Preface and Acknowledgments  ix
Introduction  1
I. Design for the Real World: But Which "World"? What "Design"? What "Real"?
1. Out of the Studio and into the Flow of Socionatural Life  25
2. Elements for a Cultural Studies of Design  49
II. The Ontological Reorientation of Design
3. In the Background of Our Culture: Rationalism, Ontological Dualism, and Relationality  79
4. An Outline of Ontological Design  105
III. Designs for the Pluriverse
5. Design for Transitions  137
6. Autonomous Design and the Politics of Relationality and the Communal  165
Conclusion  202
Notes  229
References  259
Index  281

“In this impassioned call for design for the pluriverse, Arturo Escobar asks how we might translate insights of a relational ontology into politics of transformative change. He turns to the prospects of ‘transition,’ led by autonomous communities and social movements in Latin America and the global South. This remarkable book is a way forward for all who are yearning for the radical remaking of design, as a contribution to decolonizing and remaking worlds.” — Lucy Suchman, author of, Human-Machine Reconfigurations: Plans and Situated Actions

“For so long, design researchers have been waiting for social researchers to take heed of the ontological politics of designing. Arturo Escobar does so but precisely to clear a space in global consumerist modernism for urgently needed alternatives. A by-product of this thorough and clear book will be the project of decolonizing the discipline and practice of design." — Cameron Tonkinwise, Professor of Design, University of New South Wales Art and Design

"In this exciting work Arturo Escobar steps out of the familiar territory we associate him with to engage with the cultural study of design. Significantly advancing thinking about societal transition in the context of climate change, Latin American politics, and the ongoing challenges of decoloniality, Designs for the Pluriverse makes a timely and important intervention." — J. K. Gibson-Graham, coeditor of, Manifesto for Living in the Anthropocene

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