The New Extractivism: A Post-Neoliberal Development Model or Imperialism of the Twenty-First Century?

by James Petras, James F. Petras

In a primary commodities boom spurred on by the rise of China, countries the world over are turning to the extraction of natural resources and the export of primary commodities as an antidote to the global recession. The New Extractivism addresses a fundamental dilemma faced by these to pursue, or not, a development strategy based on resource extraction in the face of immense social and environmental costs, not to mention mass resistance from the people negatively affected by it.

With fresh insight and analysis from Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico and Peru, this book looks at the political dynamics of capitalist development in a region where the neoliberal model is collapsing under the weight of a resistance movement lead by peasant farmers and indigenous communities. It calls for us to understand the new extractivism not as a viable development model for the post-neoliberal world, but as the dangerous emergence of a new form of imperialism.

320 pages, Hardcover

First published March 13, 2014

Reviews

[Arief Wicaksono · Rating 5 out of 5]

The New Extractivism opens with a sharp critique of Latin America's post-neoliberal governments, arguing that despite progressive rhetoric, they remain deeply dependent on large-scale extraction of minerals, oil, and agricultural commodities. In the first two chapters, James Petras contends that this “new extractivism” reproduces old patterns of dependency and imperial domination, benefiting multinational capital and domestic elites while marginalizing local communities. The analysis is provocative and politically charged, offering a compelling challenge to celebratory narratives of resource-led development, though its arguments occasionally lean toward ideological determinism and understate policy complexities.