Neoliberal desire is re-arranged around land grab. The ongoing restructuring of land by property developers forms the infrastructure of neoliberal expansion. As the capitalist forces run out of resources to exploit and extract from, expanding into the last remaining spaces of land is critical to generating a surplus. The rhetoric of the smart city forms the communicative architecture of neoliberal expansion across the Global South. The everyday work of securing spaces for consolidation and profiteering is played out by property developers. Across spaces of the Global South, these property developers work hand-in-hand with everyday goons to extract land. An entire system of land mafia is built around this economy of extraction, deploying violence and the threat of violence to extract land. In West Bengal, amidst the decline of the Left, the accelerated rise of land mafia has been enabled by a political culture of violence. This political culture of violence tied to land and priva
This blog offers Mohan Dutta's reflections on the theoretical framework of the culture-centered approach, examining the interplays among Structure, Culture, and Agency in shaping marginalisation and the ways in which communities at the margins challenge structures. Writings on the blog are continually being revised to reflect the organic analysis of structure and agency.