Global Capitalism and the Anthropocene

Module Title: Global Capitalism and the Anthropocene

Module Leader: Dr Jeremy Green

Overview:  

Scientists have proposed that the Earth is entering a new epoch in its geological history – the Anthropocene. In this new epoch, humans are shaping environmental change on a planetary scale. The ecological devastation and climatic transformation that mark the arrival of the Anthropocene, from the mass extinction of species to rapid global warming, have coincided with capitalism’s historical rise to global dominance. Critically rethinking the relationship between capitalism and planetary vitality is a core part of the project to reimagine the social sciences in the Anthropocene. Leveraging insights from across diverse academic disciplines, this paper examines the ecological and institutional foundations of global capitalism. The paper asks how capitalism has been made through and from nature and how nature has been transformed by capitalism. And it explores the uneven ecological, geographical, and socio-economic dynamics of global capitalist development.

We begin by examining theoretical interpretations of capitalism as a historically distinctive socio-economic order and ask how our understanding of capitalism might need to be reconfigured in an age of radical environmental instability. These theoretical foundations are then applied to the development of global capitalism, focusing on specific historical and contemporary examples. The examples studied range from the 19th century guano trade, to modern global meat production, and the linkages between insurance markets and climate risks. In the final part of the paper we examine practical strategies, approaches, and intellectual frameworks for thinking about reconfiguring capitalism in the 21st century. We explore debates around the future of economic growth and assess emerging proposals for a Green New Deal.