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Ecology and Socialism: Solutions to Capitalist Ecological Crisis
Around the world, consciousness of the threat to our environment is growing. The majority of solutions on offer, from using efficient light bulbs to biking to work, focus on individual lifestyle changes, yet the scale of the crisis requires far deeper adjustments. Ecology and Socialism argues that time still remains to save humanity and the planet, but only by building social movements for environmental justice that can demand qualitative changes in our economy, workplaces, and infrastructure.
"Williams adds a new and vigorous voice to the growing awareness that, yes, it is our capitalist system that is ruining the natural foundation of our civilization and threatening the very idea of a future. I am particularly impressed by the way he develops a clear and powerful argument for an ecological socialism directly from the actual ground of struggle, whether
against climate change, systematic poisoning from pollution, or the choking stream of garbage. Ecology and Socialism is a notable addition to the growing movement to save our planet from death-dealing capitalism.”
—Joel Kovel, author of The Enemy of Nature�Finally, a book that bridges the best of the scholarly and activist literatures in socialist ecology! Sophisticated and compelling, eschewing academic jargons �postmodern’ and otherwise, Ecology and Socialism more than competently champions a Marxist approach to environmental crisis and the kind of economic democracy needed to achieve an ecologically friendly system of production and human development.”
—Paul Burkett, author of Marxism and Ecological Economics
�This book is more than essential reading—it is a powerful weapon in the fight to save our planet.”
—Ian Angus, editor of climateandcapitalism.com
Chris Williams is a longtime environmental activist, professor of physics and chemistry at Pace University, and chair of the science department at Packer Collegiate Institute. He lives in New York City.
"Williams adds a new and vigorous voice to the growing awareness that, yes, it is our capitalist system that is ruining the natural foundation of our civilization and threatening the very idea of a future. I am particularly impressed by the way he develops a clear and powerful argument for an ecological socialism directly from the actual ground of struggle, whether
against climate change, systematic poisoning from pollution, or the choking stream of garbage. Ecology and Socialism is a notable addition to the growing movement to save our planet from death-dealing capitalism.”
—Joel Kovel, author of The Enemy of Nature�Finally, a book that bridges the best of the scholarly and activist literatures in socialist ecology! Sophisticated and compelling, eschewing academic jargons �postmodern’ and otherwise, Ecology and Socialism more than competently champions a Marxist approach to environmental crisis and the kind of economic democracy needed to achieve an ecologically friendly system of production and human development.”
—Paul Burkett, author of Marxism and Ecological Economics
�This book is more than essential reading—it is a powerful weapon in the fight to save our planet.”
—Ian Angus, editor of climateandcapitalism.com
Chris Williams is a longtime environmental activist, professor of physics and chemistry at Pace University, and chair of the science department at Packer Collegiate Institute. He lives in New York City.
248 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
April 28, 2017
This book is a very good source for anecdotes, stats, and references, particularly for refuting various anti-poor arguments related to global climate change (e.g. the argument that overpopulation [driven by the global South] is a/the root of current ecological crises). Its suggested remedies to the various ills it identifies and dissects are laughably facile, however. Spoiler: we need mass political movements. But like, this is a text rooted in Marxism (as Williams frequently points out), so this is, or should be, obvious from the start. I felt that there wasn't much meaningful discussion of how to even begin the hard work of building this mass movement, combined with a sort of spotty attention to feasibility throughout.
I also was disappointed with the discussion of nuclear power in this book, which was driven in no small part by vaguely worded fears about nuclear disasters (despite the fact that nuclear power is overwhelmingly safe) and a presumption of prohibitive cost and regulatory concerns, which seemed very out of place in a book that made the ousting of the fossil fuel industry lobbyists from the US government seem like a simple act of mobilizing enough people at the ballot box.
Finally, I just think this book was a bit repetitive and poorly organized. I wound up occasionally using the index to jump through topics in a way that made more sense to me in the end, but I also reread the sections that I jumped around in straight through to see what that experience was like and it was not great.
