International Karl Polanyi Society

We are excited to invite you to three public events as part of our expert workshop on “Democratic Economic Planning in Times of Planetary Crises” taking place at WU Vienna from November 29-30, 2024. Given the urgency of forming a cohesive and powerful post-capitalist vision of future ecological planning, economic coordination, directed technological change and societal design, this international workshop will bring together diverse approaches to democratic economic planning.

This two-day expert workshop brings together leading scholars to explore democratic economic planning as a response to planetary crises. The event will feature discussions on ecological planning, alternative economic coordination, directed technological change and societal design.

On Friday, November 29^th at 6:00 p.m. Cédric Durand discusses the evolving role of economic planning in addressing today’s social-ecological challenges. He will present his and Keucheyan’s innovative model for economic planning which reimagines past and current social devices and institutions to foster democratic control over investment and align economic planning with planetary boundaries. In this way, Durand offers a bold and fresh vision of democratic economic planning for addressing the pressing social and environmental challenges of our time.

On Saturday, November 30^th at 9:00 a.m. Attila Melegh aims to reinterpret and analyse historical and current non-capitalist or dual/mixed capitalist models as potential solutions to the systemic crisis of capitalism. Drawing inspiration from Karl Polanyi and other critical traditions, Melegh will explore how various forms of markets have combined with redistributive, reciprocity, and householding relations to create economies capable of producing broad-based prosperity and stability. The focus will be on East European experiments, with consideration of Asian, African, and American socialist models, particularly the Chinese version – all will be critically analysed through Polanyian and other critical frameworks.

On Saturday, November 30^th at 5:30 p.m. there will be a closing panel discussion: How to Democratically Plan Social Metabolism and Technological Change? With Cédric Durand, Aaron Benenav (Cornell University), Cecilia Rikap (UCL), and Christoph Sorg (HU Berlin). The event will be moderated by Jens Schröter (University of Bonn).

Participation is only possible with prior registration here. You can also sign-up to join online. 

More info attached and here:
https://www.wu.ac.at/institut-fuer-raeumliche-und-sozial-oekologische-transformationen-isset/events