Planning for sustainability

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It was capitalism that caused global warming, no doubt. Mainstream scientific and political efforts to tackle the problem however try to put forward prescriptions aimed at reducing emissions within capitalism. This book, more consequentially, posits that under capitalism the environment is fated, and us with it, and that therefore capitalism has to be dismantled. As a matter of fact, capitalism is a very recent development, and the historical analysis that constitutes the bulk of the book shows how life was possible and different before the advent of capitalism, thanks to a different relationship of society with nature.

The alternative to capitalism is a socialist, democratic society that turns to planning to use resources efficiently so that it can meet people's needs as expressed by the people themselves through direct participation, while taking into account the impacts on the environment. The book does not cover the details of the transition to the new society, or the precise functioning of the new mode of production.

It is ly we'll get somewhere near to this vision once we'll have reached the very brink of collapse. Only then will the first planning effort - the definition of a global agreement on emission limits - be agreed to.

The book is a tribute to marxism, and its conclusions a leap of faith in the socialist vision of a just, sustainable society where everyone can prosper.2 s Redpoet278 22

Excellent. A wonderful example of the Marxian method of historical materialism. Besides the environmental stuff, which was not new to me, I did learn a great deal about the historical development of agriculture, and just agriculture in general. The last chapter was weak and unnecessary.2 s Rhys769 105

A very interesting and well-written history of land and the development of capitalism. What I enjoyed the most from Land and Labour was its focus on a (modern) planned economy as a means of creating a more equitable and sustainable economy. There is wisdom in this.2 s Phil BrettAuthor 3 books16

I really enjoyed this and learnt a great deal. Indeed, it is a book worth going back to. Martin Empson places our interaction with nature in producing food and shelter as central to human history. In doing so, he shows that there aren't many places on Earth which have not been affected by this process and in turn, how this has been done, has affected the civilisations who were doing it. Tracing this relationship from early to present history he has written a remarkable piece of work. The main point of it is not however, to be merely a history book because his final chapters focus on the roots of the environmental crisis the world is facing and his proposal on how we can be solve it. Highly recommended. 1 Martin EmpsonAuthor 16 books140

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