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The Return of Nature: Socialism and Ecology
Winner, 2020 Isaac and Tamara Deutscher Memorial Prize
A fascinating reinterpretation of the radical and socialist origins of ecology
Twenty years ago, John Bellamy Foster’s Marx’s Materialism and Nature introduced a new understanding of Karl Marx’s revolutionary ecological materialism. More than simply a study of Marx, it commenced an intellectual and social history, en-compassing thinkers from Epicurus to Darwin, who developed materialist and ecological ideas. Now, with The Return of Socialism and Ecology, Foster continues this narrative. In so doing, he uncovers a long history of the efforts to unite questions of social justice and environmental sustainability, and helps us comprehend and counter today’s unprecedented planetary emergencies.
The Return of Nature begins with the deaths of Darwin (1882) and Marx (1883) and moves on until the rise of the ecological age in the 1960s and 1970s. Foster explores how socialist analysts and materialist scientists of various stamps, first in Britain, then the United States, from William Morris and Frederick Engels, to Joseph Needham, Rachel Carson, and Stephen J. Gould, sought to develop a dialectical naturalism, rooted in a critique of capitalism. In the process, he delivers a far-reaching and fascinating reinterpretation of the radical and socialist origins of ecology. Ultimately, what this book asks for is nothing short of a long, ecological revolution, aimed at making peace with the planet while meeting collective human needs.
A fascinating reinterpretation of the radical and socialist origins of ecology
Twenty years ago, John Bellamy Foster’s Marx’s Materialism and Nature introduced a new understanding of Karl Marx’s revolutionary ecological materialism. More than simply a study of Marx, it commenced an intellectual and social history, en-compassing thinkers from Epicurus to Darwin, who developed materialist and ecological ideas. Now, with The Return of Socialism and Ecology, Foster continues this narrative. In so doing, he uncovers a long history of the efforts to unite questions of social justice and environmental sustainability, and helps us comprehend and counter today’s unprecedented planetary emergencies.
The Return of Nature begins with the deaths of Darwin (1882) and Marx (1883) and moves on until the rise of the ecological age in the 1960s and 1970s. Foster explores how socialist analysts and materialist scientists of various stamps, first in Britain, then the United States, from William Morris and Frederick Engels, to Joseph Needham, Rachel Carson, and Stephen J. Gould, sought to develop a dialectical naturalism, rooted in a critique of capitalism. In the process, he delivers a far-reaching and fascinating reinterpretation of the radical and socialist origins of ecology. Ultimately, what this book asks for is nothing short of a long, ecological revolution, aimed at making peace with the planet while meeting collective human needs.
672 pages, Hardcover
Published June 16, 2020
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About the author
John Bellamy Foster
85 books199 followersJohn Bellamy Foster is a professor of sociology at the University of Oregon, editor of Monthly Review and author of several books on the subject of political economy of capitalism, economic crisis, ecology and ecological crisis, and Marxist theory.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 8, 2020
An interesting history of ecology and the socialist scientists and thinkers who advanced the science since Engels: from Ruskin to William Morris to Needham to Caudwell ... where does John Bellamy Foster find the time to create such a work?!
October 20, 2023
A fascinating account of the lives and works of some really remarkable thinkers. Whereas US ecology was founded by racists, European ecology had a more socially aware tendency, whether you go as far back as Humboldt, or consider successors to Darwin and Marx, like Ray Lankester and William Morris, as this book does (focusing on English ecologists).
Foster has done a great job, starting 20 years ago with 'Marx's Ecology'. This latest work explores some of the loose ends left by that previous book, in wonderful detail.
I enjoy these works but have reservations as to their exact importance. The 1960s rise of political ecology in the US, including activist writers like Carson, Bookchin and Commoner, is probably more relevant to today's issues than whether or not Marx, Engels and their successors incorporated ecological thought into their critique of capitalism. But incorporate it they did, in various creative ways, so why not write that history? If nothing else it might help to give the left more confidence in adopting radical ecological policies.
If I have one particular difficulty with this book it is that it is neither a history of scientific ecology, nor of socialism, but of their interaction. This does not leave much room for examining the wider impact of this interaction on the development of either field (why was early US ecology so reactionary by comparison, for example?).
Foster has done a great job, starting 20 years ago with 'Marx's Ecology'. This latest work explores some of the loose ends left by that previous book, in wonderful detail.