I'll end by saying that like, I gave this book 3 stars because I felt that it was too light on meaningful discussion and was sort of obvious in certain ways, but like, maybe it won't be so obvious for you, or the friend you're trying to get into socialism, or whoever. And if you're a socialist of some stripe but not very well versed on the particulars of the energy economy or climate science, for instance, this book will have a lot of new material. Pick it up, skim it, see if it's you're speed, but I don't think it's anything along the lines of a must-read.
I also was disappointed with the discussion of nuclear power in this book, which was driven in no small part by vaguely worded fears about nuclear disasters (despite the fact that nuclear power is overwhelmingly safe) and a presumption of prohibitive cost and regulatory concerns, which seemed very out of place in a book that made the ousting of the fossil fuel industry lobbyists from the US government seem like a simple act of mobilizing enough people at the ballot box.
Finally, I just think this book was a bit repetitive and poorly organized. I wound up occasionally using the index to jump through topics in a way that made more sense to me in the end, but I also reread the sections that I jumped around in straight through to see what that experience was like and it was not great.
I'll end by saying that like, I gave this book 3 stars because I felt that it was too light on meaningful discussion and was sort of obvious in certain ways, but like, maybe it won't be so obvious for you, or the friend you're trying to get into socialism, or whoever. And if you're a socialist of some stripe but not very well versed on the particulars of the energy economy or climate science, for instance, this book will have a lot of new material. Pick it up, skim it, see if it's you're speed, but I don't think it's anything along the lines of a must-read.
March 31, 2020
Well written, with a good range of discussion from social justice to renewable energy. Though a decade old (at the time of reading), it would be as pertinent if published today (sadly).
"I am all for making those personal choices if you can, but it shouldn’t be confused with a political strategy that will actually bring about the change everyone wants to see. If we subscribe to lifestyle politics we then see ourselves exactly as corporate and political elites want us to see ourselves—as consumers. This is not where our power lies. It allows capitalism to go on as before, with more and more environmental damage and pollution, while we are lulled into believing we’re actually doing something—recycling is the classic case. If we view ourselves primarily as consumers, they will figure out a way to sell us crap."
"I am all for making those personal choices if you can, but it shouldn’t be confused with a political strategy that will actually bring about the change everyone wants to see. If we subscribe to lifestyle politics we then see ourselves exactly as corporate and political elites want us to see ourselves—as consumers. This is not where our power lies. It allows capitalism to go on as before, with more and more environmental damage and pollution, while we are lulled into believing we’re actually doing something—recycling is the classic case. If we view ourselves primarily as consumers, they will figure out a way to sell us crap."
January 8, 2017
It demands a not insignificant Marxist background to understand, but doesn't really advance one's understanding of ecology or socialism beyond that starting point.
November 3, 2020
Great resource for understanding the roots of the climate crisis, some possible pitfall traps, and some solution ideas. I give it a 4 instead of a 5 mostly because this book does get bogged down by marxist language and jargon. It talks about how we need to build a movement for and with the working, uneducated, and poor class but its clearly written for the college graduate elite. This is a common trend in left-winged writing though, so I'm not necessarily surprised.
Also, although I should have seen it coming, this book is extremely keen on showing how Marx and Engels already were well aware of the ecological problems and how the climate crisis would be a direct consequence of capitalism. Is it a convincing argument? Sure. Do I think they spend way too much time on it, like a whole unnecessary chapter? Yep. I don't care that much whether or not Marx was fully right about everything. Like, it's cool how perceptive he and Engels were but I don't need that stuff. If Marx had shitty ideas about the climate it would change absolutely nothing about my feelings towards socialism being the best alternative to solve climate change. Marx is allowed to be wrong, we grab what's good and throw away the bad. No need to make a god or an idol out of a person or an ideology, this isn't about your team winning its about what's the real best solution for this very real scary problem.
