Title of Chapter/Section
Title of Book
Freedom in the Anthropocene: Twentieth-Century Helplessness in the Face of Climate Change
Department
Sociology and Anthropology
Document Type
Book Section/Chapter
Place of Publication
New York
Publisher
Palgrave Macmillan
Year of Publication
2015
Page Range
73-98
Description
This chapter situates Moishe Postone's critique of traditional Marxism in relation to the present moment of the Great Acceleration. We engage a close reading of Postone reinterpretation of Marx's mature theory of capital with specific focus on the linkage between economic growth and ecological degradation, and how this linkage is necessary connected to social domination in modern capitalist society. Postone's Marxian theory is significant because, as we demonstrate, it allows one to grasp societally induced environmental degradation following WWII in a critical and reflexive manner. The chapter concludes by discussing the growing sense of helplessness that defines the present moment of the Great Acceleration.
Recommended Citation
Stoner, Alexander M. and Melathopoulos, Andony, "Moishe Postone and the Critique of Traditional Marxism: Helplessness and the Present Moment of the Great Acceleration" (2015). Book Sections/Chapters. 73.
https://commons.nmu.edu/facwork_bookchapters/73
Included in
Economic Theory Commons, Environmental Studies Commons, Political Economy Commons, Political Theory Commons, Politics and Social Change Commons, Science and Technology Studies Commons, Social Justice Commons, Theory and Philosophy Commons, Theory, Knowledge and Science Commons