Book Review: Capitalism in the Anthropocene: Ecological Destruction or Ecological Revolution│Capitalism in the Anthropocene - book review

Capitalism in the Anthropocene: Ecological Ruin or Ecological Revolution – book review

(Canada) John Clarke

May 18, 2023

Translated by Hanwen Chengliuhou

Author John Bellamy Foster argues that capitalism is incompatible with natural systems, but that ecosocialism is a realistic goal.

The subtitle of this book is "Ecological Destruction or Ecological Revolution", which is not a casual statement. John Bellamy Foster examines in detail the driving forces within the capitalist system that push humanity toward environmental catastrophe. He also fully and convincingly argues for the proposition that ecologically focused socialism is the only viable way to re-establish a sustainable relationship between human society and the natural world.

The book is based on the proposition that the foundational works of Marxism provide the basis for this ecosocialist view. It also shows how this understanding developed in the context of environmental degradation, a situation that Marx and Engels did not fully foresee at the time.

Foster considers how struggles in the ecological sphere are part of a broader challenge to capitalism. He concludes by advocating a socialist society that can forge a different ecological path, while striving to contain the destructive effects of the system. He examines emerging environmental struggles with a critical but hopeful eye, and from a perspective that takes into account the important role of the global South.

This book may not be suitable reading as an introduction to the issues it addresses. It's a thick book of nearly five hundred pages that doesn't shy away from complexity. Although it has been reorganized for publication, it is still a collection of articles written over a long period of time. This means that there will be a certain degree of repetition, as the arguments will be developed in different chapters.

The scale and breadth of this study make it difficult to capture its arguments and conclusions. Still, it's important to convey how Forster presents his point, even if it's conveyed selectively, to give some sense of it. Many of the basic elements can be found in the early chapters, and the key conclusions are concentrated towards the end of the book, and it is on these that I will focus my attention.

Metabolic rift

Chapter 1 begins with the proposition: "This century's rediscovery of Marx's theory of the metabolic rupture has given renewed force to the critique of the destructive relationship between capitalism and the planet" (p. 41). This, Foster asserts, allows us to move beyond "the divide between the natural and social sciences" and to understand more clearly "how systems of capital accumulation produce environmental crises and catastrophes" (p. 41).

However, this recovery process has caused controversy. Foster responds to a variety of critical perspectives and, in the process, attempts to "underscore what I see as the critical importance of Marx's ecological materialism in helping us understand the emerging great rupture in the Earth system" (p. 42 ).

Foster questions the notion that "dialectics applies only to society and human history, not to nature beyond human history" (p. 42). In his view, the rejection of the ideas advanced by Engels in Dialectics of Nature stemmed from a broader rejection of dialectical materialism. He sees this as a misguided attempt to avoid "reducing Marxism to simple observance of objective natural laws" (p. 43). However, these perspectives prevent a deeper exploration of ecological issues within a Marxist framework.

Forster explores the "actual ecological dimension of Marx's thought" and his efforts "to link his critique of political economy on a materialist basis to an understanding of man's relationship with nature derived from the natural sciences of his time." Marx studied a process of environmental degradation that was already evident in his time. Thus, he was able to "develop his main ecological critique, the metabolic rupture" (p. 45).

Marx discussed "the rupture of human society's permanent dependence on the organic conditions of existence." In his view, this represents an insurmountable contradiction associated with capitalist commodity production, yet its full implications can only be understood within the larger framework of the metabolic theory of natural society (p. 49).

This contradiction arises from the specific ways in which capitalism transforms the natural world through collective labor. Any society will "extract its natural material use value" from nature, but in the capitalist commodity economy, this second natural realm will take on an alienated form, dominating causal exchange value rather than use value, leading to universal metabolism of fracture (p. 50). This leads to the rupture of the "eternal conditions of nature" by capitalist production, constituting a "plunder" of the earth itself (p. 58).

Chapter 2 describes the sheer scale of the developing climate crisis and emphasizes that it is only part of a wider environmental catastrophe. 'The world economy has crossed, or is on the verge of crossing, a series of planetary boundaries associated with impacts on the natural world'. Because these interconnected crises arise from “the historical construction of human society and require a social revolution, we must look to the social sciences as our guide” (p. 65).

