing, trade, consumption and disposal, the book reformulates our understanding of key political economy topics such as trade, investment, preference formation, corporate governance and the role of the state. The book illustrates how SV is being realised via multi-stakeholder networks which, forming at the community, national and global levels, enable the required cross-value deliberation.

‘This book is an intellectually stimulating academic work on the political economics of sustainability. It covers a great range of topics making it a valuable academic resource for a university’s master’s level course and for any academic research work ... this is a one-stop knowledge source and provides a comprehensive understanding on different dynamics of the complex sustainability agenda.’
– Kuntal Goswami, Journal of Development Policy and Practice

“盖尔的书是必读的one interested in the complex history and multi-faceted nature of value and valuation. It develops a pluralistic, transdisciplinary conception of “sustainability value” as the synthesis of different forms of usefulness, including exchange, use, labour and function value. It will help to build the transdisciplinary bridges so critical to solving our current problems and creating a sustainable and desirable future.’
– Robert Costanza, The Australian National University