better understanding of the relationship between modern capitalist societies and the
global ecological crisis. Naomi Klein, among others, has emphasized in “Climate
versus Capitalism” that the sustainability debate urgently needs to include a critical
focus on economic systems.
This is where Maja Göpel’s book comes in: (1) She demonstrates how a critical
analysis of the economic dimension facilitates a better understanding of the
transformation challenge, and (2) she clearly shows that adopting an economic
mindset is not “neutral”, simply offering objective scientific concepts, but has an
impact on how societal developments and individual aspirations are shaped, and
whether they are unsustainable. With reference to Karl Polanyi’s political economy
analysis of the “Great Transformation” of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries,
Maja Göpel argues for a “Great Mindshift” that can help us to steer the next “Great
Transformation” in more sustainable directions.
This book is not only a key contribution to the current transformation debate, it
is also a milestone for the Wuppertal Institute. Maja Göpel has developed a key
element of a more profound theory of transformation, which is essential for the
sustainability debate of our times.
February 2016
Prof. Dr. Uwe Schneidewind
President of the Wuppertal Institute
for Climate, Environment, Energy
Professor for Sustainable Transition Management
at the University of Wuppertal
Wuppertal
Member of the German Advisory Council on Global Change
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Foreword by Prof. Dr. Uwe Schneidewind