To understand what ecological restoration will involve, we need to see clearly what is happening, what processes are taking place, what is irreversible, what can be refused, what can be overcome.
Archive | Marxist Ecology
‘Anthropocene or Capitalocene?’ misses the point
The authors of this book have very little to say about the Anthropocene, the crisis of the Earth System, or the new global epoch, and most of what they do say is misleading or wrong.
Two more radical precursors of Anthropocene science
Long before the Anthropocene Working Group reported on the new epoch, Yrjö Haila and Richard Levins argued that global ecohistory entered a new stage sometime after World War II
Marx and the Earth:
Why we wrote an ‘anti-critique’
The German daily Junge Welt interviews John Bellamy Foster on capitalism’s destruction of nature, ecological Marxism from Marx’s time to the present, and the environmental crisis as a class issue.
Science, Socialism and the Anthropocene
Ian Angus: “We must have a concrete materialist understanding of how our world works and is changing. Without that, our political views would be floating in mid-air, with no concrete foundation.”
Colonialism, Racism and the Global Dust Bowl of the 1930s
An important new paper challenges prevalent conceptions of the Dust Bowl, in which colonial and racial-domination aspects of the crisis are invisible, and affirms the necessity of deeper conceptions of environmental (in)justice.
‘Capitalism in the Web of Life’ – A Critique
Kamran Nayeri argues that Jason W. Moore’s theories involve major departures from Marxism, and do not themselves provide a coherent alternative approach to understanding capitalism’s impact on the natural world.
A Radical Alternative to Capitalist Catastrophe
A valuable introduction to the development of Marxist thinking on the environment, by a leading ecosocialist. Michael Löwy explores proposals for radical change, and concrete experiences of the global struggle against ecocide.
The Anthropocene and Marxism Today
Video: John Bellamy Foster discusses the theoretical and programmatic challenges that the Anthropocene, a dangerous new epoch in planetary history, poses for socialists in the 21st century.
Some comments on Andreas Malm’s ‘Fossil Capital’
Another contribution to C&C’s ongoing discussion of Andreas Malm’s masterful new book on the origins and current implications of an economic system whose deep dependence on fossil fuels threatens the survival of civilization.
Two Views on Marxist Ecology and Jason W. Moore
Fred Murphy argues that John Bellamy Foster misrepresented and unfairly criticized Jason W. Moore in a recent C&C interview about ecological Marxism. Ian Angus disagrees, and explains why he thinks Foster’s remarks were measured and accurate.
In Defense of Ecological Marxism:
John Bellamy Foster responds to a critic
“Jason Moore has joined the long line of scholars who have set out to update or deepen Marxism in various ways, but have ended up by abandoning Marxism’s revolutionary essence and adapting to capitalist ideologies.”
Video: Ian Angus introduces ‘Facing the Anthropocene’
Author’s presentation at book launch meeting for ‘Facing the Anthropocene: Fossil Capitalism and the Crisis of the Earth System,’ at the Socialism for the 21st Century Conference in Sydney, Australia, May 13, 2013.
Explaining the Anthropocene:
An interview with Ian Angus
“We don’t know how long we have before climate change goes from dangerous to extremely dangerous, but we know that continuing with business as usual makes such a shift increasingly likely.”
Fishers and plunderers: The tragedy of the commodity
Overfishing, pollution and warming water have pushed the world’s oceans into crisis. If nothing is done the results will be catastrophic for marine systems and the billions of humans who rely on them. To stop this destruction our society has to be organized in a completely different way.
John Bellamy Foster answers three questions on Marxism and ecology
In the present planetary epoch, the concept of sustainable human development, as a way of conceiving of socialism, represents Marx’s most valuable legacy. No other ecological analysis has such breadth and power.
How will we get to an ecological civilization?
Capitalism’s infrastructure, which is designed to dominate nature, cannot simply be taken over and used for an ecological transformation. Only a complete, root-and-branch change will do the job.
Marxism, ecology, and the great transition
An important new essay by John Bellamy Foster initiates a public discussion on Marxism’s role in preventing a global environmental catastrophe
Ecosocialist resources, October 2015
Method in Ecological Marxism; Naomi Klein interview; Shell in the Arctic; Oil-Sands Glut; Human impact on forests; Finance and the biosphere; Honeybees
Harry Magdoff on the environment capitalism makes
Before the word ‘ecosocialism’ existed, the co-editor of Monthly Review was discussing ecosocialist ideas.