Anyway, these are minor points that made me roll my eyes a few times but they are mostly nitpicks. I overall really liked this book! Though it does make you feel hopeless a lot of the times, it has that beautiful tragic hope of "lets fight no matter the odds, because its only thing we can do", and I really love that.
Also, although I should have seen it coming, this book is extremely keen on showing how Marx and Engels already were well aware of the ecological problems and how the climate crisis would be a direct consequence of capitalism. Is it a convincing argument? Sure. Do I think they spend way too much time on it, like a whole unnecessary chapter? Yep. I don't care that much whether or not Marx was fully right about everything. Like, it's cool how perceptive he and Engels were but I don't need that stuff. If Marx had shitty ideas about the climate it would change absolutely nothing about my feelings towards socialism being the best alternative to solve climate change. Marx is allowed to be wrong, we grab what's good and throw away the bad. No need to make a god or an idol out of a person or an ideology, this isn't about your team winning its about what's the real best solution for this very real scary problem.
Anyway, these are minor points that made me roll my eyes a few times but they are mostly nitpicks. I overall really liked this book! Though it does make you feel hopeless a lot of the times, it has that beautiful tragic hope of "lets fight no matter the odds, because its only thing we can do", and I really love that.
November 10, 2018
Book Review for "Ecology and Socialism"
This book ties together all the books I've read on human effects on the environment and what to do about it. It also makes clear our dire situation and the fact that environmental issues are our most pressing reason for changing our economic system right now.
Other books have skirted around the real reasons for our environmental problems, but only a few have actually called out capitalism for its inherently unsustainable structure. There are physical limits to growth, and making profit the sole priority has decimated our environment.
Williams neatly destroys the arguments for population control, pointing out that our population is actually coming to a plateau of its own accord and also pointing out the racist nature of saying poor people in the Global South shouldn't be having so many children because of greenhouse gases and pollution when the poorest 50% of people product 7% of pollution while the richest 7% produce 50% of pollution.
There was also a chapter about Marxism and Ecology which brought up Marx's and Engels' views on ecology and how humans are connected to their environment. Early programs of the Soviet Union were extremely progressive in their ecological focus, although that was reversed significantly by Stalin's programs, since Stalin treated the environment as something to be extracted from in much the same way capitalism does. He also points out that many prominent ecological scholars, including the man who coined the term "Ecosystem," have been socialists.
Most of all, I appreciated his analysis of how the majority of environmental initiatives at the moment are focused on individual actions and consumer choices, rather than on structural changes like public transportation, mass-scale renewable energy, and getting rid of things like extraneous packaging that is only used to advertise products.
He also references "Soil Not Oil" by Vandana Shiva and Heather Rogers' book, "Gone Tomorrow," about trash, both of which are great books by other anti-capitalists. David Owens would do well to read this book, because his books also talk about how we have all these good intentions but they are not producing actual positive change as we continue to produce more CO2 and pollution every year, but he falls short of actually naming capitalism as the driver of these failed initiatives.
Williams also gives great analysis of why cap-and-trade is a failure and in fact exacerbates the problem, and why these climate talks and agreements come to naught when the countries are all protecting their own interests and the interests of their capitalist classes who are all competing with each other.
This book is the number one recommendation I have for books about environmental issues because it goes right to the heart of the problem and states clearly that only mass action has a chance of halting or reversing our decimation of the environment.
This book ties together all the books I've read on human effects on the environment and what to do about it. It also makes clear our dire situation and the fact that environmental issues are our most pressing reason for changing our economic system right now.
Other books have skirted around the real reasons for our environmental problems, but only a few have actually called out capitalism for its inherently unsustainable structure. There are physical limits to growth, and making profit the sole priority has decimated our environment.
Williams neatly destroys the arguments for population control, pointing out that our population is actually coming to a plateau of its own accord and also pointing out the racist nature of saying poor people in the Global South shouldn't be having so many children because of greenhouse gases and pollution when the poorest 50% of people product 7% of pollution while the richest 7% produce 50% of pollution.
