“Value Grabbing”: A Political Ecology of Rent

This paper aims to redress the under-appreciated significance of rent for political ecological analysis. We introduce the notion of value grabbing, defined as the appropriation of (surplus) value through rent. A concept that is analytically distinct from accumulation, rent is both a social relation and a distributional process that is increasingly central to the reproduction of contemporary capitalism. Emphasis is placed on the “grabbing” of value in order to shed light on the processes at work by which surplus value is distributed unevenly between different classes and fractions of classes. A focus on rent within political ecology, we argue, can help us distinguish between two organically related but analytically distinct “moments”: (a) the creation of property rights that establish rent relations and (b) the struggle over the appropriation and distribution of surplus value generated by the rent relation itself. We explore some of the implications of this perspective for understanding new forms of socio-ecological struggles and their varied relations to the state. We maintain that a value-grabbing perspective has far-reaching consequences for political ecology, as it provides a sharp conceptual tool for situating a wide range of socio-ecological conflicts and movements as class struggles over value appropriation and distribution.     

春秋战国时期粮食安全思想的传承与当代战略选择

粮食是人类生存和发展的基本物质条件,是关系国家安全、政治稳定与社会和谐的重要战略性资源。粮食安全化与政治化是国际政治研究的热点问题之一。鉴于此,重新发现中国春秋战国时期已形成的粮食安全思想,从粮食对国家安全、国家权力以及国家道义层次考察彼时粮食安全思想,具有重要的现实意义。“不生粟之国亡”,粮食安全是国家安全的基础;“富国以粟”,粮食是国家富强的保证;粮食关乎人心向背和国家道义。齐桓公为建立霸业实施了粮食外交与粮食战略,开创了现代粮食战争的先河。“不生粟之国亡”是中国春秋战国时期粮食安全思想的核心和根本,也是对中国古代粮食安全思想再发现的落脚点。基于此,当代中国粮食安全战略应立足于坚持独立自主原则,保障国内粮食生产,积极开展粮食外交,实行粮食“走出去”战略,在全球化背景下确保实现国家粮食安全。这不仅是保障国家安全的重中之重,也是中华民族实现“中国梦”最重要的物质基石。     

The chain of exploitation: intersectional inequalities,capital accumulation,and resistance in Burkina Faso's cotton sector

ABSTRACT

This paper examines how intersectional inequalities can facilitate the extraction of surplus value from agriculture. Through an ethnographic case study of the Burkina Faso cotton sector, I describe a ‘chain of exploitation’ wherein actors pass economic pressures on to less-powerful actors. People resist their own exploitation, yet justify exploiting others through discourses about intersectional inequalities – overlapping axes of social difference including class, gender, rural/urban status, and education level. I thus argue that intersectional social inequalities – exacerbated by economic pressures – can: (1) justify and thus facilitate the transfer of exploitation, and (2) fragment resistance efforts.     

Transparency and Public Value—Analyzing the Transparency Practices and Value Creation of Public Utilities

This article examines to what extent transparency is a condition for the creation of public value. Transparency is usually narrowly defined as a tool for external stakeholders to monitor the internal workings of an organization, but public value management positions transparency as a broader instrument for actively engaging stakeholders. We investigate empirically whether transparency is indeed necessary to create public value, distinguishing between transparency about operational capacity, authorizing environment, and value proposition. We find that more transparent public organizations achieved higher public value scores, especially if they disclosed information about the design and dynamics of their authorizing environment.     

论中国梦价值维度的四个契合点

中国梦是中国共产党人在新的历史条件下提出的民众之梦、民族之梦、国家兴盛之梦。中国梦彰显了中国共产党人在新的历史时期要完成的历史使命与价值追求。中国梦的价值维度有四个基本契合点:中国梦与社会主义本质相契、与以民为本相契、与民众之幸福相契、与人的全面发展相契。     

贵州民族文化传统节日综论

本文全面论述了贵州多元文化状态下民族传统文化节日类型、价值,以及开发与保护传承等问题。     

法益的体系性位置与功能

法益的体系性位置可以从法益与实定法的关系、讨论法益问题的领域两个角度来分析。在不同领域内讨论的法益,有不同的概念选择,发挥不同的功能。犯罪立法概念中的法益只能是宪法性法益,其功能在于为刑事立法者提供适当的刑事政策标准。犯罪司法概念中的法益,在入罪判断时只能是后刑法法益,可以指导解释刑法规定的行为构成;在出罪判断时只能是宪法性法益,通过法益价值的衡量,对符合行为构成的行为进行正当化处理。     

论民事抗诉对实现司法公正的价值

司法公正是社会主义法治内涵的核心价值,它直接关系到公民的人身、财产安全和社会的稳定与安宁.民事抗诉制度对于实现司法公正具有重要的价值,具体表现在:它能有效地监控法官的自由裁量权,有效地节省司法资源,克服司法地方化.正因如此,在我国目前条件下,民事抗诉制度只能不断完善与加强,决不能削弱,更不能废除.     

欠发达地区工业园区的产权经营创新

发达地区产业竞争园区,欠发达地区园区竞争产业。欠发达地区的产业要素累积单薄,园区竞争产业处于不利境地,制度创新成为唯一出路。文章从企业的契约性质角度,讨论了园区产权创造的价值基础,提出了园区产权创造的制度条件,分析了园区产权经营的复杂性,探讨了园区产权效率经营的制度安排。为欠发达地区工业园区产权经营政策创新提供借签。     

网络低俗文化对青少年价值观的负面影响及解决对策

当今社会的网络低俗文化不仅会淡化社会教育所取得的积极成果,还会使青少年已初步形成的良好品德、兴趣与需要结构发生变异,价值取向出现错位。文章分析了目前网络低俗文化对青少年的影响及泛滥的原因,探讨了抵制网络低俗文化的对策。