ABSTRACT
For the last three decades, the Neoliberal regime, emphasising economic growth through deregulation, market integration, expansion of the private sector, and contraction of the welfare state has shaped production and consumption processes in agriculture and food. These institutional arrangements emerged from and advanced academic and popular beliefs about the virtues of private, market-based coordination relative to public, state-based problem solving. This book presents an informed, constructive dialogue around the thesis that the Neoliberal mode of governance has reached some institutional and material limits. Is Neoliberalism exhausted? How should we understand crisis applied to Neoliberalism? What are the opportunities and risks linked to the construction of alternatives? The book advances a critical evaluation of the evidence supporting claims of rupture of, or incursions into, the Neoliberal model. It also analyzes pragmatic responses to these critiques including policy initiatives, social mobilization and experimentation at various scales and points of entry.
The book surveys and synthesizes a range of sociological frames designed to grapple with the concepts of regimes, systemic crisis and transitions. Contributions include historical analysis, comparative analysis and case studies of food and agriculture from around the globe. These highlight particular aspects of crisis and responses, including the potential for continued resilience, a neo-productivist return, as well as the emergence and scaling up of alternative models.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part 1|59 pages
Theoretical Analyses and Key Concepts
chapter 1|19 pages
The Legitimation Crisis of Neoliberal Globalization
chapter 3|18 pages
Policing the New Enclosures
part 2|79 pages
Case Studies
chapter 4|18 pages
The Rise and Fall of a Prairie Giant
chapter 5|21 pages
Situating Neoliberalization
chapter 6|17 pages
Creating Rupture through Policy
chapter 7|21 pages
Beyond Farming
part 3|143 pages
Research Opportunities