Owning the Future

Power and Property in an Age of Crisis

Adrienne Buller, Mathew Lawrence

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English

Verso Books
23 August 2022

Socialism & left-of-centre democratic ideologies; Political economy; Sustainability

The question of ownership is the critical fault line of our times. During the pandemic this issue has only become more divisive. Since March 2020 we have witnessed the extraordinary growth of asset manager capitalism and the explosive concentration of wealth within the hands of the already super-rich. This new oligarchy controls every part of our social and economics lives.

In the face of crisis, the authors warn that mere redistribution within current forms of ownership is not enough; our goal must be to go beyond the limits of the current system, dominated by private enclosure and unequal ownership. Only by reimagining how our economy is owned and by whom can we address the crises of our time - from the fallout of the pandemic to ecological collapse - at their roots.

Building from this insight, the authors argue the systemic change we need hinges on a new era of democratic ownership: a reinvention of the firm as a vehicle for collective endeavour and meeting social needs. Against the new oligarchy of the platform giants, a digital commons that uses our data for collective good, not private profit. In place of environmental devastation, a new agenda of decommodification - of both nature and needs - with a Green New Deal and collective stewardship of the planet’s natural wealth. Together, these proposals offer a road map to owning the future, and building a better world.

By: Adrienne Buller, Mathew Lawrence
Imprint: Verso Books
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 198mm, Width: 129mm, Spine: 18mm
Weight: 262g
ISBN: 9781839765803
ISBN 10: 1839765801
Pages: 224
Publication Date: 23 August 2022
Audience: General/trade , Professional and scholarly , ELT Advanced , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Adrienne Buller is a Senior Research Fellow at Common Wealth. Adrienne’s writing and work has appeared in the Guardian, Jacobin, The New Statesman, New Left Review and the FT, among others; she is also an experienced media performer, appearing regularly on both TV and radio. Mathew Lawrence is founder and Director of Common Wealth, a think tank that designs ownership models for a democratic and sustainable economy. He is the co-author of Planet on Fire. Mathew’s writing and work has appeared in the Guardian, the Nation, The Economist, The New Statesman, and the FT, among others; he is also an experienced media performer, on both TV and radio.

Reviews for Owning the Future: Power and Property in an Age of Crisis

This clear and incisive book starts from the immensely important insight that we cannot understand climate breakdown outside of the capitalist social relations that produced it. Planet on Fire reminds us that climate breakdown is intimately linked to all the overlapping crises humanity faces - from the rise of the far right, to growing socioeconomic inequality, to the COVID-19 pandemic - and that ecosocialism is the only route to an equal and sustainable world. -- Grace Blakely * [Planet on Fire] * Eloquent, clear-sighted and erudite... an important analysis of the interlocking political and economic forces driving us towards ecological catastrophe, and a credible route-map towards an alternative -- Will Davies * [Planet on Fire] * Offers blueprints, rally-points for energies, and chronicles of useful pasts for a decarbonized future. In the end, the climate crisis, they remind us, is not about individual morality or scientific authority but power and politics. This is a handbook for the fights to come. -- Quinn Slobodian * [Planet on Fire] * The authors' vision of the path to climate justice is an antidote to disaster politics in so many ways, not least because it is both fair and unexpectedly luxurious. Each page is absolutely brimming with ideas as they meticulously take us through every important sector of the economy and reveal carefully thought through recommendations for reform. By focusing on power and who wields it they correctly identify the levers for change and who must now be empowered to push them. -- Michelle Meagher * [Planet on Fire] *