Contested Social and Ecological Reproduction: Impacts of States, Social Movements, and Civil Society in Times of Crisis

Abstract

Humanity has not succeeded in securing the basis of life for all people. A major reason is the dominant global capitalist economy, which is based on the exploitation and use of nature - but this state of affairs is not accepted by everyone. This book provides a close socio-analytical look at how states, social movements, and civil society actors deal with this polycrisis. Ever since the economic crisis of 2008/09 the growth and expansion potentials of the post-Fordist production phase have come to their end. Thus, the economic-ecological pincer crisis with rampant social inequality is becoming increasingly apparent, exacerbating the widely diagnosed crisis of social reproduction. It is precisely the prevailing conditions and possibilities of social reproduction that are more and more challenged globally by social movements. These struggles are about securing livelihoods and better foundations for social and ecological reproduction. The authors ultimately draw attention to the ways in which social and state structures are adapted to crises and social struggles. They also highlight how social movements find altered forms of protest that are increasingly at the centre of social science debates.