Search results

Abstract. The purpose of the article is to open up epistemological space for revitalising the idea of democratic
economic planning as a viable alternative vision. It
argues that a proper development of the idea must be
preceded by a comprehensive critical interrogation of a
hegemonic multidimensional ideological mystification
of capitalism and its markets. By utilizing Marxist and
eco-socialist insights the article identifies and analyses
several central ideological mystifications that enact an
epistemic closure. These range from the obfuscation
of capitalism's role in creating the climate crisis as an
inherently unsustainable system, to the mystification of
its non-evolutionary origins, to the obfuscation of the
role economic planning plays in contemporary capitalism, to the mystification of markets as ideal spaces of
freedom and innovation obfuscating the ever present
market-related oppression, exploitation and environmental devastation, and to silencing concrete historical examples of democratic economic planning such as
project Cybersyn that should serve as an inspiration for
imagining an alternative order.
Keywords: climate change, ideological mystification,
democratic economic planning, capitalism, neoliberalism

The financial crisis and its consequences in European societies show the weaknesses of the current economic system. Especially in the so-called peripheral countries we can notice a dramatic increasing in unemployment, reduced public spending and security, poverty, evictions, etc. The neoliberal policy followed by most European governments offers little chance for a solution to this problem. ; Finančna kriza in njene posledice v evropskih družbah kažejo na pomanjkljivosti sedanjega gospodarskega sistema. Še posebej v t. i. obrobnih državah se dramatično povečujejo brezposelnost, nižanje porabe, občasnost del, prisilno preseljevanje delovne sile, revščina, deložacije itd. Neoliberalna politika, ki ji sledi večina evropskih vlad, ponuja malo možnosti za rešitev nastale situacije.

The article contributes to the theoretical debate on the current state of the global economic system and the implications it holds for the (re)distribution of social and economic power. The theoretical framework of the discussion builds upon critical accounts of the rise of platform capitalism – an economic and social system founded on digitalised work. The imagining of futures is based on the mapping of possible actors and paths of the continuation or disruption of ongoing trends. Although digitalisation in principle holds the potential to foster economic growth and reduce inequalities, the accelerated development of the digital economy in the last few decades has been accompanied by unequally distributed positive and negative economic outcomes. Overcoming the precariousness of work and life as a universal problem should be founded in simultaneous local, short-term, partial resistance and attempts to limit the negative impacts and spread of precariousness on one hand and conceptualising and promoting comprehensive and universal solutions to precariousness on the other as part of a general rethinking of the social, political and economic order of our age. Keywords: digital technology, digital economy, precarious work and life, platform economy, platform capitalism, economic power, economic inequalities

The article reconsiders the problematics of the "Deleuzian heritage" & especially the role played by the Deleuzian concept of deterritorialization in the conceptual framework of the Empire by Hardt & Negri. The concept of deterritorialization has a very special place in Deleuze's theory for it simultaneously makes possible & impossible his analysis of capitalism as well as his theory of the political & democracy. Finally, some consequences following from the ambiguities of this concept in Deleuze are shown for the theoretical edifice of the Empire. Adapted from the source document.

Abstract. Childhood is socially constructed, depending on social, economic and cultural circumstances. Poverty, social differences, conflicts, and social injustice have a negative impact on children's lives. The aim of the article is to present childhoods under conditions of exploitation. Despite general progress, and the emancipation of children's rights, data confirm an increase in the number of children who are engaged in war conflicts, perform difficult and inappropriate work, or in slavery. In conclusion, the exploitation of children is considered in the context of social conditions and processes, neoliberal capitalism, globalisation, and documents that guarantee children's rights.
Keywords: childhood, exploitation, children's rights, social inequalities, globalisation

Abstract. The neoliberal approach taken to the transition from socialism to capitalism in the six former Yugoslav republics has revealed its weaknesses in all spheres of economic activities, including food production. These countries have lost sovereignty with respect to regulating important national policy areas like food trade and production. Liberalisation of the food trade has adversely affected national economies by destroying many small-scale farmers and food producers. Corporate supermarkets have been taking over an ever bigger slice of the retail pie. Social movements are calling for direct democratic control over resources and food production to be regained. The article examines the prospects of these countries to overcome the increasing food insecurity by introducing food sovereignty. Keywords: former Yugoslav republics, food sovereignty, food security, right to food, economic democracy, trade liberalisation

Abstract. The author assesses the relevance and analytical significance of authoritarian liberalism and interprets it as one of the modern conceptual models of ordoliberalism and European integration. The basic concepts of authoritarian liberalism and ordoliberalism emphasise the political and ideological connection between the authoritarianism of the strong state and the economic liberalism of market rationality. As a flexible market-oriented form of authoritarian liberalism, ordoliberalism means a rational strategy for maintaining and promoting the European integration project towards which the market economy and the technocratic elite are moving to contain crises. Due to the presence of the values of political liberalism, pluralism and the rule of law, authoritarianism in this structure is not repressive or monocentric, but subject to democratic criticism in relation to the supranational regulation of European integration.
Keywords: authoritarian liberalism, ordoliberalism, market capitalism, democracy, eurocrisis, European integration

Platform work is often characterised by economic insecurity, dehumanising control procedures, isolation, deepening racial, economic and gender inequalities, and other socio-economic problems. There are lively debates underway concerned with how to regulate or limit the negative effects of platform capitalism. This article reviews two of the most common calls for action – regulation and platform co-operatives. We argue that there is also an unexplored, complementary option, which uses the network effects of platforms to provide greater benefits for platform workers. To understand this alternative, we introduce the American Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) mechanism for employee buyouts, redefine the model according to the main cooperative values, and apply it to the platform economy. We conclude that there is a third option is available to governments and municipalities, namely to require an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) in the local subsidiary of the platform company. Keywords: Platform economy, platform co-operativism, employee buyouts, platform ESOP