Monthly Review Press

The Science & Humanism of Stephen Jay Gould reviewed in Human Ecology Review

February 20, 2024

Undoubtedly, Stephen Jay Gould is one of the great thinkers of the Twentieth Century. Gould was a leading figure in the fields of evolutionary biology and paleontology, and made important theoretical and empirical contributions to those fields over his accomplished career. The Science and Humanism of Stephen Jay Gould, by sociologists Richard York and Brett Clark, broadly examines the philosophical underpinnings of Gould's work, and its application for understanding the interweaving relations among and between natural and social systems. This book provides a concise, yet remarkably thorough, survey of key aspects of Gould's powerful worldview and philosophy, applying a rich overarching analysis of a scientific perspective that reveals numerous insights into the complexity of nature and, compellingly, society.

The Devil's Milk reviewed on Counterfire

February 20, 2024

What is a commodity? On the face of it, simply an object. Marx pointed out however that it is really 'a very queer thing indeed, full of metaphysical subtleties and theological whimsies'. A commodity like rubber on the one hand contains all sorts of useful, non-reducible physical properties, and on the other, within a capitalist economy, is just the equivalent of a given quantity of money; it contains an abstract exchange value of a definite amount. Moreover, the individual commodity contains within itself all the natural and social processes which brought it into being as a discrete product, from the growth, in this case, of the rubber-producing tree, to its harvesting, transport and manufacture into commercial rubber.

The Ecological Rift reviewed in Earth Island Journal

February 20, 2024

There are more factors than climate change that threaten our existence on Earth. Scientists warn that it is only one of nine "planetary life-support systems" vital for human survival. The other boundaries are: global freshwater use, chemical pollution, ocean acidification, land use change, loss of biodiversity and the increasing extinction rate, ozone and aerosol levels in the atmosphere, and the nitrogen and phosphorus cycles that regulate soil fertility.

The Ecological Rift reviewed in Marx & Philosophy Review of Books

February 20, 2024

In the last few decades, there has been a renewed interest in exploring issues of ecology and sustainability from a Marxist perspective. Partially inspired by the ecological movement more widely, partially by the revival of Marxist economic theory since the 1980s, the topic of 'Marx and ecology' has been given wide attention in a range of publications in recent years. All three of the authors of the present book have earned their stripes in this field of research, and in particular John Bellamy Foster has been influential in putting ecological questions on the agenda of socialist politics, a tradition that had hitherto often been hostile to the claims of (middle class) 'green' campaigners.

Samir Amin on 9.11 [video]

Samir Amin on 9.11 [video]

February 20, 2024

Noted world-systems theorist Samir Amin provides a deep perspective on the last ten years—from 9.11 to the Arab Spring—by tracing the historical trajectory of world capitalism and posing the question: are we ending the crisis of capitalism or ending capitalism in crisis? Recorded live in Cairo and first broadcast at the Brecht Forum in New York City on September 11, 2011. Moderated by Biju Mathew.

The Socialist Alternative reviewed in Third Rail magazine

February 20, 2024

Michael A. Lebowitz, Professor Emeritus of Economics at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada, begins his new book, The Socialist Alternative: Real Human Development, by paraphrasing Marx, "A specter is haunting the world – the specter of barbarism." The barbarism Prof. Lebowitz speaks of is, of course, the yoke of capitalism and depths that it sinks people into in order to satisfy its insatiable greed. The point of this book is to put forth an argument for the necessity of Socialism in the twenty-first century, and the need to focus on human development. Actual human development, not the all consuming hunger of false needs and consumerism that capitalism thrives on and denies the work force.

John Marsh, author of Class Dismissed, in Inside Higher Ed

February 20, 2024

In March, the new governor of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, announced a 2011-12 budget that, when combined with the loss of federal stimulus money, would reduce funding to public schools by $1.2 billion dollars, and funding to higher education by $649 million. My own institution, Pennsylvania State University, stood to lose $169 million, or about 51 percent of its state appropriation. As our president, Graham Spanier, pointed out, such cuts "would be the largest percentage reduction to public higher education in this nation's history."

John Marsh’s op-ed for the NY Daily News

February 20, 2024

It is not every day that the U.S. secretary of education charges a professor with "insulting all of the hardworking teachers, principals and students all across the country." But in the cutthroat world of education reform, the daggers have come out. The professor, Diane Ravitch of NYU - who once shared educational reformers' love for school choice, charter schools and accountability - has in recent years come to oppose them.

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