Making Space in Critical Environmental Geography for the Metabolic Rift

Brian M. Napoletano, John Bellamy Foster, Brett Clark, Pedro S. Urquijo, Michael K. McCall and Jaime Paneque-Gálvez

Annals of the American Association of Geographers, 2019, vol. 109, issue 6, 1811-1828

Abstract: Marx’s concept of metabolic rift has emerged as a prominent theoretical framework with which to explain the socioecological crises of capitalism. Yet, despite its relevance to key concerns in critical environmental geography, it has remained marginal within the field. Here we address this by distinguishing between metabolic rift theory and two predominant Marxist approaches in environmental geography: the production-of-nature thesis and posthumanist world ecology. We follow this comparative assessment with a detailed analysis of metabolic rift theory and a brief overview of how the concept relates to key concerns in critical environmental geography. We conclude by discussing how a stronger engagement with the metabolic rift approach could benefit the field. Key Words: Marxism, materialist dialectic, nature–society relationship, production of nature, world ecology hybridism.

Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1080/24694452.2019.1598841

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