Localisation: The World Beyond Capitalism

Abstract

This chapter argues that post-capitalist futures need to be localised, moving beyond the staggering waste and destruction of corporate globalisation and profiteering. This will require a two-pronged approach of resistance and renewal. We need to both oppose the political forces driving further corporate domination, and actively create—or protect—a multiplicity of living, localised alternatives that can provide genuine material needs and social wellbeing while respecting and enhancing ecological diversity. The chapter discusses key structural changes towards localisation in the following areas: land and farming, post-global business, finance and money, post-consumerism, and reducing energy consumption and reigning in tech. Despite swimming against the mainstream economic tide, today’s vibrant localisation movement contains many elements of the post-capitalist futures necessary for the survival and flourishing of life.