I enjoy these works but have reservations as to their exact importance. The 1960s rise of political ecology in the US, including activist writers like Carson, Bookchin and Commoner, is probably more relevant to today's issues than whether or not Marx, Engels and their successors incorporated ecological thought into their critique of capitalism. But incorporate it they did, in various creative ways, so why not write that history? If nothing else it might help to give the left more confidence in adopting radical ecological policies.
If I have one particular difficulty with this book it is that it is neither a history of scientific ecology, nor of socialism, but of their interaction. This does not leave much room for examining the wider impact of this interaction on the development of either field (why was early US ecology so reactionary by comparison, for example?).
November 13, 2022
This history of ecology and the socialist scientists and thinkers who advanced the science is John Bellamy Foster's magnum opus and truly essential reading; 5 stars. Let me refer you to two reviews:
"There have been many in Green and environmental circles who think that socialism in general and Marxism in particular are incompatible with ecological thinking. Still others, less hostile, nevertheless believe that the Marxist tradition needs to be modified, perhaps fundamentally, in order fully to take into account ecological problems, and that there may well be a trade-off between the needs of the environment, and working-class living standards. That all of these views can be shown to be essentially mistaken is in no small part down to the work of John Bellamy Foster, particularly in his now classic Marx’s Ecology (Monthly Review Press 2000)....With The Return of Nature, he offers a comprehensive account of the development of the ecological and scientific tradition established by both Marx and Engels equally."--from this review in Counterfire:
https://www.counterfire.org/articles/...
"The Return of Nature is a genealogy of ecological thinking. The word ‘ecology’ was not in common usage until the twentieth century, leading many to consider ecological thinking a fairly recent development. However, in this impressive volume, John Bellamy Foster convincingly identifies a materialist ecological sensibility within works dating back a century prior to ecology’s popularization. Starting with the funerals of Darwin and Marx in 1882 and 1883 respectively, the book traces how socialist thinkers in the nineteenth and early twentieth century were integral to developing an outlook that acknowledges the complex relationship between human production and the rest of nature."--from the review in Science for the People:
https://magazine.scienceforthepeople....
"There have been many in Green and environmental circles who think that socialism in general and Marxism in particular are incompatible with ecological thinking. Still others, less hostile, nevertheless believe that the Marxist tradition needs to be modified, perhaps fundamentally, in order fully to take into account ecological problems, and that there may well be a trade-off between the needs of the environment, and working-class living standards. That all of these views can be shown to be essentially mistaken is in no small part down to the work of John Bellamy Foster, particularly in his now classic Marx’s Ecology (Monthly Review Press 2000)....With The Return of Nature, he offers a comprehensive account of the development of the ecological and scientific tradition established by both Marx and Engels equally."--from this review in Counterfire:
https://www.counterfire.org/articles/...
"The Return of Nature is a genealogy of ecological thinking. The word ‘ecology’ was not in common usage until the twentieth century, leading many to consider ecological thinking a fairly recent development. However, in this impressive volume, John Bellamy Foster convincingly identifies a materialist ecological sensibility within works dating back a century prior to ecology’s popularization. Starting with the funerals of Darwin and Marx in 1882 and 1883 respectively, the book traces how socialist thinkers in the nineteenth and early twentieth century were integral to developing an outlook that acknowledges the complex relationship between human production and the rest of nature."--from the review in Science for the People:
https://magazine.scienceforthepeople....
September 25, 2022
John Bellamy Foster's 'Return of Nature' is an enormous book and effort to demonstrate the interconnection between Socialism and ecology. Although Foster is extremely successful and convincing in arguing this general point and history, there are parts where I was excited for the theoretical and historical points being mentioned, but was disappointed at lack of depth. Again, its a huge book covering a lot of material so I don't fault it for being limited at parts, but as a person who's scientific background is severely lacking I often felt lost at the lack of explanations for concepts probably obvious to other readers.
November 15, 2020
The Return of Nature: Socialism & Ecology has just won the Isaac Deutscher Prize 2020. "A superb book. Should be read by every socialist & environmentalist." There's an in depth review
In the International Socialism Journal
http://isj.org.uk/making-an-ecologica...
In the International Socialism Journal
http://isj.org.uk/making-an-ecologica...
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews