The Habitation Society : Creating Sustainable Prosperity - Fred Block

The Habitation Society

Creating Sustainable Prosperity

By: Fred Block

Hardcover | 25 January 2025

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In The Habitation Society, leading economic and political sociologist Fred Block argues that we are at a time of "blocked transition" from one mode of economic and social organization to another. We now have a habitation economy because most people work at creating, maintaining or improving the soft and hard infrastructure of the communities in which we live. The problem, however, is that we do not yet have a habitation society since our economy continues to be organized through the structures, institutions and concepts of an industrial economy. While the old industrial economy is dying, the new habitation society cannot yet be born.

But it is more than this, our methods for understanding how the economy works are also built around the analysis of industrial production, which are completely inadequate, Block shows, for grasping the new reality of how we buy and consume services in the habitation economy. In the absence of concepts to make sense of what is happening, the political space becomes filled with conspiracy theories and disinformation. Specifically, it has become extremely difficult for people to understand their own relationship to the larger economy and society, in particular, there is no longer an obvious relationship between the amount or intensity of work effort and economic output.

Fred Block's compelling analysis offers a path through this confusion and a means to understand our transition and what form this will take. He examines the economy as it actually exists in the present and maps out what would make that economy work more effectively in the hope that this will empower individuals to recognize the kinds of changes that could be made to improve things for themselves, their families and their communities.

Industry Reviews

Fred Block offers a timely and thought-provoking perspective that challenges the conventional economic thinking on consumption, production, innovation and investment. He provides a compelling roadmap for moving towards a habitation society where individuals have greater agency in shaping their environments and communities. Recognizing that the economy does not only have a rate but a direction, Block illuminates opportunities for meaningful change towards shared goals. The Habitation Society is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the ills of our contemporary economic system and envision a more just and sustainable future.

-- Mariana Mazzucato, author of Mission Economy: A Moonshot Guide to Changing Capitalism

The US economy is mostly a mess and most economists are making it worse. Fred Block explains why, combining sociological insights with practical suggestions for change. His take-down of conventional measures of investment should both embarrass Wall Street and inspire advocates for greater public spending on human and social capabilities.

-- Nancy Folbre, Professor Emerita of Economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst

In this brilliant new work, Fred Block compels us to rethink our long-held assumptions about economy and society. Economic gurus describe an industrial economy that no longer exists, blind to the new 'habitation economy' built on our collective social infrastructure - from public investments to familial care. Above all, the book warns us of the urgency to democratize financialization and accelerate citizenship participation if we are to thwart authoritarianism and instead create an equitable habitation society.

-- Margaret R. Somers, Professor Emerita of Sociology and History, University of Michigan, Ann Abor

In The Habitation Society, Block offers a compelling critique of our current economic problems and a visionary sketch of a more democratic mode of governing the infrastructure of everyday life, through which we can create a more innovative, habitable and just society. This is a must-read for everyone interested in reviving democracy and reimagining an economy that works for everyone.

-- Elizabeth Anderson, Max Shaye Professor of Public Philosophy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

This is an exciting book on how to improve human flourishing by creating, maintaining, and improving the socioeconomic and biophysical infrastructures of local communities that cannot be bought and sold like standardized commodities. Fred Block illustrates how neoliberal globalization undermined mutual recognition and norms of reciprocity, showing at the same time the potential of democratizing habitation by satisfying needs for housing, energy, care, and food, while also creating a habitat for plants, animals, and other life forms.

-- Andreas Novy, WU Vienna University of Economics, President, International Karl Polanyi Society

The Habitation Society is a Copernican shift to a new paradigm for understanding the profound economic, political and social changes of our moment. Deeply anchored in the larger context of the past 200 years, Fred Block's vision of 'the habitation society' offers convincing and compelling links between past political economies and future possibilities. Its reader-friendly pages offer a much-needed field guide for building bridges to a better world.

-- Kathryn Kish Sklar, author of Florence Kelley and the Nation's Work

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