Graf:Die politische Ökonomie der Überf

In this open-access book, Jakob Graf raises the question of how socio-ecological conflicts at the margins of the global economy can be understood sociologically. He demonstrates that in countries of the Global South, characterized by resource exploitation, large segments of the workforce are not integrated into global capitalism through wage labor. From the perspective of the capitalist world economy, many of the world's poor are considered "redundant." However, the author shows that these individuals are not simply "unemployed"; rather, they are often economically active and play a crucial role in the survival of people in poorer countries. Graf illustrates how socio-ecological conflicts arise from the contradiction between these local "demand-driven" activities and the capitalist economy, using the example of the indigenous Mapuche in southern Chile. They resist the expansion of industrial forestry, which produces pulp for global markets in vast plantations. As historically 'dispossessed' people, the Mapuche fight for the reclamation of their land and resources. Graf analyzes the dynamics of such conflicts and questions how the social group of the "redundant" can be understood sociologically.