Claire Parfitt

False profits of ethical capital is a thought-provoking approach to understanding stakeholder capitalism. Rather than focusing on the inadequacies of corporate responsibility, sustainable investment and consumer politics, this book grapples with the technical and rhetorical functions of ethical capital for profit and accumulation. It provides a unique and eclectic analysis of the political dynamics between finance, capital and labour, offering a refreshing perspective on struggles interlocking social, ecological and economic crises, and suggesting new ways of thinking about sustainability politics.

This book offers a unique grounded analysis of recent crises and transformations in academic work. Analysis centres on a trade union-led initiative in Australia aimed at decasualising universities, and ensuing debates about the impact of academic fragmentation.

False profits of ethical capital is a thought-provoking approach to understanding stakeholder capitalism. Rather than focusing on the inadequacies of corporate responsibility, sustainable investment and consumer politics, this book grapples with the technical and rhetorical functions of ethical capital for profit and accumulation. It provides a unique and eclectic analysis of the political dynamics between finance, capital and labour, offering a refreshing perspective on struggles interlocking social, ecological and economic crises, and suggesting new ways of thinking about sustainability politics.

This book offers a unique grounded analysis of recent crises and transformations in academic work. It charts international and Australia-based efforts to overcome academic fragmentation and precarity, and to advance agendas for the public university. It is based on extensive qualitative interviews with academics and managers across several universities in Australia. It finds new grounds for ‘universal’ universities, with decent jobs, to serve the public good. The book is aimed at students and scholars from sociology, education, politics and industrial relations, and a wider readership concerned about the future of universities. Analysis centres on a trade union-led initiative in Australia aimed at decasualising universities, and ensuing debates about the impact of academic fragmentation. The authors argue for strengthening the teaching/research nexus as the foundation-stone for public purpose universities.