By Homeless Romantic, John Bellamy Foster (Posted Sep 28, 2023)

Originally published: Medium  on September 27, 2023 (more by Medium)  | 

Capitalism, Ecology, Imperialism, MarxismGlobalCommentary, InterviewFeatured

My friend John Bellamy Foster, a professor emeritus of Sociology, discusses his journey towards Marxism and his interest in environmental issues. He explains how his involvement in the anti-Vietnam War movement led him to philosophical readings, and how subsequent events like the coup in Chile and economic crises reignited his passion for activism. Foster explains Marx’s ecological critique of capitalism and how the concept of “metabolic rift” highlights the alienation between humans and nature caused by capitalism’s focus on profit over sustainability.

He also discusses the evolution of Marxist theory, the rise of financialization and its relationship to economic stagnation, the changes in the global labor market, and the rise of China. Foster touches on his book “Trump in the White House,” which explores the relationship between Trump and neo-fascism.

He also highlights the need for a fundamental transformation of society to achieve ecological sustainability, emphasizing the importance of degrowth and planning, and the need to shift towards zero net investment in rich countries. Foster concludes by emphasizing the urgency of investing in saving the planet and promoting sustainable human development, democracy, and equality.

Visit John Bellamy Foster’s Website
https://johnbellamyfoster.org/category/books/

About Homeless Romantic

Ph.D. Rocket Surgeon & Aspiring Troglodyte

About John Bellamy Foster

John Bellamy Foster, professor of sociology at the University of Oregon, is editor of Monthly Review, an independent socialist magazine published monthly in New York City. His research is devoted to critical inquiries into theory and history, focusing primarily on the economic, political and ecological contradictions of capitalism, but also encompassing the wider realm of social theory as a whole. He has published numerous articles and books focusing on the political economy of capitalism and the economic crisis, ecology and the ecological crisis, and Marxist theory: (with Brett Clark) The Robbery of Nature: Capitalism and the Ecological Rift; The Return of Nature: Socialism and Ecology; (with Paul Burkett) Marx and the Earth: An Anti-Critique (2016); The Theory of Monopoly Capitalism: An Elaboration of Marxian Political Economy (New Edition, 2014); (with Robert W. McChesney) The Endless Crisis: How Monopoly-Finance Capital Produces Stagnation and Upheaval from the USA to China (2012); (with Fred Magdoff) What Every Environmentalist Needs to Know About Capitalism: A Citizen’s Guide to Capitalism and the Environment (2011); (with Brett Clark and Richard York) The Ecological Rift: Capitalism’s War on the Earth (2009); (with Fred Magdoff) The Great Financial Crisis: Causes and Consequences (2009); The Ecological Revolution: Making Peace with the Planet (2009); (with Brett Clark and Richard York) Critique of Intelligent Design: Materialism versus Creationism from Antiquity to the Present (2008); Ecology Against Capitalism (2002); Marx’s Ecology: Materialism and Nature (2000); (with Frederick H. Buttel and Fred Magdoff) Hungry for Profit: The Agribusiness Threat to Farmers, Food, and the Environment (2000); The Vulnerable Planet: A Short Economic History of the Environment (1999); (with Ellen Meiksins Wood and Robert W. McChesney) Capitalism and the Information Age: The Political Economy of the Global Communication Revolution (1998); (with Ellen Meiksins Wood) In Defense of History: Marxism and the Postmodern Agenda (1997); The Theory of Monopoly Capitalism: An Elaboration of Marxian Political Economy (1986); (with Henryk Szlajfer) The Faltering Economy: The Problem of Accumulation Under Monopoly Capitalism (1984). His work is published in at least twenty-five languages. Visit johnbellamyfoster.org for a collection of most of Foster’s works currently available online.