There was also a chapter about Marxism and Ecology which brought up Marx's and Engels' views on ecology and how humans are connected to their environment. Early programs of the Soviet Union were extremely progressive in their ecological focus, although that was reversed significantly by Stalin's programs, since Stalin treated the environment as something to be extracted from in much the same way capitalism does. He also points out that many prominent ecological scholars, including the man who coined the term "Ecosystem," have been socialists.
Most of all, I appreciated his analysis of how the majority of environmental initiatives at the moment are focused on individual actions and consumer choices, rather than on structural changes like public transportation, mass-scale renewable energy, and getting rid of things like extraneous packaging that is only used to advertise products.
He also references "Soil Not Oil" by Vandana Shiva and Heather Rogers' book, "Gone Tomorrow," about trash, both of which are great books by other anti-capitalists. David Owens would do well to read this book, because his books also talk about how we have all these good intentions but they are not producing actual positive change as we continue to produce more CO2 and pollution every year, but he falls short of actually naming capitalism as the driver of these failed initiatives.
Williams also gives great analysis of why cap-and-trade is a failure and in fact exacerbates the problem, and why these climate talks and agreements come to naught when the countries are all protecting their own interests and the interests of their capitalist classes who are all competing with each other.
This book is the number one recommendation I have for books about environmental issues because it goes right to the heart of the problem and states clearly that only mass action has a chance of halting or reversing our decimation of the environment.
January 1, 2019
Excellent balance of Marxist thought & scientific knowledge on energy & the environment
November 19, 2022
Good introduction to each subject matter but it’s kind of vague and the dunking on USSR seems weird. He could have spent that time exploring the successes that USSR had in the early Lenin years instead.
June 3, 2012
A modern Marxist view of the eco-crisis. I found myself bookmarking sections for future reference as the author revealed insights that were new and even startling to me. He analyzed Marx and Engels a lot, showing that they had an understanding of nature and agriculture way ahead of their time and were not the blind "industrial expansionists" they are sometimes accused of being.
He believes, and I agree with him, that unless we have organized working class and peasant movements to force a change in how humanity deals with the environment, there is little hope of avoiding eco-catastrophe. He is very good at showing how global corporations co-opt the enviro movement into well intentioned individual solutions so that their drive for profit remains unhindered.
He believes that democratic socialism could be solution, but of course the future is unwritten and that may not be possible. I studied the economics of 20th century communism in grad school, so his section on Soviet Russia's "Golden Age" during the 1920's was of special interest to me. I didn't know that Lenin was such an environmentalist. Nor did I know that the Bolsheviks were among the leading eco-scientists and activists of their time. It all came crashing down when Stalin imposed his brutal dictatorship. Soviet Russia and later the East European states it dominated turned to trying to catch up with Western capitalism through blind industrialization. The results were the sad polluted crumbling industrial towns of today and the ghost world of Chernobyl.
He believes, and I agree with him, that unless we have organized working class and peasant movements to force a change in how humanity deals with the environment, there is little hope of avoiding eco-catastrophe. He is very good at showing how global corporations co-opt the enviro movement into well intentioned individual solutions so that their drive for profit remains unhindered.
He believes that democratic socialism could be solution, but of course the future is unwritten and that may not be possible. I studied the economics of 20th century communism in grad school, so his section on Soviet Russia's "Golden Age" during the 1920's was of special interest to me. I didn't know that Lenin was such an environmentalist. Nor did I know that the Bolsheviks were among the leading eco-scientists and activists of their time. It all came crashing down when Stalin imposed his brutal dictatorship. Soviet Russia and later the East European states it dominated turned to trying to catch up with Western capitalism through blind industrialization. The results were the sad polluted crumbling industrial towns of today and the ghost world of Chernobyl.
March 5, 2024
Dated, but I strongly agree with the primary message: that the inherent profit motive that defines capitalism is one of the root causes of the climate crisis and that meaningfully halting that crisis should involve transforming capitalist systems into socialist ones. Though the author is a little vague in the term "socialist", and also in how we need to go about effecting this transformation. This book reinforced most of my prior positions, but also sharpened some other considerations about the capitalist system in valuable ways.
