TY - JOUR

T1 - Rentierism and the commons

T2 - A critical contribution to Brett Christophers’ Rentier Capitalism

AU - Karakilic, Emrah Ali

PY - 2022/3/1

Y1 - 2022/3/1

N2 - In recent years, we have seen an increasing number of publications that offer the term of rentierism to define the current economic system in the Global North. More recently, Brettt Christophers has produced a series of work that aims to account for the ascendancy of rentierism from a political-economy perspective, in which Marx is mostly neglected. This exchange article aims to bring the Marx and Marxist thought back into discussion to read rentierism politically. In particular, it inquiries into how rentierism relates to the nature of class relations by addressing an “open secret”, namely that rentierism rests essentially on the enclosure and expropriation of commons. It analyses rentierism as capital's counter-movement, enforcing its priorities and drives on spaces where alternative social systems emerge and develop. In the final part, a provocative conclusive remark is offered on Christophers’ “what is to be done?”.

AB - In recent years, we have seen an increasing number of publications that offer the term of rentierism to define the current economic system in the Global North. More recently, Brettt Christophers has produced a series of work that aims to account for the ascendancy of rentierism from a political-economy perspective, in which Marx is mostly neglected. This exchange article aims to bring the Marx and Marxist thought back into discussion to read rentierism politically. In particular, it inquiries into how rentierism relates to the nature of class relations by addressing an “open secret”, namely that rentierism rests essentially on the enclosure and expropriation of commons. It analyses rentierism as capital's counter-movement, enforcing its priorities and drives on spaces where alternative social systems emerge and develop. In the final part, a provocative conclusive remark is offered on Christophers’ “what is to be done?”.

KW - rentierism

KW - rentier capitalism

KW - the commons

KW - Marx

U2 - 10.1177/0308518X211062233

DO - 10.1177/0308518X211062233

M3 - Journal article

VL - 54

SP - 422

EP - 429

JO - Environment and Planning A

JF - Environment and Planning A

SN - 0308-518X

IS - 2

ER -