Capitalism
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War, empire and racism in the Anthropocene By Dr. Nafeez Ahmed
The Anthropocene. A proposed new geological epoch which designates a shift to a planetary age dominated by human impacts across the geological processes of the Earth. Continue reading
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Life Expectancy Falters in the UK Slow Death but Fast Profits for the Agrochemical Sector By Colin Todhunter
A special report in the Observer newspaper in the UK on 23 June 2019 asked the question: Why is life expectancy faltering? The piece noted that for the first time in 100 years, Britons are dying earlier. The UK now has the worst health trends in Western Europe. Continue reading
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The Discovery and Rediscovery of Metabolic Rift
Video: Ian Angus discusses the scientific developments that led Marx to develop metabolic rift theory, and a new generation to rediscover it in our time. Continue reading
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FIRST QUARTER 2019 REPORT ON THE RATES OF TURNOVER, EXPLOITATION AND SURPLUS FOR THE US ECONOMY
28 July 2019 — theplanningmotivedotcom USA first quarter 2019 report pdf (report) GRAPHS rate of exploitation & surplus value (spreadsheet) [I thought the following postscript to the USA first quarter report worth reproducing here. WB] A short note on the UK. “Levelling up” or an unguarded level crossing with a train approaching. As expected Boris Johnson… Continue reading
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20 Essential Books on Marxist Ecology (Updated)
27 July 2019 — Climate & Capitalism As the great American labor organizer and socialist Mary Harris ‘Mother’ Jones said: “Sit down and read. Educate yourself for the coming conflicts.” by Ian Angus It’s two years since I published my last Essential Reading list. Since then I’ve received many suggestions for additions, and many new books have… Continue reading
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Poisoned for Profit: Whether in the UK or India, We Are Not the Agrochemical Industry’s Guinea Pigs
Environmentalist Dr Rosemary Mason has just written to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Chemicals Regulation Division (HSE) in the UK claiming that the glyphosate-based weed killer Roundup has poisoned her nature reserve in South Wales and is also poisoning people across the UK (she… Continue reading
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As the ocean waters rise, so do the islands of garbage: The 30th Newsletter 2019
26 July 2019 — The Tricontinental The Thirtieth Newsletter (2019) by Vijay Prashad Dear Friends, Greetings from the desk of the Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research. On 12 July 2019, a twelve-year-old girl from Gresik (Indonesia), Aeshnina Azzahra, wrote a letter to U.S. President Donald Trump. The letter was delivered to the U.S. embassy in Jakarta and… Continue reading
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The world’s scariest economist?
Mariana Mazzucato is one of the world’s most influential economists, according to Quartz magazine. She has won many awards for her work. She is an adviser to the UK Labour Party on economic policy; she “has the ear” of radical Congress representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, she advises Democratic presidential hopeful, Senator Elizabeth Warren and also Scottish… Continue reading
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Book Review: ‘An important contribution to the fight to stop capitalist destruction’
If you’re looking for an accessible summary of revolutionary theory and practice related to the climate crisis and how to overcome it, System Change Not Climate Change is a must-read. As the movement grows, so do debates about causes, solutions, strategies and tactics, and we need deeper understanding of what changes are needed. Continue reading
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Britain – Divided
A struggling dad of three took his own life after being driven into debt and given an eviction order because of the minimum five-week wait for Universal Credit, it has been reported. Phillip Herron, 34, had just £4.61 in his bank account when he took the unimaginable decision to commit suicide, leaving behind three children.… Continue reading
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Ecosocialist Bookshelf, July 2019
8 July, 2019 — Climate & Capitalism More books for reds and greens. Vanishing Fish … Between Earth and Empire … Making Rojava Green … One Planet, One Health … Why Carbon Trading Fails Continue reading
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Some like it hot by William Bowles
18 July 2019 — Investigating Imperialism I am nothing if not an optimist, a trait that most on the Left seem to share. A belief in the future, that there is one that includes us. That things, eventually, get better, if we fight for it. ‘Unrealistic’, I hear you say, what is there to be… Continue reading
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Planet of the Surreal – Turning 75 in the Age of Trump by Tom Engelhardt
As I turn 75, there’s no simpler way to put it than this: I’m an old man on a new planet — and, in case it isn’t instantly obvious, that’s not good news on either score. Continue reading
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Global Britain’s real climate changers: big oil must be taken down By Andy Higginbottom
The extended heat wave afflicting India has surpassed 50⁰C (122 degrees Fahrenheit), even worse than the terrible scorcher that was assessed “the 5th deadliest on record” and claimed thousands of lives in 2015.1 Matters could get even worse, the city of Chennai has almost run out of water, putting 10 million lives at risk. 2… Continue reading
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Amazon NHS partnership – more questions over backdoor privatisation
There is a lot going wrong in the world today and big tech is driving much of it in its indomitable thirst for ever greater global influence and markets to profit from. In the meantime, the British government is already making many moves to ‘Americanise’ society and continues towards its unpopular privatisation model in healthcare. Continue reading
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As Cost of Climate Crisis Grows, Climate Movement Escalates
14 July 2019 — Dissident Voice by Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers The warnings of climate chaos are coming so fast they are difficult to keep up with. Storms, heatwaves and climate-related weather disasters are increasing at a rapid pace. The leadership of the two corporate-dominated political parties are trying to keep the climate issue… Continue reading
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Challenging capitalism is the ultimate climate mitigation strategy
There are no easy fixes, but to succeed, climate activists must build a broader movement to challenge and transcend global capitalism Continue reading
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Fanon and (Digital) Self-Determination Lizzie O’Shea
Fanon was committed to the idea of self-determination. How can his thinking influence our fight for digital self-determination? An excerpt from Future Histories by Lizzie O’Shea. Continue reading
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4IR & the ideological prison By Terry Bell
Last month saw the idea of a new, 21st Century city, complete with bullet trains, widely broadcast, all within the framework of a “developmental state”. But what this really boiled down to was a rehash of 20th Century concepts that produced Shenzhen, Brazilia, Canberra — even London’s Barbican — and, of course, the bullet trains… Continue reading
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“Alexa, How Do We Subvert Big Tech’s Orwellian Internet-of-Things Surveillance?” by Charles Hugh Smith
When every device in your life is connected to the Internet (the Internet of Things), your refrigerator will schedule an oil change for your car–or something like that–and it will be amazingly wunnerful. You’ll be able to lower the temperature of your home office while you’re stuck in a traffic jam, while your fridge orders another jar… Continue reading
The New Dark Age 