In this remarkable reprise reprinted from Monthly Review‘s October 1992 issue, Harry Magdoff and Paul Sweezy look ahead to the ecological crisis that has continued to unfold into the twenty-first century. Presaging the critical juncture at which we find ourselves today, they write that “only a change in the in the nature of power structures on a global scale could bring a realistic hope for the long-term continuation of human civilization…. If you think that is true, what do you think are the implications?” | more…
Today the fate of the earth as a home for humanity is in question—and yet, contends John Bellamy Foster, the reunification of humanity and the earth remains possible if we are prepared to make revolutionary changes. As with his prior books, The Dialectics of Ecology is grounded in the contention that we are now faced with a concrete choice between ecological socialism and capitalist exterminism, and rooted in insights drawn from the classical historical materialist tradition. In this latest work, Foster explores the complex theoretical debates that have arisen historically with respect to the dialectics of nature and society. He then goes on to examine
Paul Burkett’s death on January 7, 2024, at age 67, means that the world is suddenly bereft of the figure who played the leading role over the last three decades in developing a Marxist ecological economics in the face of the growing planetary crisis. His loss leaves ecological Marxism without its foremost exponent of the ecological critique of capitalist value relations. It also means the loss of a warm and compassionate human being, and a beloved jazz musician. | more…
As Pietro Daniel Omodeo observes in this review, “environmental politics cannot be separated from political decision-making.” Using the example of the Senegal delta, as explored in Maura Benegiamo’s La terra dentro il capitale, Omodeo shows that the neocolonial “Great Expropriation of the global commons” is underway in the Global South, with grim ecological and social consequences for those living in the delta. | more…
In this introduction to his forthcoming The Dialectics of Ecology (Monthly Review Press, 2024), John Bellamy Foster charts the relatively recent reconstruction of Marxian ecology, based on the classical Marxist understanding of the social-metabolic system linking humanity and nature. It is through dialectical naturalism, he writes, that we can face the crises of the Anthropocene while building a society that truly supports the well-being both of society and Earth itself. | more…
Mahesh Maskey, editor of Bampanth (Nepal), interviews John Bellamy Foster about the growing emphasis on Marxian ecology among socialists in the Global South and North and the history of solidarity between MR and Nepali leftists. | more…
In 2022, China released its “Global Civilization Initiative,” a document enumerating China’s commitment to fostering diversity, equality, and cultural exchange. The editors analyze how the U.S. foreign policy community and media jumped to attack the initiative in the interest of defending U.S. imperial strategy around the globe. | more…
In this personal interview with Batuhan Sarican, John Bellamy Foster discusses the idea ecosocialism, relating it to his personal relationship to the environment and our collective relationship to the metabolism of nature. | more…
Following the work of scientist and Sinologist Joseph Needham, this talk by John Bellamy Foster illuminates the conceptual linkages between the ancient Greek and Chinese thought and modern dialectical materialism and ecological civilization. This interweaving of intellectual traditions, he writes, has created a “powerful organic ecological-materialist philosophy.” | more…
Humanity in this moment faces two major crises: one ecological, growing more acute with every planetary boundary passed; the other social, leading to deprivation and despair across the globe. An effective ecosocialist approach to these crises, Jason Hickel writes, must aim to resolve both in a single stroke. | more…
In this interview from April 2023, Jia Keqing and John Bellamy Foster discuss the state of ecological Marxism worldwide, the question of anthropocentrism, the theory of metabolic rift, and the environmental proletariat. | more…
In the introduction to this summer’s special issue on “Planned Degrowth,” John Bellamy Foster outlines the major themes of degrowth thought, including, above all, a recognition of the need to challenge current notions of “growth” and “prosperity” and move toward a more sustainable model of human development, one that meets the needs of individuals and communities. This, Foster writes, requires a massive revolutionary shift in the social relations governing the means production and the prioritization of planning our economy around the survival of the species, rather than the endless drive to accumulation that has devastated the planet. | more…