+"The blind, unplanned drive to accumulate that is the hallmark of capitalist production --the profit motive--has created the problem of climate change, not individuals' profligate natures or overpopulation."
+"The abstraction of exchange value from use value causes broader distortions of rationality that puts capitalism systematically at odds with the environment."
+"Human alienation from nature is intrinsic to [exchange] value's formal abstraction from use value." --Paul Burkett, Marx and Nature
+"Where threats to the integrity of the biosphere are concerned, it is well to remember that it is not the areas of the world that have the highest rate of population growth but the areas of the world that have the highest accumulation of capital, and where economic and ecological waste has become a way of life, that constitute the greatest danger." --John Bellamy Foster
+"To create genuinely mass campaigns for serious action against climate change, workers and environmental activists need to start by building bonds of solidarity in smaller struggles for more immediate needs."
+"Therefore, whether we ever reach 'the end of oil' or 'peak oil' will not be determined by a physical limit or environmental destabilization, but by a social one--what profit can be made versus what resistance to this insanity can be organized."
+"Real environmental reforms can and have been won under capitalism, but only under one condition --when we collectively demand, organize, and fight for them."
+"I am all for making those personal choices if you can, but it shouldn't be confused with a political strategy that will actually bring about the change everyone wants to see. If we subscribe to lifestyle politics we then see ourselves exactly as corporate and political elites want us to see ourselves --as consumers. This is not where our power lies. It allows capitalism to go on as before, with more and more environmental damage and pollution, while we're lulled into believing we're actually doing something --recycling is the classic case."
+"Yet capitalism splits humans from their evolutionarily developed need to labor to produce what we need to survive and furthermore separates us from the natural world upon which we depend. Thus we are alienated in a double sense --from the products of our labor as we have no control over them and from the earth itself."
+"More fundamentally, changes need to be made as part of a fully democratic process carried out by the people who will be affected by the decisions taken, not by some preplanned design into which they had no input."
+"As soon as the words 'internationally coordinated' appear in print, it should be obvious an immediate problem jumps off the page. Achieving real international cooperation on profit-related issues under this social system is just not possible; capitalist nation-states would sooner go to war over a disputed oilfield than come up with a joint international plan for planting trees."
+"The blind, unplanned drive to accumulate that is the hallmark of capitalist production --the profit motive--has created the problem of climate change, not individuals' profligate natures or overpopulation."
+"The abstraction of exchange value from use value causes broader distortions of rationality that puts capitalism systematically at odds with the environment."
+"Human alienation from nature is intrinsic to [exchange] value's formal abstraction from use value." --Paul Burkett, Marx and Nature
+"Where threats to the integrity of the biosphere are concerned, it is well to remember that it is not the areas of the world that have the highest rate of population growth but the areas of the world that have the highest accumulation of capital, and where economic and ecological waste has become a way of life, that constitute the greatest danger." --John Bellamy Foster
+"To create genuinely mass campaigns for serious action against climate change, workers and environmental activists need to start by building bonds of solidarity in smaller struggles for more immediate needs."
+"Therefore, whether we ever reach 'the end of oil' or 'peak oil' will not be determined by a physical limit or environmental destabilization, but by a social one--what profit can be made versus what resistance to this insanity can be organized."
+"Real environmental reforms can and have been won under capitalism, but only under one condition --when we collectively demand, organize, and fight for them."
+"I am all for making those personal choices if you can, but it shouldn't be confused with a political strategy that will actually bring about the change everyone wants to see. If we subscribe to lifestyle politics we then see ourselves exactly as corporate and political elites want us to see ourselves --as consumers. This is not where our power lies. It allows capitalism to go on as before, with more and more environmental damage and pollution, while we're lulled into believing we're actually doing something --recycling is the classic case."
