Capital and the Ecological Crisis of the Twenty-First Century: Capitalism’s Impact on Nature in Marx and Engels’s Theory and Today
Advisor Information
Thomas Sanchez
Location
Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library
Presentation Type
Poster
Start Date
6-3-2015 2:00 PM
End Date
6-3-2015 3:30 PM
Abstract
Activities of modern society appear to be leading to ecological crisis, which may threaten the sustainability of humanity and society. The aim of this poster is to use Marx and Engels’ theories to show how capitalism influences a plethora of environmental problems that we face in the 21st century. Those problems include pollution, climate change, biodiversity loss, deforestation, and toxification of the environment, among others. The poster shows how capitalism and its offspring— industrialization, globalization and alienation—have exacerbated those hazardous effects on the biosphere. The reasons for this are manifold: First, capitalism has a drive for infinite growth of production, which leads to pollution and exhaustion of vital resources. Second, by moving goods around the world, globalization exacerbates problems of depletion of nutrients, declining soil quality and pollution of the environment. Finally, due to alienation, society places less value on maintaining the health of the earth. After engaging with this poster presentation, audiences will understand the link between the type of society and economy that we live in and the environmental degradation that is increasingly threatening the sustainability of ecosystems and potentially humanity worldwide.
Capital and the Ecological Crisis of the Twenty-First Century: Capitalism’s Impact on Nature in Marx and Engels’s Theory and Today
Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library
Activities of modern society appear to be leading to ecological crisis, which may threaten the sustainability of humanity and society. The aim of this poster is to use Marx and Engels’ theories to show how capitalism influences a plethora of environmental problems that we face in the 21st century. Those problems include pollution, climate change, biodiversity loss, deforestation, and toxification of the environment, among others. The poster shows how capitalism and its offspring— industrialization, globalization and alienation—have exacerbated those hazardous effects on the biosphere. The reasons for this are manifold: First, capitalism has a drive for infinite growth of production, which leads to pollution and exhaustion of vital resources. Second, by moving goods around the world, globalization exacerbates problems of depletion of nutrients, declining soil quality and pollution of the environment. Finally, due to alienation, society places less value on maintaining the health of the earth. After engaging with this poster presentation, audiences will understand the link between the type of society and economy that we live in and the environmental degradation that is increasingly threatening the sustainability of ecosystems and potentially humanity worldwide.