Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
the persistence of poverty, the denial of human rights and the occur-
rence of environmental degradation, a 'New World Order' was required.
Decrying the roots of the current 'global problematique' - Western
modernity, scientism and developmentalism, the nation state's political
limits - Ekins sought a New World Order of 'democratic popular mobili-
zation'. He believed this radical option would be better able to bring
about peace, human dignity and ecological sustainability for all. Not
inconsequentially, Real-life Economics became another alternative pro-
gressive idea on how development from below might be re-conceptualized
in people-oriented terms (Ekins and Max-Neef, 1992).
Real-life economics was never offered as a complete alternative to
conventional political-economic orthodoxy. The structural, geo-economic
forces at work globally pose so many diverse problems that such a local
level perspective can scarcely be viewed as an all-encompassing, equiv-
alent (see the Introduction to Section 2 for an explanation of geo-economic
relationships). Rather, the approach was an intellectual, theoretical
alternative, and the basis for a new interpretation of people's 'day-to-
day' economic strategies. In support, Ekins and Max-Neef (1992) mar-
shalled a community of like-minded scholars to offer their alternative
views on 'living economics' in which real-life economics, ethics, environ-
mentalism and sustainable development should be considered insepa-
rable dimensions in tomorrow's thinking about human life and
livelihoods in the future. They warned that the market, the state and
civil society - singly or in combination - are all potential creators or
destroyers of wealth. They cautioned that monetary concerns are not
the only motivations for economic choice, and livelihood behaviours do
not have to be rational; rather, habits, intuition and bounded 'satisfy-
ing' rationality guide human decision making. Love, altruism, duty,
respect, dignity and obligations are all meaningful influences equal to
economic rationality and wealth accumulation.
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Empowerment and Self-reliance
Bringing non-government organizations (NGOs) and civil society into
the picture, John Friedmann (1992) viewed their roles in 'alternative
development' as expressions of militancy and activism (see Chapter 5.2).
Upholding universal human rights has to be the prime political objec-
tive, especially the rights of the disempowered poor majority of the
global South. For Friedmann, the empowerment approach is funda-
mental to such an alternative approach, because it places emphasis on
