Marxism, capitalism, and nature-society relations: An introduction

Environmentalists have long stressed limits to human interaction with nature. It’s commonly argued that transgressing “natural limits” caused the environmental crises we face today. While this sentiment might direct our attention to the severity and scale of destabilizing contradictions in our relationship with nature, its underlying analysis is unable to grasp and overcome the root cause of these contradictions: capitalist production. A deeper and more critical understanding of society’s relation to nature under capitalism is needed. This article introduces Marxist conceptions of the relationship between capitalism and nature. It begins by examining the words “nature” and “production” and the different meanings and functions those terms serve, before turning to two different Marxist approaches to capitalism and nature: the metabolic rift and the production of nature. At the end, we emphasize how and why such approaches must inform organizing for environmental justice. Read the full article here: https://liberationschool.org/marxism-and-nature/