Ecology and Historical Materialism
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Cambridge University Press
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This book presents a systematic challenge to the widely-held view that Marxism is unable to deal with environmental issues.
This book presents a systematic challenge to the widely-held view that Marxism is unable to deal adequately with environmental issues. Jonathan Hughes responds to criticisms of Marx's theory, and offers an interpretation and reconstruction of key Marxian concepts, designed to show that the theory need not have harmful ecological consequences.This book challenges the widely-held view that Marxism is unable to deal adequately with environmental problems. Jonathan Hughes considers the nature of environmental problems, and the evaluative perspectives that may be brought to bear on them. He examines Marx's critique of Malthus, his method, and his materialism, interpreting the latter as a recognition of human dependence on nature. Central to the book's argument is an interpretation of the 'development of the productive forces' which takes account of the differing ecological impacts of different productive technologies while remaining consistent with the normative and explanatory roles that this concept plays within Marx's theory. Turning finally to Marx's vision of a society founded on the communist principle 'to each according to his needs', the author concludes that the underlying notion of human need is one whose satisfaction presupposes only a modest and ecologically feasible expansion of productive output.
"...few theorists have conducted an in-depth analysis of Marx's work to clearly articulate his approach to ecological questions. Analytical Marxism has been largely silent on this issue, until Hughes' Ecology and Historical Materialism. He provides a basis for expanding Marxism on theoretical grounds, while revealing how Marx's work yields necessary insights for ecology." Science and Society
"Hughes' argument is logically compelling and his approach is original." Environmental Ethics
ISBN: 9780521667890
Dimensions: 229mm x 152mm x 13mm
Weight: 340g
230 pages