Society's Metabolism

Marina Fischer‐Kowalski

Journal of Industrial Ecology, 1998, vol. 2, issue 1, 61-78

Abstract: In this article, we inquire into the intellectual history ofthe application of the biological concept of metabolism to social systems‐not as a metaphor; but as a material and energetic process within the economy and society vis‐A‐vis various natural systems. The paper reviews several scientific traditions that may contribute to such a view, including biology and ecology, social theory, cultural anthropology, and social geography It assembles widely scattered approaches dating from the 1860s onward and shows how they prepare the ground for the pioneers of “industrial metabolism” in the late 1960s. In connection to varying political perspedives, metabolism gradually takes shape as a powerful interdisciplinary concept It will take another 25 years before this approach becomes one of the most important paradigms for the empirical analysis of the society‐nature‐interaction across various disciplines. This later period will be the subject of part II of this literature review

Date: 1998
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://doi.org/10.1162/jiec.1998.2.1.61

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bla:inecol:v:2:y:1998:i:1:p:61-78

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.blackwell ... bs.asp?ref=1088-1980

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Industrial Ecology is currently edited by Reid Lifset

More articles in Journal of Industrial Ecology from Yale University
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Wiley Content Delivery ().