International Karl Polanyi Society

The issue of limits is back on the agenda! The planetary boundaries concept has profoundly changed the vocabulary and representation of global environmental issues. Recently, it has been enriched by reflections on societal boundaries that define collective autonomy and the politics of self-limitation as key elements, acknowledging pluriverse experiences that integrate wellbeing and boundaries. These alternatives promote social freedom, defined as the right to not have to live at others’ expenses. This utopian horizon structures the search for social-ecological alternatives to neoliberal globalization. However, it often lacks an answer to the challenge posed by adverse societal dynamics: be it majorities that reject limiting their consumption, or enemies that obstruct cooperation and solidarity to achieve a good life for all – today increasingly present in diverse forms of reactionary politics.