Expulsions

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Soaring income inequality, unemployment, and environmental destruction cannot be fully understood through traditional concepts of poverty and injustice, according to Saskia Sassen. Instead, these issues represent a form of expulsion—from livelihoods, living spaces, and even the biosphere essential for life. This critique updates our understanding of twenty-first-century economics, revealing a system with dire consequences for all, including those who believe they are immune. The admired knowledge and technology in sectors like finance and mining often lead to fundamental brutalities, evolving into predatory formations—complex assemblages of knowledge, interests, and outcomes that extend beyond individual or governmental projects. Sassen draws unexpected connections to reveal the systemic logic behind these expulsions. The sophisticated knowledge that produces modern financial instruments parallels the engineering skills that facilitate environmental exploitation and the legal expertise that enables wealthier nations to seize land from poorer ones. The complexity of the global economy obscures accountability for displacements and eradications, making it challenging for beneficiaries of the system to acknowledge their role in its destructive impacts.