Uneven Development: Nature, Capital, and the Production of Space

by Neil Smith

Book by Smith, Neil

Genres: Geography, Economics, Politics, Cities, History, Theory, Academic

219 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Several different Neils Smiths tend to collect here.

For the linguist, see Neilson Voyne Smith
For the author of Boo, and Bang Crunch, see Neil Smith

Reviews

[Joel · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Today crisis does not spring from the interface between society and an external nature but from the contradictions at the heart of the social production process itself. Insofar as social crises are still attributed to natural scarcity today, this should be seen as a produced scarcity in nature." (84)

the first three chapters of this book are amazing: wide-ranging and astute readings of marx; a great discussion of universal/external dualism in the bourgeois ideology of nature; absolute vs relative spatial models in science and geography; the historical unfolding of human society's relationship to nature.

the two remaining chapters detailing a potential theory of uneven geographical development under capitalism are more difficult to grasp - as smith himself admits, there is not much that is concretely historical in these chapters, but again there's lots of good marx along with lenin, luxemburg and harvey. the afterwords from 1990 and 2007 make for interesting updates on how smith's thought has evolved. as would be imagined, he has some very smart things to say about more recent environmental politics.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even I, a marxist, had trouble getting through this book. It's a great analysis of Capital, but he gets a little dry at times and the time at which this was written really shows ("intersectionality? women? don't know them" - Neil Smith). Still a good read tho #fuckcapitalism

[Andrew]

A short text that should provide a good basis for Marxist geography, Uneven Development is most of all a groundwork, elaborating concepts such as produced space and the contradiction between fixed and mobile capital (hence Detroit). Now, it's not without its flaws... being written in the '80s, there's the obligatory, unfortunate attempt to bring relativity theory into the mix... but those can easily be overlooked, and in many cases simply skipped.

[Bill Shultz · Rating 3 out of 5]

As much as I am onboard with the theoretical constructs of Marxist geography, I am always going to find fault with unnecessarily opaque stylistics.

I can't fault a book for not being prescient, but I expected a more explicit treatment of the way the flow of capital was shifting at the time of writing. The neoliberal deregulation regime was well underway and having a major impact on the subject of this book. It is there implicitly. Would have appreciated a more explicit critique.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this comprehensive and wide-ranging exploration of the production of nature, Neil Smith convincingly demonstrates that “Uneven development is both the product and the geographical premise of capitalist development” (p. 206). This is an excellent introduction to Marxist works on geography and a well theorized contribution to contemporary political ecology.

[Ezra Schulman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the stuff on geographic scales is a little specious but it's good that Smith put it down on paper! Contains the best of geographer's marxism (the spatial fix, the necessity of underdevelopment), and the worst (bad readings of critical theory, general handedness). I will need to revisit certain sections.

[J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The so-called shrinking world is not merely an effect of generalized progress of modernization but the specific necessity of the mode of production [capitalism] based on the relation between labor and capital."

[Behrang · Rating 4 out of 5]

یکی از بهترین کتابه ا در خصوص تولید فضا و نابرابری های شرهری و منطقه ای

[bea :) · Rating 5 out of 5]

read for a paper

[Katelyn Kleczek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this for my diss....Good book if you're into human relations with nature and effects of capitalism

[nin. · Rating 4 out of 5]

1. the three afterwords (from the ’70s, ’90s, and 2007) are the standout feature. Each one revisits the book’s core ideas on uneven development and applies them to the major crises of their time - Cold War politics, post-Berlin Wall shifts, and the 2008 financial crash. It’s like watching the theory get road-tested across decades.

2. the author’s feminist critiques are shockingly bold for a male academic in the 1970s. He tackles patriarchy with the urgency of someone haunted by suffragette ghosts.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Smith's classic and underread (at least by literature scholars) history and analysis of the spaces and geographies of capitalism. A necessary precursor to his later history of Isaiah Bowman and work on the geographies of Empire and neoliberal globalization.

[Oralmajority · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just read the authors he cites in his bibliography instead. This is equally derivative and adulterated compressions of Marx, Harvey, Sohn-Rethel, and Lenin, with an interesting but unsuccessful attempt to bridge geography with Einsteinian relativity theory.

[Leonardo]

Sobre el desarrollo desigual y las diferencias geográficas de la expansión capitalista.

Imperio Pág.171

[Todd · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very nice introduction to the geographical aspects of Marx and their impact on uneven development throughout the world.