+"Yet capitalism splits humans from their evolutionarily developed need to labor to produce what we need to survive and furthermore separates us from the natural world upon which we depend. Thus we are alienated in a double sense --from the products of our labor as we have no control over them and from the earth itself."
+"More fundamentally, changes need to be made as part of a fully democratic process carried out by the people who will be affected by the decisions taken, not by some preplanned design into which they had no input."
+"As soon as the words 'internationally coordinated' appear in print, it should be obvious an immediate problem jumps off the page. Achieving real international cooperation on profit-related issues under this social system is just not possible; capitalist nation-states would sooner go to war over a disputed oilfield than come up with a joint international plan for planting trees."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 1, 2020
Real good introduction to eco-socialist thought that takes you through the challenge we are up against, why most mainstream proposed "solutions" are not going to be enough, the GND-like things we could do now, and how ultimately the logic capital accumulation is in direct contradiction for building a sustainable future. Williams shows that this ecological concern is not a new concern of the Left as Marx and Engles were astutely aware of the challenges posed by Capitalism. I would've liked a little more on more recent left ecological thought to flesh out the landscape a little better (people like John Bellamy Foster are only mentioned in passing). Also, given that the book was written in 2010, there was (skeptical) hope that the Obama administration could've done more, which of course didn't come to pass, so that makes it a little dated too. But overall, a concise, informative, and readable formulation of where we're at and how we need to get real about the things that will stand in the way of a sustainable future.
August 6, 2020
I love an ecology book that devotes an entire chapter to dunking on the overpopulation myth.
Systematically goes through how we are in an ecological crises, it’s not populations fault, capitalism cant fix it, and how we have more than the means to fix these issues if we stop trying to make a profit off of it.
Systematically goes through how we are in an ecological crises, it’s not populations fault, capitalism cant fix it, and how we have more than the means to fix these issues if we stop trying to make a profit off of it.
August 8, 2021
What a prescient book, kind of wild to read something from 2010 that discusses the ecological crisis our chosen society is creating, what the consequences will be, and then be like oh, huh, I guess all those things have happened in the last decade... 🤔 ... maybe we should listen to these people, they seem to know what they're talking about
August 31, 2020
Powerful and quick read. The first few chapters are quite dark. The last few a bit too hopeful, seeing as this was written in 2010...
Still, the big takeaway is that climate change (and attendant poverty, food scarcity, pollution, etc) is a social problem, not a technological one.
Still, the big takeaway is that climate change (and attendant poverty, food scarcity, pollution, etc) is a social problem, not a technological one.
March 18, 2025
this book had good insights but it’s a little outdated to read in todays current political climate since it was published in 2010 during Obamas first presidential term which is why I gave it 3 stars as a read for 2025.
July 13, 2010
If you have read Chris' previous ISR articles, this book will feel a bit familiar. Portions of the book were constructed from updated versions of his articles, while the rest is new, though it follows logically.
This book melds classic Marxist materialist theory with real world activism and solutions that can be implemented now, explaining why nothing short of a social revolution would allow for such solutions to be implemented. Chris lists off clean technology we can start switching to today, then giving great analysis why developed nations and corporations fight such changes. He debunks mainstream solutions for the scams they are, including nuclear power, clean coal, cap and trade, ethanol and other biofuels, etc.
This isn't the manual to stopping global ecocide, and Chris states this in his book. Instead, this is the start of a conversation between the people of the world that change is currently feasible. However, no corporation or government will enact the change we need unless we, the working class, build a broad social justice movement fighting for our rights, our health, and our environment. The fight for nature is the fight for ourselves, for we are a part of nature.
This book melds classic Marxist materialist theory with real world activism and solutions that can be implemented now, explaining why nothing short of a social revolution would allow for such solutions to be implemented. Chris lists off clean technology we can start switching to today, then giving great analysis why developed nations and corporations fight such changes. He debunks mainstream solutions for the scams they are, including nuclear power, clean coal, cap and trade, ethanol and other biofuels, etc.
