This is a challenge to conventional thinking around money and the 'debt crisis'. By re-evaluating the source of money, Mary Mellor presents a radical alternative to austerity and privatisation: public wealth, or, money used for sustainability, sufficiency and social justice. Debt or Democracy debunks the received lessons of the financial crisis of 2007. Political elites shout about a house whose finances are in disarray; a 'yawning deficit' created by reckless spending in a bloated public sector. The answer to this 'debt crisis' has been harsh austerity measures - but this is a dangerously deceptive discourse. Turning against the prevalent narrative, with its language of 'debt' and 'deficit', Mellor takes on the familiar question - 'where does money come from?'. The real solution is a return to the notion of public wealth and the public economy; of a monetary system owned by, and operated in the interests of, the majority.

"A coherent, readable, and critically engaged survey that will be an indispensable resource for anyone thinking about, or teaching, the relations between ecological politics, feminist theory and philosophy, and the new social movements.'"
--"The Times Literary Supplement"

"Mary Mellor has written a timely and exciting book which leads one to share her optimism about critical social analysis and the politics of new social movements--and the potential for social change."
--Diana Leonard, University of London

In recent years, as environmentalists have examined the link between women's subordination and the degradation of our natural world, the relationship between feminism and ecology has become a crucial one. In Feminism and Ecology, Mary Mellor, tracing ecofeminist activism from the Love Canal demonstrations to socialist ecofeminism, provides a comprehensive introduction to the ecofeminist movement and its history.

Mellor examines the connections between feminism and the Green movement, outlining the contributions of major participants while contextualizing them within a wider range of debates. Looking past the shortsighted assertion that women and men stand in equal relation to the natural order, Mellor discusses the association of women with biology and "nature," illustrating how the relationship between women and the environment can help further our understanding of the relationship between humanity and the natural world. Against trends toward radical economic liberalism, global capitalism, and postmodern pluralism, she argues that within the feminist and Green movements is the basis of a new radical movement.

The relationship between feminism and ecology has grown in importance in recent years. This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the ecofeminist movement and its history, as well as an extended analysis of the main perspectives within it. Mellor examines the connections between feminism and the green movement, and outlines the contributions of the major participants, while contextualizing them within a wider range of debates. She re--examines classic feminist texts from an ecofeminist perspective, and explores the relationship between ecofeminism and other ecological movements, such as a deepa ecology, social ecology and ecosocialism. Mellor discusses the association of women with biology and a naturea , and argues that the relationship between women and the environment can help us to understand the relationship between humanity and the natural world. Against the trends towards radical economic liberalism, global capitalism and postmodernist pluralism, she argues that there is within the feminist and green movements the basis of a new radical movement which draws on the principles of both. A useful and engaging account of feminist perspectives on ecology, the book will be welcomed by students and researchers in feminism and gender studies, sociology and political theory.

"A coherent, readable, and critically engaged survey that will be an indispensable resource for anyone thinking about, or teaching, the relations between ecological politics, feminist theory and philosophy, and the new social movements.'"
--"The Times Literary Supplement"

"Mary Mellor has written a timely and exciting book which leads one to share her optimism about critical social analysis and the politics of new social movements--and the potential for social change."
--Diana Leonard, University of London

In recent years, as environmentalists have examined the link between women's subordination and the degradation of our natural world, the relationship between feminism and ecology has become a crucial one. In Feminism and Ecology, Mary Mellor, tracing ecofeminist activism from the Love Canal demonstrations to socialist ecofeminism, provides a comprehensive introduction to the ecofeminist movement and its history.

Mellor examines the connections between feminism and the Green movement, outlining the contributions of major participants while contextualizing them within a wider range of debates. Looking past the shortsighted assertion that women and men stand in equal relation to the natural order, Mellor discusses the association of women with biology and "nature," illustrating how the relationship between women and the environment can help further our understanding of the relationship between humanity and the natural world. Against trends toward radical economic liberalism, global capitalism, and postmodern pluralism, she argues that within the feminist and Green movements is the basis of a new radical movement.

What does money mean? Where does it come from and how does it work? Mary Mellor examines money's social, political and commercial histories to debunk longstanding myths such as money being in short supply and needing to come from somewhere. She sets out a new finance system, based on green and feminist concerns, to bring radical change for social good.

On the whole, classical and radical economists have marginalised the role of money, most particularly the role of credit, in driving the machinery of accumulation and exclusion. Although critiques of capitalism from Marxist, feminist, ecological and many other perspectives abound, The Politics of Money is unique in gathering the strengths of these differing critiques into a coherent whole. The authors have drawn upon their varied expertise in economics and the social sciences to produce the foundations of a new political economy that will enable communities to reconstruct their socio-economic fabric through social and political control of money systems. The book opens with a review of the role of money in current society, an overview of the history of money creation and a critique of the main theoretical developments in economic thought. Alternative perspectives on money are then presented through a review of a number of radical perspectives but focusing mainly on the work of Marx, Veblen and the social credit perspective of Douglas and the guild socialists. In the final part of the book contemporary monetary theories and experiments are analysed within the theoretical and historical perspectives provided in the earlier chapters. The main argument of the book is that it is necessary to understand the crucial role of finance in driving the 'free market' economy if a democratic and sustainable economy is to be achieved.

The relationship between feminism and ecology has grown in importance in recent years. This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the ecofeminist movement and its history, as well as an extended analysis of the main perspectives within it. Mellor examines the connections between feminism and the green movement, and outlines the contributions of the major participants, while contextualizing them within a wider range of debates. She re--examines classic feminist texts from an ecofeminist perspective, and explores the relationship between ecofeminism and other ecological movements, such as a deepa ecology, social ecology and ecosocialism. Mellor discusses the association of women with biology and a naturea , and argues that the relationship between women and the environment can help us to understand the relationship between humanity and the natural world. Against the trends towards radical economic liberalism, global capitalism and postmodernist pluralism, she argues that there is within the feminist and green movements the basis of a new radical movement which draws on the principles of both. A useful and engaging account of feminist perspectives on ecology, the book will be welcomed by students and researchers in feminism and gender studies, sociology and political theory.

This is a challenge to conventional thinking around money and the 'debt crisis'. By re-evaluating the source of money, Mary Mellor presents a radical alternative to austerity and privatisation: public wealth, or, money used for sustainability, sufficiency and social justice. Debt or Democracy debunks the received lessons of the financial crisis of 2007. Political elites shout about a house whose finances are in disarray; a 'yawning deficit' created by reckless spending in a bloated public sector. The answer to this 'debt crisis' has been harsh austerity measures - but this is a dangerously deceptive discourse. Turning against the prevalent narrative, with its language of 'debt' and 'deficit', Mellor takes on the familiar question - 'where does money come from?'. The real solution is a return to the notion of public wealth and the public economy; of a monetary system owned by, and operated in the interests of, the majority.

Discusses ecofeminism in the context of the social, political and ecological consequences of globalization. The book includes case studies, essays, theoretical works, and articles on ecofeminist movements from many of the world's regions including Taiwan, Mexico, Kenya, Chile, India, Brazil, Canada, England and the United States.