Terry Leahy is now living in Melbourne, Australia, having retired from his academic position at University of Newcastle at the end of 2016. Between 1974 and 1988 he worked at the University of NSW in Sociology and from 1990 to 2016 at the University of Newcastle.
Terry Leahy’s current writing and research investigates three related topics. Sustainable agriculture and food security. The global environmental crisis. The philosophy of the social sciences. His work is framed by a critique of capitalism and patriarchy. As a long-term solution to our current problems, he favours a post capitalist gift economy (non-market socialism).
His most recent publications include a study of permaculture as a social movement The Politics of Permaculture, a sociological analysis of food insecurity in Africa Food Security for Rural Africa: Feeding the Farmers First, a documentary on a permaculture project in Zimbabwe – The Chikukwa Project – and a book on social theory ¬– Humanist Realism for Sociologists.
Terry Leahy has been a guest on 1 episode.
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The Politics of Permaculture with Terry Leahy
January 17th, 2022 | Season 3 | 1 hr 1 min
anitra nelson, degrowth, gift economy, permaculture, post-growth, social movement, steady state, terry leahy
Permaculture is a popular topic on PGAP. Many who practice permaculture tend to also resonate with post-growth ideas. But for those in the post-growth movement who don’t like to garden, are there still things we can learn from permaculture? Can permaculture principles be applied to the wider economic, political and social change movements, or should permaculture keep itself to the garden bed? A new book, ‘The Politics of Permaculture’ endeavours to unpack the theory and practice of this popular and broad social movement. Author Terry Leahy collated many interviews and points of view from permaculture practitioners across the world, from Australia to Zimbabwe and everywhere in-between, to capture the many perspectives of how permaculture is understood. He shares this and more with PGAP, including his own vision for a future gift economy.