Not for Sale: Decommodifying Public Life

by Gordon Laxer (Editor), Dennis Soron (Editor)

Not for Sale examines key dimensions of the current assault against communal resources by relentless commodification and privatization. Gordon Laxer and Dennis Soron include chapters by social scientists who explore ways in which progressive projects of "reclaiming" the commons involve confronting the capitalist drive to commodify all aspects of existence, including human body parts, water, labour, knowledge, and even the air we breathe. The book argues that crucial areas of social and natural life should not be treated as commodities regulated by undemocratic markets. Not for Sale discusses the alternatives presented by local, national, and international struggles to decommodify and democratize as many spheres of life as possible.

288 pages, Paperback

First published May 29, 2006

About the author

Gordon Laxer is the founding Director and former head of Parkland Institute at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. Parkland is a non-corporate, research institute that does public policy research to serve the public interest. When the Conservatives ruled Alberta, the Globe and Mail called Parkland Alberta’s ‘unofficial opposition’. Parkland’s mission has been to change the political culture of Alberta. Gordon is delighted that Rachel Notley, a former student, is now Alberta’s premier.

Gordon is a Political Economist and professor emeritus at the University of Alberta. He is the author of After the Sands. Energy and Ecological Security for Canadians (Douglas & McIntyre http://www.douglas-mcintyre.com/book/...). After the Sands has met critical acclaim, winning the Errol Sharpe book award and was a finalist for the John W. Dafoe non-fiction book award. After the Sands reached number five among current affairs best-selling books across Canada.

Gordon is an author or editor of five other books, including Open for Business: The Roots of Foreign Ownership in Canada (Oxford University Press), which received the John Porter Award for best book written about Canada. He has published over 40 refereed journal articles, book chapters and reports.

Gordon is a socially-engaged, public intellectual. His op eds have been published in the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, the Edmonton Journal, the Calgary Herald, the Montreal Gazette, the Vancouver Sun, the Province (Vancouver), the Winnipeg Free Press, the Victoria Times Colonist, the Hill Times, the Saint John Chronicle Herald, the St. John’s Telegram, Canadian Dimension, and other publications. He has been interviewed on venues such as the CBC’s The Current, As it Happens, and the House. He was on the board of the Council of Canadians from 2004 to 2009.