Hello,
If you were wondering where The Zing disappeared, we have an explanation! dob is a small volunteer-led project, and due to our limited capacity, we will now be publishing The Zing once every two months.
A first-year economics student in India is introduced to the world of Economics through this definition: “Economics is a social science concerned with the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.”1 Because human wants are unlimited and resources scarce, Economics helps us understand how much of something is produced, who it goes to, and what to produce. At the boundary of social science and science, economics explores pertinent questions about resources and labour, while also being shaped by mathematical models that drive economic policies that have a tremendous impact on people’s lives. But often, what we see in universities is a detachment of economics from all that makes it a social science– models that assume humans are always rational beings, that they are always aware of the consequences of the choices they make, and an indifference to the collateral damage that comes with these assumptions.
But a few questions arise as we go over these definitions– who do these models serve? Is it fair to strip down a system as complex as a country to numbers and digits? Who are the writers of the mainstream economic narrative that currently dominates and also exploits our world? What is our current pedagogy lacking?
Economics is often viewed as a subject that should be “better left to the experts”, but as Anupam Guha explains in this Twitter thread, obscurantism is just another way of maintaining control over the masses. We don’t have the answers to these questions, but we hope we can provide a starting point for you to reflect.
What we’re watching
Sorry to Bother You (2018)
Directed by Boots Riley: In an alternate present-day version of Oakland, Black telemarketer Cassius Green discovers a magical key to professional success, which propels him into a macabre universe.
Guava Island (2019)
Directed by Hiro Murai: Deni Maroon, a musician and dock worker, is determined to pull off a music festival against the interests of the local factory owner. (available on PrimeVideo)
ചെറിയാച്ചന്റെ ക്രൂരകൃത്യങ്ങൾ/ The Evil Deeds of Cheriyachan (1979)
Directed by John Abraham: Cheriyachan, a landlord, feels threatened by industrialisation and leftist activities. But when he witnesses police atrocities on poor peasants, a feeling of guilt engulfs him. (available on YouTube)
Ramatou (Hyenas) 1992
Directed by Djibril Diop Mambéty: After being kicked out of her African village three decades earlier for getting pregnant out of wedlock, Linguere has returned home. While Linguere has done well for herself, her home village has fallen on hard economic times. Intent on punishing Dramaan, the man who fathered her child but refused to own up to the act, Linguere makes a proposal: She will help the town financially if the locals agree to execute Dramaan. (available on MUBI)
The Big Short (2015)
Directed by Adam McKay: In 2006-2007 a group of investors bet against the US mortgage market. In their research, they discover how flawed and corrupt the market is. (available on Netflix)
View the entire list on Letterboxd.
What we’re listening to
Is Economics Ready for Decolonising
By SOAS Economics: Ben Fine explores how and if economics as a field of study can be decoloniszed.
Colonialism and the Drain ft. Utsa Patnaik
Introduction to Political Economy: Noaman G. Ali and renowned economist Utsa Patnaik view the intersection of colonization and economics through the extraction of wealth by the British empire in the Indian subcontinent.
From barter to Bitcoin: what is money?
Marxist Voice: Adam Booth takes us on a journey to understand the history and development of money, and how we can move beyond it.
Decommodify All Parts Of The Economy Related To Human Need
It’s Not Just In Your Head: Max and Harriet talk about decommodifying basic necessities such as food, water, air, and housing in the US to make them more accessible, and whether this is social democracy or socialism.
Find all the episodes in this Spotify playlist.
Fresh off the shelf:
You can find multiple curated lists by the wonderful people at D-Econ here!
Books
The Dispossessed
By Ursula K Le Guin: In this science fiction novel, a physicist tries to reunite two planets, with vastly different economic situations, in conflict.
Parable of the Sower
By Octavia E. Butler: Set in 2025, Lauren, who has the ability to feel the pain of others, must navigate a society in the aftermath of the climate crisis and a growing wealth gap.
We Want Everything
By Nanni Balestrini: In this work of historical fiction set during Italy’s 1969 Hot Autumn of strikes by factory workers to demand better working conditions and pay, a young man begins working in a factory.
Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China
By Leslie T. Chang: In Factory Girls, Leslie Chang explores the lives of factory workers in Dongguan. Through the stories of two women workers, Chang explores movement to the city in contemporary China.