Foster traces the development of socialist ideas rooted in ecology in the late last century. In the 1970s and 1980s, a "first stage of ecosocialism" (p. 68) largely rejected Marxism and attributed it to a "productivist" perspective. In the 90s, however, "socialist theorists began to delve into the foundations of classical historical materialism and its theoretical framework of value" (p. 69). The important contribution of Marxism to the understanding of environmental degradation was re-established and continued as a second phase.

From this, Foster suggests several conclusions can be drawn about the "now necessary ecological and social revolution..." (p. 74). First, “the problem that threatens the global environment is the accumulation of capital under the current stage of monopoly financial capital, not just abstract economic growth.” Some argue that “the form of ecological value associated with this stage of capitalism is to promote economic growth.” and ecological waste as a means of stimulating accumulation" (p. 74).

Foster points to the need for "continuous expansion of value and consumption of goods, with ever-increasing energy and materials" (p. 74). He asserts that “this irrational system of artificially stimulated growth, economic waste, financialized wealth and extreme inequality needs to be overturned if we are to create a society that is ecologically sustainable and substantively equal” (p. 75 Page).

The second conclusion is that “capitalism is suffering from an epochal crisis—both economic and environmental.” The second element of this crisis is the creation of “ecological rifts and disturbances, both within each ecosystem and on an entire planetary level” (p. 75). Since this process is “largely invisible in the calculation of value in the capitalist system,” it is likely to continue “as long as the logic of capital dominates” (p. 76).

Third, Foster argued that “if accumulation or economic growth in rich countries were to be temporarily halted for ecological imperatives, this would require a vast new system of redistribution.” This would mean “a huge redirection of social surplus, to meet real human needs and ecological sustainability, rather than the vast production treadmill generated by the profit system.” This transformation can only occur “in a society oriented toward use value rather than exchange value” (p. 76 Page).

Hence, the necessity of "a socialist model for sustainable human development" arises. This shifts “power to cooperating producers who will regulate the complex, interdependent metabolism between nature and society in accordance with science and shared values” (pp. 76-77).

Finally, in Foster's view, forces have emerged that can create "ecological and social revolutions." He sees this as an "environmental proletariat", defined as "the broad masses of the working class who, as a result of their own existential crisis, recognize the inextricable link between economic and ecological conditions" (p. 77 Page). He sees evidence that "traditional working-class politics are thus co-evolving and coalescing with environmental struggles" (p. 78).

revolutionary struggle

At this point, Foster proposes a concept of revolutionary struggle that in these circumstances "will need to evolve in two stages." The first is an "ecodemocratic phase," in which There is a large-scale struggle, "for a world of sustainable human development." Then enters "a more decisive, eco-socialist stage of revolutionary struggle" (p. 78).

Forster argues that the initial phase "will create the conditions for the ecosocialist phase" (p. 79). This seems to be an almost natural process, I sense, and it somewhat underestimates the extent to which socialist ideas need to be fought over in the struggle around broad ecological and social demands. Still, Foster makes it clear that if we fail to create a “more just and sustainable world at peace with the planet . . . humanity must perish with capitalism” (p. 81).

As the book progresses, Foster explores the broad range of theoretical contributions and debates that have contributed to the development of an ecosocialist perspective rooted in Marxist theory. He continues to explore the scientific evidence, challenge various notions of sustainability under the profit system, and defend the central importance of revolutionary ideas. Subsequent chapters review elements of these issues and deepen the analysis, and in the third part of the book, "The Future of History," some important issues are developed in depth.

In Chapter 16, Forster explores the contradictions within degrowth theories. He asks, "Is reduced growth possible in a capitalist growth-or-death society? If not, what are the implications for the transition to a new society?" He then questions "ecologically compatible capitalism." (p. 367), and the folly of emphasizing “the abstract concept of economic growth rather than the concrete reality of capital accumulation” (p. 368).

Forster also takes issue with theorists such as Serge Latouche who argue that reduced growth "must apply equally to the South and the North" (p. 369). He rejects the idea that "the concept of reduced growth is essentially equally applicable to rich countries in the center and poor countries in the periphery" (p. 370). The problem, he argued, was to “overcome imperial ties, transform existing modes of production, and create sustainable and equal production possibilities” (p. 371). Of course, the current world order is hardly conducive to such a transformation.

Foster stressed that the challenge to ruthless capital accumulation and destructive consumption should not be equated with the implementation of austerity policies in the current period. He suggests that "satisfaction with genuine human needs and ecological sustainability may become constitutive principles of new, more communal institutions, aimed at human reciprocity, allowing for improvements in quality and even diversity" (p. 372).

