Article Subjects and Geography: Australia

Value Chains in the Digital Age: Labor Exploitation and Systemic Ecocide

Value Chains in the Digital Age: Labor Exploitation and Systemic Ecocide

by Benjamin Selwyn

July 1, 2026

In order to comprehend the environmental crisis that goes hand-in-hand with the "Structural Crisis of Capital," we must also understand the nature of global value chains and how they contribute to environmental degradation and worker exploitation on a global level. Benjamin Selwyn elucidates how global value chains and digitalization sit within a "conjoined dynamic of labor-exploitative accumulation and ecological expropriation."

Australian Coal: Should It Be Left in the Ground?

by Hans Baer

May 1, 2014

Many Australians view themselves as living in a "lucky country" because it has an abundance of mineral resources. James Goodman and David Worth, however, maintain that the mining boom has been a "curse" in disguise. It has sharpened socioeconomic and community divisions, contributed to political conflict, and resulted in "ecological mal-development" with serious environmental consequences. This applies to coal in that it not only contributes to air and water pollution, but is also a major source of carbon dioxide emissions and thus a major contributor to climate change.

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