Localist Movements in a Global Economy

Sustainability, Justice, and Urban Development in the United States

Bibliographic Data

ID20009756
AuthorsDavid J He (0000-0001-8117-0260, corresponding author), David J Hess
Year2009
Pages323
Publication date2009-02-27
Open AccessNo
TypeBOOK
VenueLocalist movements in a global economy (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherThe MIT Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.7551/mitpress/9780262012645.001.0001
OpenAlexW4233272295
Open LibraryOL17075550M
ISBN9780262012645
LanguageEN
Citations received54

An overview of the localist movement in the United States, from “buy local” campaigns to urban agriculture, and its potential for addressing global problems of sustainability and justice. The internationalization of economies and other changes that accompany globalization have brought about a paradoxical reemergence of the local. A significant but largely unstudied aspect of new local-global relationships is the growth of “localist movements,” efforts to reclaim economic and political sovereignty for metropolitan and other subnational regions. In Localist Movements in a Global Economy, David Hess offers an overview of localism in the United States and assesses its potential to address pressing global problems of social justice and environmental sustainability. Since the 1990s, more than 100 local business organizations have formed in the United States, and there are growing efforts to build local ownership in the retail, food, energy, transportation, and media industries. In this first social science study of localism, Hess adopts an interdisciplinary approach that combines theoretical reflection, empirical research, and policy analysis. His perspective is not that of the uncritical localist advocate; he draws on his new empirical research to assess the extent to which localist policies can address sustainability and justice issues. After a theoretical discussion of sustainability, the global corporate economy, and economic development, Hess looks at four specific forms of localism: “buy local” campaigns; urban agriculture; local ownership of electricity and transportation; and alternative and community media. Hess examines “global localism”—transnational local-to-local supply chains—and other economic policies and financial instruments that would create an alternative economic structure. Localism is not a panacea for globalization, he concludes, but a crucial ingredient in projects to build more democratic, just, and sustainable politics

Economic system · Economics · Political economy · Political science · Labor Movements and Unions · Political Economy and Marxism · Central-local government relations · Globalization · Sustainable development · Sustainable urban development · united states · Urbanization

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