Remaking Scarcity: From Capitalist Inefficiency to Economic Democracy

摘要

The title Remaking Scarcity seems curious. Yet, concentrating on the various meanings of scarcity used by well-known economists and economic schools of thought, Panayotakis courses a steady and methodical line through contemporary leftist debates to make a neat argument about the need for, and strategies for applying, "economic democracy." As such, Remaking Scarcity is as much a contemplation on the meaning and application of economic democracy as it is on scarcity. The logic of Panayotakis' arguments, which unfolds through all the chapters, is summarized in the first. The second and third chapters deal with neoclassical and Marxist views of scarcity, respectively. The fourth chapter explores scarcity within the context of capitalist exploitation and consumption. Chapter 5 deepens the analysis in terms of struggles around economic democracy. The two chapters that follow consider the global and ecological dimensions, respectively. The final two chapters discuss two theoretical models of economic democracy as a stepping stone to his propositions with respect to strategies for economic democratization. Thus, Panayotakis re-examines how neoclassical economists, and we experiencing everyday capitalism, as well as Marxists, have conceived of scarcity.