Bonn Juego - Are you also a student of capitalism?

We are very excited to be joined by our colleague from the University of Jyväskylä, Bonn Juego. Bonn is a political economist, Senior Lecturer in International Development Studies, and the four-term Chair of the Finnish Society for Development Research (FSDR).Above all, Bonn considers himself a “student of capitalism”—investigating its political-economic, geopolitical, socio-ecological, and technological dimensions. His work bridges global political economy, heterodox economics, and post-colonialism, offering critical insights into the phenomena of “authoritarian neoliberalism” (i.e., a neoliberal economy embedded in the politics of authoritarianism) and “authoritarian populism” (i.e., the popular legitimacy given to anti-democratic personalities and practices), while contributing to conceptualizations of “securitization” (i.e., the dominance of security institutions and agents over societal spheres) and “just sustainability” (i.e., sustainable futures firmly grounded in the principle of justice).In this wide-ranging conversation, Bonn shares his personal and intellectual journey from the Philippines and Malaysia to Estonia, Denmark, and Finland, reflecting on his consciousness formation through lived experiences, progressive mentorship, and pivotal moments that shaped his worldview. He also expands our understanding of extractivisms today by sharing ideas from his contemporary endeavors and writings: examining rent-seeking and extractivist activities of governance elites and the oligarchic class; interrogating the historical-structural link of capitalist development with war and conflict, whereby valuable nature and human beings are prematurely disposed of and profitably transformed into wasted lives and into wasteful things; drawing on his recent policy study on worker and data extractivism in the interplay between labor and technology under conditions of competition-driven AI and other new technical innovations; and reflecting on his ongoing project studying the transnational recruitment and migration of Filipino nurses to the Finnish healthcare system—exposing the contradictions, devaluation, racialization, and inequalities in extractive transnational care relations and the crisis of social reproduction in both a Global South nation and a Nordic welfare state.Confronting complex global crises, Bonn leaves us with a reflexive framework for activist scholarship, taking a cue from Gramsci's “pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will.” He makes an inspiring appeal to treat development studies as a prefigurative discipline of conscience—emphasizing means-ends consistency, everyday ethical action, and the indispensable power of collective movements in making a difference.Want to learn more about Bonn's work? Check out his academic profile here: https://www.jyu.fi/en/people/bonn-juego