This isn't the manual to stopping global ecocide, and Chris states this in his book. Instead, this is the start of a conversation between the people of the world that change is currently feasible. However, no corporation or government will enact the change we need unless we, the working class, build a broad social justice movement fighting for our rights, our health, and our environment. The fight for nature is the fight for ourselves, for we are a part of nature.
January 25, 2012
Great title, but doesn't live up to my expectations. The chapter on Population is especially dated and superficial and laced with imagined arguments that he then sets out to discredit. It argues against those who have silly ideas (sure, there's plenty of them), rather than take on the actual debates that circulate within the more seasoned environmental activist movement today. As a socialist I found it dated and uninformed. A kind of simplistic, if we had socialism and equitable distribution of resources all would be okay, rather than see that that capitalism has spurred a level of development and consequent wealth on the one hand and exreme poverty on the other - and therefore a extraordinary population boom, massive resource consumption and waist production that is not sustainable under any system. It is not just a matter on better socialist management. I think that it is socialist rather than Marxist, so perhaps that explains its simplistic approach. Other sections of the book are more interesting and more on the ball.
August 22, 2010
Excellent book! Highly recommended. The book is very readable and overflowing with useful information about the massive environmental problems facing humanity. It also does a great job at showing how these problems arise naturally from capitalism and why "green" capitalism is so much marketing fluff and a dangerous distraction in light of the fundamental contradictions between capitalism and sustainability.
A minor criticism is that in the last few chapters the author at times gets bogged down in some intra-socialist ideological baggage that distracts from the main thrust of the book. Also, I thought the author could have better addressed the problems of subsidies (and how they naturally flow from the system) seeing as any savvy pro-capitalist critic will surely not fail to point out that government subsidies do not belong in their ideal free market.
Still, it was a worthy read!
A minor criticism is that in the last few chapters the author at times gets bogged down in some intra-socialist ideological baggage that distracts from the main thrust of the book. Also, I thought the author could have better addressed the problems of subsidies (and how they naturally flow from the system) seeing as any savvy pro-capitalist critic will surely not fail to point out that government subsidies do not belong in their ideal free market.
Still, it was a worthy read!
June 9, 2016
I read this book and re-read it immediately after finishing it the first time. This book had risen in the ranks to being in my top 5. It does an incredibly good job at being organized and flows perfectly. It gives lift to problems I have never even considered and has left me completely incredulous at times. I've never really considered what socialism truly was due to how misconstrued it had become. One doesn't have to believe that socialism is the answer to our problems to read this. Anyone looking to truly see the devastating impacts capitalism has foisted upon us should read this. The book also does an excellent job in taking into consideration conflicting problems and dispelling false notions being spewed out by many polluting entities. Overall, one of my favorite books I have ever read.
June 1, 2011
Good in parts, very interesting facts/ information in others, retreading the same ground a couple of times, but lots of information on the debate on the enviroment from a Marxist/ Socialist perspective eg food production, population, biofuels, recycling, etc. Interesting to see the same arguments used in the time of Marx and Engels being used again today. Can be summarised as 'Capitalism can't provide the answers when Capitalism is basically the cause of the problems' or in other words "We're all doomed".
March 14, 2011
This book is well written. I especially like how the book cuts across all of the "you should recycle and ride your bike or you hate the planet" ideas out there. But really my favorite part about the book is that it goes beyond opinions and uses science and facts to back up the idea that capitalism is killing the planet. It makes the science interesting and easy to read.
I recommend this book to all of the people who are interested in fighting for a better planet.
I recommend this book to all of the people who are interested in fighting for a better planet.
May 27, 2011
What do you get when you cross an Al Gore powerpoint with a grumpy old Third Internationalist? If you want to get lectured at by a high handed old guard Marxist, I highly recommend this book. Or an ISO meeting.
July 10, 2012
A must read.
March 15, 2016
A definitive read for anyone who wants to understand the systemic nature of the climate crisis created by capitalism.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews