The Critique of Commodification: Contours of a Post-Capitalist Society

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Christoph Hermann (Lecturer, Department of History, Lecturer, Department of History, University of California, Berkeley)

The Critique of Commodification

Contours of a Post-Capitalist Society

Christoph Hermann (Lecturer, Department of History, Lecturer, Department of History, University of California, Berkeley)

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English

Oxford University Press Inc
23 September 2021

Social interaction; Sociology; Political structure & processes; Economics

In recent years activists around the globe have challenged the commodification of water, education, health care, and other essential goods, while academics have warned from unintended effects when everything can be bought and sold. But what is commodification? And what is the problem with commodification? In The Critique of Commodification, Christoph Hermann argues that commodification entails production for profit rather than social needs, and that production for profit has a number of harmful effects, including the exclusion of those who cannot pay, the marginalization of those whose collective purchasing power is not large enough, and the focus on highly profitable forms of production over more socially beneficial and ecologically sustainable alternatives. Drawing upon and extending the work of Marx, Polyani, and Luxemburg, Hermann goes beyond the standard moral critiques of markets and adopts a materialist approach to emphasize the dispossession of public resources and to highlight how goods and services are altered when sold on markets for profit. Tracing the intellectual history of the term commodification, this book not only criticizes commodification, but also proposes a new model for production that focuses on needs rather than profits.

By: Christoph Hermann (Lecturer Department of History Lecturer Department of History University of California Berkeley)
Imprint: Oxford University Press Inc
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 241mm, Width: 160mm, Spine: 18mm
Weight: 504g
ISBN: 9780197576755
ISBN 10: 0197576753
Pages: 224
Publication Date: 23 September 2021
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Introduction Chapter 1: The Critique of Commodification Chapter 2: A Theory of Commodification Chapter 3: Politics of Commodification Chapter 4: Consequences of Commodification Chapter 5: Limits of Commodification Chapter 6: Rediscovering Use Value Chapter 7: Alternatives to Commodification: Use Value Society Notes Index

Christoph Hermann is a political economist who teaches in the Department of History, University of California, Berkeley. Before moving to the US, he taught at the University of Vienna and the Berlin School of Economics and Law. His previous books include Capitalism and the Political Economy of Work Time (2015) and the edited volume Privatization of Public Services: Impacts on Employment, Working Conditions and Service Quality in Europe (2012).

Reviews for The Critique of Commodification: Contours of a Post-Capitalist Society

... an important and thought-provoking contribution, one that deserves to be widely read, and it certainly provides the basis for further work in an area that is of the utmost importance. * John McCay, Honorary Professor in Development Studies at Deakin University, Marx and Philosophy Review of Books *