On the next page, Forster reinforces this idea by revealing the staggering scale of waste and unnecessary consumption in capitalist society. He mentions that while waste has always been a feature of the system, it has now reached new, unimaginable levels with the development of monopoly capitalism (p. 382).

Today, a significant portion of productive activity is devoted to “sales efforts”: for example, “the United States spent more than $1 trillion, or about 9 percent of GDP, on marketing in all its forms in 2005.” Such a Situation, sales and production efforts are so intertwined that they are almost indistinguishable. This “reorders consumption relations – transforming capitalism’s structure of use value and amplifying waste in production” (p. 383).

Forster argues that consumption has been distorted to such an extent that "the concrete use-value aspects of commodities, now under monopoly control, have been transformed into specific capitalist use-values ​​(constituting) Use value is almost entirely subject to changes in exchange value” (p. 386).

Anthropocene Era

Although earlier in the book Forster has presented his conception of the Anthropocene, on page 21 he expounds it fully. His argument is that after World War II we entered a new period in geological timescales in which "Earth system changes, as presented by the stratigraphic record, are now mainly caused by human activities. ” Although relevant international agencies have not yet “formally adopted” this view, this “understanding is now widely accepted by the scientific community” (p. 457).

With the advent of the nuclear age and the growth of other factors with enormous environmental impact, Foster argues, "Humanity has become a force capable of having enormous effects on the entire Earth system on geological scales, perhaps millions years (or tens of millions of years)” (p. 458). The Holocene epoch has transitioned into the Anthropocene epoch.

Foster believes that humans have developed the ability to influence nature on a large scale, and this qualitative change is irreversible. The question is whether an exploitative and environmentally destructive class society can be replaced by a society that can live in harmony with nature. He insists that "it is crucial to call the first geological epoch of the Anthropocene the Capital Epoch, since this also raises the question of the second geological epoch of the Anthropocene" (p. 458).

The continuation of the Capitalocene era could lead to a brief Anthropocene era and lead to "the collapse of industrial civilization and the mass extinction of the human species" (p. 459). However, this disastrous consequence has been matched by "a fundamentally transformed system of socioeconomic relations, indeed a new model of sustainable human production based on a more common relationship among humans and with the planet." He continues Says, "We propose that this necessary (but not necessary) future geological epoch ... may be called communion, arising from community, community, commons" (p. 459).

The book concludes with a reaffirmation of the notion of revolutionary transformation through the agency of an "environmental proletariat," in which those most affected by capitalist exploitation and environmental destruction will be on the front lines of the struggle.

The final paragraph asserts that in “the dire conditions of the Anthropocene era, no answer can be found that does not involve the triple threat of capitalism, colonialism, and imperialism.” This means: “Hundreds of millions of people are already actively engaged in the struggle for substantive equality and ecological The struggle for sustainability constitutes the fundamental meaning of socialism and the historical future of our time” (p. 492).

In the context of the Anthropocene era, capitalism is characterized by the fact that humans have crossed a threshold in their ability to influence the natural world. However, this transformation occurs within a socioeconomic system that cannot proceed rationally or sustainably. Vast masses of the population are exploited, while nature itself is viewed as a “free gift” that can be exhausted or polluted as needed.

Foster elaborates on the argument for revolutionary transformation and the creation of a social system that can operate on the basis of social and global equality. This inevitably requires taking into account the pursuit of harmony with nature.

However, the book is not content with just abstract equality goals and environmental stewardship. It provides an argument for ecosocialism through a careful assessment of Marxist foundational works and the important ecological perspectives they offer. It also traces the subsequent development of ecosocialist ideas that reflected the growing destructive power of capitalism and the resulting deteriorating environmental damage.

The unfolding climate catastrophe and other aspects of capitalism’s encroachment on the natural world are of unparalleled gravity and have enormous implications for how the class struggle unfolds. Developing the theory and practice of ecological socialism is an inevitable necessity that we must face today. In this regard, Capitalism in the Anthropocene is an important source of knowledge and insights into this struggle.

John Clark is a Canadian social activist and a senior organizer of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) established in 1990.

Original link: https://www.counterfire.org/article/capitalism-in-the-anthropocene-ecological-ruin-or-ecological-revolution-book-review/