Description
Book SynopsisWhile animal suffering and abuse have taken place throughout history, the alienation of humanity from nature caused by the development of capitalism - by the logic of capital and its system of generalized commodity production - accelerated and increased the depredations in scope and scale.
The capitalist commodification of animals is extensive. It includes, but is not limited to:
- livestock production in concentrated animal feeding operations
- leather and fur production
- the ivory trade in which tusks are used for 'traditional medicines; or carved into decorative objects
- entertainment such as in zoos, marine parks, and circuses
- laboratory experimentation to test medicines, beauty products, pesticides, and other chemicals
- the pursuit of trophy hunting, sometimes on canned farms and sometimes in the wild
- bioengineering of livestock and of animals used in laboratories
The contributors to this special issue of Research in Political Economy provide insightful analyses that address the historical transformations in the material conditions and ideological conceptions of nonhuman animals, alienated speciesism, the larger ecological crisis that is undermining the conditions of life for all species, and the capitalist commodification of animals that results in widespread suffering, death, and profits. This book is a must-read not only for political economists, but also for researchers interested in animal studies, environmentalism, and sustainability.
Table of ContentsIntroduction. The Capitalist Commodification of Animals: A Brief Introduction;
Brett Clark and Tamar Diana Wilson Part I. Theoretical Approaches to the Commodification of Animals Chapter 1. It’s Not Humans, It’s Animal Capital;
Christian Stache Chapter 2. Animals and Nature: The Co-Modification of the Sentient Biosphere;
Paula Brügger Chapter 3. Abstract Life, Abstract Labor, Abstract Mind;
Charles Thorpe and Brynna Jacobson Chapter 4. Mission Impossible? Reflections on Objectification and Instrumentalization of Animals in the Economy;
Wolfgang Leyk Part II. Case Studies of the Commodification of Animals Chapter 5. The Commodification of Living Beings in the Fur Trade: The Intersection Cheap Raw Materials and Cheap Labor;
Tamar Diana Wilson Chapter 6. Capitalism Has Granted Wolves a Temporary Reprieve from Extinction;
Alexander Simon Chapter 7. The Landowners’ Ethic: Aldo Leopold, Game Management, and Private Property;
Cade Jameson Part III. Argentina’s Working Class Chapter 8. The Dynamics of Violence and Labor Conflict in Villa Constitución, Argentina, 1973-1975;
Agustín Santella
