In this paper we propose to examine how the liberal conception of progress is undermined

by the environmental crisis of the present 21st century, masked behind global warming. For this
work, we will use two concepts widely spread in green theory: the anthropocene and the
capitalocene. Analyzing these different perspectives, we will inquire into the different uses that
history and philosophy have given to capitalism and its ideal of progress to explain
environmental conflicts. Having established these points, we will review how these concepts can
and should be applied to think not only about man's present relations with capitalism and the
natural environment around us, but also about future relations.

In reflecting on the current environmental crisis, the first element to consider is how we
establish an analytical methodology. From what moment do we begin to think about the
deterioration of our environment? From the colonization of America, from the industrial
revolution with steam and coal, or from the twentieth century and the massive extraction of oil
and the spread of fossil fuels? Taking a position on any of these options implies extremely
dissimilar answers. However, the most decisive question is not the historical epoch that we
establish as a frame of reference, but the role that man, the individual, is going to play. This
brings us to our first philosophical-analytical debate: the anthropocene vs. the capitalocene.
(Moore 2015)

When we talk about the Anthropocene, we are talking about one of the most widespread
ideas of environmentalism and green theory on the cause of climate change. Through this
conception, man, the individual, is understood as the defining element of an era or period in
which his activities have had an impact on nature and the different ecosystems. This
anthropocentrism has used certain premises, such as the duality between man and nature (Moore
2017) to establish that humanity has developed alienated from the natural world. The main
problem with this analysis is that it establishes an imprecise methodology, which, far from
helping to understand the role of capitalism in the deterioration of the environment, helps to
camouflage it by allowing man and humanity as a whole to be blamed, instead of critically
analyzing the concrete practices that have led to the current state of affairs.

Challenging this concept is the notion of capitalocene, proposed by Jason W. Moore.

From this new Marxist interpretation, the cause of climate change is not a common cause.
Concretely, humanity as a whole is not seen as the cause of the problem, but a certain group, a
politico-economic elite that determines contractual relations, disposes of the means of mass
production, and intervenes in its relationship with nature in an individualized and selfish way. In
synthesis, the juncture of the debate becomes whether we should blame humanity individually or
collectively.

Having reviewed these interpretations, it is important to return to the point of origin of

this work and seek to trace the relationship between capitalism and its ideals of progress and the
environmental deterioration experienced by our planet. Numerous factors are involved in this,
but none more clearly than "modernity". At this point we must clarify that we do not refer to
modernity as the beginning of the evils by its innovation with respect to steam and coal
technologies, but from a purely philosophical point of view. (Dale, 2020)

In establishing a notion of progress, modernity distinguished two elements: on the one

hand, that man must conquer and transform nature. Through work, something passive and
unproductive is converted into something useful. This appropriation of the natural has correlates
in different issues, but the damming of rivers, the felling of forests, the cultivation of land and
the creation of large urban settlements stand out. In short, the destruction and transformation of
nature was the central focus of progress for modernity. (Moore, 2018) On the other hand, we find
a second defining element of modernity, which is the attempt to separate or differentiate man
from nature, to conceive him as something autonomous from it, and therefore from the "wild".
This point is particularly interesting, since it is the moral expiation of the European conquest of
the New World and later of the African continent. By conquering these "virgin" territories, the
European missions constituted an "aid" to separate the indigenous people from the natural world
and bring them closer to civilization. (Moore, 2017)

Recapitulating on this notion of progress, where man is almost something alien to nature
and where his moral duty is to appropriate it, centuries of human and natural exploitation have
called into question such principles and notions. In the 21st century, this liberal conception of
progress is highly questioned and it is necessary to establish new notions that allow us to better
understand the current reality that surrounds us and to rethink our future relationship with the
natural environment.

To conclude this brief work, it seems important to us to highlight that, facing the future,
without a change in the liberal and capitalist mentality, without a change of base in the political
elites, without a new notion of progress, which contemplates social equity, the decrease of
inequalities, global hunger, the care of the oceans and the commitment to take care of the planet,
our future housing reality on earth may be severely compromised. (Klein, 2019). Going back to
our first discussion, it is important to reprioritize and name things by name: instead of blaming
millions of poor people for their consumption behavior, it is time to start questioning which
consumption relations prevail, and particularly who determines them. In Moore's words, “shut
down a coal plant and you can slow global warming for a day; shut down the relations that made
the coal plant, and you can stop it for good”.

REFERENCES

Dale, Gareth, et al (2020) 'Ecosocialism or Barbarism?' Ecologist: The Journal for a Post-

Industrial Age, April 6

Klein, Naomi (2019) On Fire: The Burning Case for a Green New Deal, London: Allen Lane

Moore, Jason (2015) Capitalism in the Web of Life:  Ecology and the Accumulation of Capital,
London: Verso

Moore, Jason (2017) 'The Capitalocene, Part I: On the Nature and Origins of our Ecological
Crisis', The Journal of Peasant Studies, 44/3: 594-630

Moore, Jason (2018) The Capitalocene, Part II: Accumulation by Appropriation and the
Centrality of Unpaid Work/ Energy,' The Journal of Peasant Studies, 45/2: 237-79