Political Economy

-Capitalist Mode of Production as Major Driver of Enrvionmental Degradation and

Environmental Injustice.

-Human-Environment Interactions are mostly mediated through work, labor, capital,

and the economy.

____________________________

Globalist Capitalist mode of production prone to ecological crisis

Human society sees the world as commodities
Globalization led to "development of the underdeveloped"
High Clamor for societal change and environmental justice

1. The Global capitalist mode involves labor; accumulation of capital; creation of

contradictions; and financial and ecological crises.

Human labor is important to commodification. People don't control the means of

production and do not have access to natural raw materials.

Labor + Raw Materials + Means of Production = Commodity

In order to maximize profits, laborers are often underpaid.

Capitalism led to elites seizing the means of production and land. This allows for
accumulation of capital and led to social classification of the Proletariat vs
Bourgeoisie.

Contradictions:
Race between capitalists' accumulation of capital via tech, focused on production
and selling of goods and cutting back on labor and environmental costs for
maximization of profits.

Sustainability of the economy is defined by Overaccumulation of Capital of the

elite, thus limits the circulation of capital.

Contradictions:
Leading to crises with capitalists exploiting workers by increasing their loads,
working hours, and undermining their environmental conditions.

2. Commodification of nature has conflicted Human Society with two viewpoints:

Nature is external
People are part of Nature

We don't appreciate the beauty of nature anymore. Thus, we view nature as something
that we "own."

Human relations with nature are influenced by social structure and their place in
the ongoing capitalist economy. (utilitarianism)

3. Sustained Accumulation of Capital and it's circulation is needed for capitalism

to work. Expansion of core into developing countries seem logical. Tapping new
markets for cheaper labor and novel environments leads to a globalized network of
exchange.

This allows for capitalists in already industrialized countries to exploit the

environment of the Global South for profits.

4. From globalization led to environmental degradation, thus human lives are

affected. And soon leads to environmental activism that points out injustice of
minority and low-income communities.

__________________________

WORLD SYSTEMS THEORY

-a social system
-born of conflict and tension
-sometimes weak in internal logic and functioning
___________________________

Dependency Theory
-Resources flow from Periphery to Core, enriches the latter at the expense of the
former.
-Periphery is crushed, by the economy of the Core
-Periphery cannot stand on its own, because resources are depleted.

____________________________

Modernization Theory
Periphery can grow via "assistance" from1st world or more developed countries
Forgets about the fact that Core only developed because of exploitation of
Periphery
Rich and Poor are part of one system

______________________________

Core and Periphery

Core = NA, WEU, EA
Periphery = 3rd World, Less Developed, Developing
Peripheralization = Stratification of New Areas into World-Economy, thus not viewed
as equals. And pressured to join on unfavorable terms (plunder)
Space is not iherently core and periphery in NATURE, but merely in operation.
Operations in core is notably, relatively high, advanced, and diversified
production, where the inverse of that is in the periphery.

______________________________________

Social Construction of Nature

Many things or conditions we have thought as "natural" may have been products of
social inventions.