Monthly Review Press

Marxism and the Climate Crisis (John Bellamy Foster on the ‘Historical Materialism podcast’)

Marxism and the Climate Crisis (John Bellamy Foster on the ‘Historical Materialism podcast’)

February 20, 2024

In this wide-ranging interview with Lukas Slothuus and Ashok Kumar of the Historical Materialism Podcast, John Bellamy Foster discusses, among other things, his lecture on "The Return of the Dialectics of Nature," the influence of mechanistic worldviews on the field of ecology and 20th century Socialist thought, fundamental assumptions on the part of many Western Marxists regarding the nonexistence of a "dialectics of nature," misunderstandings about Lukács' supposed rejection of a dialectics of nature, Leibig's work on the "soil crisis" and the ways that this steered Marx's concept of the "metabolic rift," etc. - and moves on from there.

Labor can be used to create wealth for others…or to create life (Work Work Work in ‘Truthout’)

Labor can be used to create wealth for others…or to create life (Work Work Work in ‘Truthout’)

February 20, 2024

On this Labor Day, perhaps it is time for all members of the world’s working class, to ask themselves, why is work so often a “torment,” an “affliction,” done under “compulsion”? Why does it feel as if our bosses are “persecuting” us? Why does it wreck our bodies? Why does it seem so meaningless? It certainly doesn’t have to be and was not for most of our time on Earth....

Work could be different (Yates featured in ‘Labor Notes’)

Work could be different (Yates featured in ‘Labor Notes’)

February 20, 2024

...From the employer’s point of view, our labor power is simply a commodity, no different than the inanimate buildings, machines, tools, and raw materials purchased by businesses. Given our circumstances, we must sell this commodity to survive. But after we do, the employer has no guarantee that our capacity to toil will be converted into actual work effort. Workers have always resisted their commodity status...

Notice what Kohei Saito is reading?

Notice what Kohei Saito is reading?

February 20, 2024

In this image, Kohei Saito holds a copy of "Monopoly Capital," by Baran and Sweezy. Saito’s book "Capital in the Anthropocene" (Editor's note: Not to be confused with John Bellamy Foster's book by a similar name) has become an unlikely hit among young people and is about to be translated into English...

Inextricable connections: war and fascism abroad, and threats to workers at home (!Brigadistas! reviewed in ‘Portside NY’)

Inextricable connections: war and fascism abroad, and threats to workers at home (!Brigadistas! reviewed in ‘Portside NY’)

February 20, 2024

!Brigadistas! is a valuable, accessible textual and visual representation of history. It is recommended for those who are familiar with the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, the Spanish Civil War, and the left of the 1930s and would find refreshing a reminder of its history. And, even more, !Brigadistas! can serve as a vibrant tool for political education for those who would be new to the subject.

Urgently rethinking our relationship with the natural world: Where to start? (Listen to Foster interviewed on New Books Network)

Urgently rethinking our relationship with the natural world: Where to start? (Listen to Foster interviewed on New Books Network)

February 20, 2024

The product of several decades of research, this is a book accessibly written but rigorously researched with footnotes meticulously collected for those looking for a jumping off point through various archives. It reveals a hidden history of the relationship between science and sociology, between economics and nature and gives us characters who were able to see the seeds we were sowing, but also an unyielding faith that it doesn’t have to be this way...

Foster on ‘The Marx Revival’

Foster on ‘The Marx Revival’

February 20, 2024

On Saturday, May 7th John Bellamy Foster will present on the ecology section of "The Marx Revival" (Cambridge University Press), alongside Marcelo Musto, who will present the Communism section of the book. The event is co-sponsored by the Marxist Education Project and Shelter and Solidarity.

Newsletter sign-up

Keep up to date with all the latest socialist news from MR