Category: Monthly Review Press /

Digging up a review of Ian Angus’ “Facing the Anthropocene,” from the Journal of Anthropological Research

Digging up a review of Ian Angus’ “Facing the Anthropocene,” from the Journal of Anthropological Research

February 20, 2024

Angus recounts the history of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). First developed in the late 1920s, by 1970 more than 750,000 tons of CFCs had been pumped into the earth’s atmosphere. In the mid-1970s, scientists began to discover the link between CFCs and ozone depletion, and the chemical industry went into full denial mode, arguing that scientists’ arguments were 'just theories'....As it turns out, the British Antarctic Survey had been measuring ozone levels since 1957....

Author Jayati Ghosh on Vaccine Apartheid (Watch: Democracy Now!)

Author Jayati Ghosh on Vaccine Apartheid (Watch: Democracy Now!)

February 20, 2024

"...this is the problem that has actually plagued the entire attitude to vaccine development and production in this pandemic. A few companies have got the rights, and they are holding onto those rights, and they are only producing themselves. They must share this knowledge, and they must allow other producers, because that’s the only way we’re going to confront the crisis..."

Jennifer Laurin, on the guidance offered in “Sensing Injustice”

Jennifer Laurin, on the guidance offered in “Sensing Injustice”

February 20, 2024

"Here are a few pieces of advice I got from Michael, that I would have liked to have had earlier in my career: Make sure your case tells a story – a story of your client and a story of the law...Be wary of judicial and prosecutorial ego – but know that there are people with both power and conscience...Trust the capacity of jurors to learn and dispense justice...Decide what you want and ask for it...Don’t mistake lawyering for movement work – but don’t forget about the movement either...Believe that one case at a time can, over time, make a difference...Bring others along on your journey – and remember their contributions to it with graciousness and gratitude....."

“Voices of Latin America,” post–pink tide (Science & Society)

“Voices of Latin America,” post–pink tide (Science & Society)

February 20, 2024

"....almost half the book comes in the form of substantive interviews that are not simply rich and compelling in the sense of capturing the struggles and experiences of a diverse range of Latin Americans. They are also incredibly smart. The researchers interviewed some really sharp, experienced activists who have clearly thought deeply about political struggle for some time."

“The Lie of Global Prosperity” as a work of popular education (Science & Society)

“The Lie of Global Prosperity” as a work of popular education (Science & Society)

February 20, 2024

"Donnelly gives a short account of the origins of neoliberal imperialism, which emerged in the 1970s as a result of three challenges to the post–World War II global economic order: 1) the decline in the value of the U. S. dollar; 2) economic stagnation and a falling rate of pro t in the rich countries; and 3) the Third World “debt crisis”. Donnelly’s retelling of this story is remarkably concise and coherent; captured in a mere 30 pages, it is perhaps one of the best short overviews of the emergence of neoliberal global capitalism that I have read...."

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