Reading from the left

Ecosocialist Bookshelf, June 2018

New Books! Red-Green Revolution. Rural Class Struggle. Climate Anthropology. Will Big Business Destroy the Planet? A Climate Justice Comic. Plundering Africa. Global Inequality.

FALSE ALTERNATIVES

The Magical Thinking of Ecomodernism

Ecomodernists claim material growth can continue indefinitely  without environmental damage. Degrowth advocate Jason Hickel says their arguments ignore both evidence and logic.

In Review

Making the case against geoengineering

The Big Bad Fix powerfully exposes the dangers of deliberate climate modification, and presents alternatives. A deeper focus on fighting the fossil industry would strengthen the argument.

Movement Building

Climate change and Canada’s next left

At a time when the activist left is weak and divided, it’s vital to focus on common goals and principles, rather than obsessing over difference and division

New books for reds and greens

Ecosocialist Bookshelf, May 2018

Environmentalism of the Rich, A Scientist’s Fight for a Nuclear Test Ban, Limits to Capitalist Nature, Cocoa, Extracting Profit from Africa, Indigenous Struggles in Peru

Global Environmental Change

Marx, nature, and political morality

Marx saw the rift between people and nature not only as a primary failing of capitalism, but also as a mechanism through which capitalism may be superseded.

Metabolic Rifts

Marx and Metabolism: Lost in translation?

Why wasn't Marx's concept of metabolic rift recognized until recently? Changed circumstances, unpublished works, and bad translations all played a role.

Book Review

Hugo Blanco on the indigenous struggle for land in Peru

"I have taken the term 'Indian' as the title of the book. It is the pejorative term used against us. The whip they use to hit our faces. I have picked up the whip. I find it more appropriate than using terms that soften or diminish the oppression...

Books for Lefts

Ecosocialist Bookshelf, April 2018, Part 2

Three highly recommended books in the Democratic Marxism series: Marxisms in the 21st Century, Capitalism’s Crises, and The Climate Crisis.

False alternatives

Where’s the ‘eco’ in ecomodernism?

Eco-modernists promise that technology can solve all environmental problems and provide  abundance for all. There is no sustainable way to do that.