New Publication
Frank Adloff: "Politics of the Gift"
The English translation of Frank Adloff’s 2018 book “Politik der Gabe: Für ein anderes Zusammenleben” published by Edition Nautlius has just been published by Bristol University Press under the title “Politics of the Gift: Towards a Convivial Society” within the series “Alternatives to Capitalism in the 21st Century.”
The book contains 186 pages and costs 80.0 GBP (print) or 27.99 GBP (EPUB and Kindle). It can be ordered here on the Bristol University Press’ website.
Here is the publisher’s announcement:
“At the heart of capitalism lies the idea of ‘homo economicus’: an ever-rational human being motivated by self-interest which arguably leads societies to economic prosperity.
Drawing on French sociologist Marcel Mauss’ influential theory of ‘the gift’, Frank Adloff shatters this fallacy to show mutual trust is the only glue that holds societies together; people are giving beings and they can cooperate for the benefit of all when the logic of maximizing personal gain in capitalism is broken.
Acknowledging the role of women, nature, and workers in the Global South in transforming society, this book proposes a politics of conviviality, (from the Latin con-vivere: living together) for global and environmental justice as an alternative to the pursuit of profit, growth, and consumption.”
Frank Adloff is the first chairperson of the International Convivialist Association (ICA) and professor of sociology at the University of Hamburg, Germany as well as co-director of the Humanities Centre for Advanced Studies “Futures of Sustainability.” You can find his website here.