Factory Girls
By Takako Arai, translated by Jeffrey Angles: In this poetry collection, Japanese poet Takako Arai explores the lives of women workers in present-day Japan amidst ecological and economic crisis.
Luster
By Raven Leilani: Amidst capitalism and the gig economy in New York City, visual artist Edie, a young Black woman, begins a relationship with Eric, a white man in an open marriage.
Instead of buying from Amazon or other corporations, we encourage you to support local bookstores and independent publishers. A lot of these stores ship abroad too!
If you are based in India, you can buy some of these titles from Champaca Bookstore. You can use libro.fm and Bookshop.org to find the closest independent bookstore near you.
Essays:
Decolonization Requires a New Economics: Sam Klug discusses a potential new economic order and how the complete reformation of the existing economic system is the only way to truly decolonize. While inclusivity of third world countries into the economic order might seem like a step in the right direction, it is not indicative of equality alongside pre-existing members of the order. (via Public Books)
In Defense of Laziness: Joshua Cho explores the rise of “productivity guilt” and provides a historical perspective on the origins of the common rhetoric which equates poverty with laziness and the need to problematise it. (via Current Affairs)
The Narrowness of Mainstream Economics Is About to Unravel: An argument for expanding the economic thought taught in schools and the pitfalls of a curriculum that doesn’t question Capitalism. (via Truthout)
Social Ecology: Communalism against Climate Chaos: Brian Tokar elaborates on Murray Bookchin’s vision of social ecology and how the latter confers an intrinsic relationship between the movement against climate change and capitalism, while also talking of the inability of current political systems in bringing about ecological reform. (via ROAR Mag)
The Uses and Abuses of “Neoliberalism”: Neoliberal is a word that is thrown around quite casually in discourses, but who exactly are neoliberals and what does the term imply for the global economy? (via Dissent)
Against Mars-a-Lago: Why SpaceX's Mars colonization plan should terrify you: Salon senior editor Keith Spencer points out the haunting similarities between the colonial East India Company and Space X’s Martian ambitions and offers a critical take on the excitement surrounding space tourism. (via Salon)
The poverty of poor economics: This article explores the dubious legitimacy of 2019 Nobel Laureates, Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer’s "poor economics", and provides a crucial perspective on the use of Randomized Control Trials in fields like development economics. (via Africa is a Country)
The Wrongest Profession: Laurence Peter once said, “An economist is an expert who will know tomorrow why the things he predicted yesterday didn't happen today.” and unfortunately, he was right. Dean Baker explains why. (via The Baffler)
Research Papers:
The Platform as Factory: Crowdwork and the Hidden Labour behind Artificial Intelligence: Moritz Altenried dissects crowd work platforms, and spotlights phenomena such as digital Taylorism (Scientific management of labour to make it as mechanised, atomised, and as quantified as possible), increasing surveillance, and alienation of crowd workers. He illustrates how these exploitative platforms hide the labour of these workers and their implications on the future of labour relations. (via SSRN)
Upcoming Event: Decolonising Economics
Register for Decolonising Economics!
Rethinking Economics India Network in collaboration with Expanding Economics invites you to a panel discussion on decolonising economics.
This event aims to develop a foundational understanding of decolonizing economics from an academic perspective, particularly viewing it from the lenses of pluralism, history, and political economy.
Join us on 27th February for an in-depth discussion on the role of colonial legacies in the formation of the present notion of mainstream economic development.
Our Sister Projects:
Liminal Transit Review - Liminal Transit Review is a literary journal that publishes work related to themes such as (but not limited to) diaspora, immigration, displacement, borders, and decolonization. LTR is open for submissions all year round. View their first issue here.
Bilori Journal - Bilori Journal is a bilingual, Marathi and English journal aiming to publish academic, research, and personal essays about books that are under-marketed, lesser-known, suppressed and marginalised. Bilori is currently open for submissions. View their first issue here.
Donate:
decoloniszing our bookshelves (dob) is a completely volunteer-run organisation. If you can, please consider supporting us. If you’re based outside India, you can donate through Ko-fi. If you’re based in India, you can donate via any UPI app (Google Pay, etc.)