Cultures of Transition and Sustainability

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-ix

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2. The Cultural and Civilizational Roots of Our Planetary Crisis

   • John Clammer

   Pages 1-22

3. Culture in Crisis

   • John Clammer

   Pages 23-39

4. Cultural Resources for Sustainability

   • John Clammer

   Pages 41-64

5. Culture and Economy: Rethinking the Relationship

   • John Clammer

   Pages 65-90

6. Transforming Political Cultures

   • John Clammer

   Pages 91-116

7. Sustainability, Cultural Citizenship and the Ecological Self

   • John Clammer

   Pages 117-135

8. Rethinking Sustainability

   • John Clammer

   Pages 137-153

9. Cultural Futures: Getting There From Here

   • John Clammer

   Pages 155-177

10. Back Matter

    Pages 179-194

    PDF

Contending that culture lies at the root of our current planetary and civilizational crisis, this book uniquely explores the nature of the specifically cultural dimensions of that crisis and how culture relates to the areas of politics, policy, economics, ecology and the whole discourse of sustainability. It debates how profoundly our world is shaped by capitalist culture, emphasizing the import of political culture and policy, social justice, leadership and community in the shaping of a new cultural sustainability. It also reintroduces questions of religion, art, citizenship and comparative culture into the sustainability debate and suggests ways in which the central issue of consumer culture can be rethought and others in which socially satisfactory transitions to a sustainable future might be achieved. Addressing the specific role of culture in our crisis and of how to build cultural resources for transition, this cutting edge text provides the reader with an introduction to the literature on culture and sustainability, and both practical and theoretical tools for creating and advancing a humane and ecologically responsible future.

• Sustainability and culture
• The Socio-Economics of Transition
• Culture, development and sociology
• Post Capitalist Cultures
• Alternative development
• Eco-Justice and Ecology

• United Nations University, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan

  John Clammer

John Clammer teaches development sociology at the United Nations University in Tokyo and courses on art and society, the sociology of the international system, and urban issues at other universities in Japan. He has taught and researched at universities in the UK, Australia, Germany, Korea and India and has published widely on the interface of culture and development.

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