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Cited by 1,495Political Economy and MarxismMarxism and Critical TheoryContemporary Sociological Theory and Practice

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 75 of the 84 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Marx's Theory of Metabolic Rift: Classical Foundations for Environmental Sociology

Foster, John Bellamy·1999·American Journal of Sociology
DOI 10.1086/210315
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Abstract

This article addresses a paradox: on the one hand, environmental sociology, as currently developed, is closely associated with the thesis that the classical sociological tradition is devoid of systematic insights into environmental problems; on the other hand, evidence of crucial classical contributions in this area, particularly in Marx, but also in Weber, Durkheim, and others, is too abundant to be convincingly denied. The nature of this paradox, its origins, and the means of transcending it are illustrated primarily through an analysis of Marx's theory of metabolic rift, which, it is contended, offers important classical foundations for environmental sociology.

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Crossref · 10.1086/210315

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75 of 75 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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Claims other papers make about this one

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  • In the 1980s, new currents of Marxism emerged, fusing value theory and focus on the environment, with reconstruction of ecological thinking in the Marxist canon.

    “In the 1980s, new currents of Marxism emerged, fusing value theory and focus on the environment, with reconstruction of ecological thinking in the Marxist canon (Foster, 1999;Mies & Shiva, 1993;O'Connor, 1988).”

    From Theories of Political Ecology: Monopoly Capital Against People and the Planet (2023) · cites this paper as Foster, 1999

Citations

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

9 of the 84 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 36

  1. Beck, Ulrich. 1995. Ecological Enlightenment. Atlantic Highlands, N.J.: Humanities Press.
  2. Benton Ted, 1989, New Left Review, 178, 51
  3. Benton, Ted, and Michael Redclift. 1994. "Introduction." Pp. 1-27 in Social Theory and the Global Environment, edited by Michael Redclift and Ted Benton. New York: Routledge.
  4. Carey, Henry. 1858. Letters to the President on the Foreign and Domestic Policy of the Union. Philadelphia: M. Polock.
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  6. Catton, William. 1982. Overshoot. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
  7. Catton William, 1978, American Sociologist, 13, 41
  8. Cohen, Stephen. 1980. Bukharin and the Bolshevik Revolution. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  9. Darwin, Charles. (1859) 1968. The Origin of Species. Middlesex: Penguin.
  10. - 1996. Reconstructing Nature. New York: Routledge.
  11. Dryzek, John. 1997. The Politics of the Earth. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  12. Dunlap Riley, 1983, Rural Sociology, 48, 201
  13. Durkheim, E'mile, and Marcel Mauss. 1963. Primitive Classification. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
  14. Eckersley, Robyn. 1992. Environmentalism and Political Theory. New York: State University of New York Press.
  15. Ferkiss, Victor. 1993. Nature, Technology and Society. New York: New York University Press.
  16. Giradet Herbert, 1997, Architectural Design, 67, 9
  17. Hayward, Tim. 1994. Ecological Thought. Cambridge, Mass.: Polity.
  18. Jacobs, Michael. 1994. "The Limits to Neoclassicism." Pp. 67-91 in Social Theory and the Environment, edited by Michael Redclift and Ted Benton. New York: Routledge.
  19. Komarov, V. L. 1935. "Marx and Engels on Biology." Pp. 190-234 in Marxism and Modern Thought. New York: Harcourt, Brace.
  20. Lenin, V. I. 1961. Collected Works, vol. 5. Edited by Victor Jerome. Moscow: Progress.
  21. - 1865. Letters on the Subject of the Utilization of the Metropolitan Sewage. London: W. H. Collingridge.
  22. Martinez-Alier, Juan. 1987. Ecological Economics. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
  23. - (1867) 1976. Capital, vol. 1. New York: Vintage.
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  26. Marx, Karl, and Friedrich Engels. (1848) 1967. The Communist Manifesto. New York: Monthly Review.
  27. McConnell, Campbell. 1987. Economics. New York: McGraw Hill.
  28. - 1993. Regarding Nature. Albany: State University of New York Press.
  29. Norgaard, Richard. 1994. Development Betrayed. New York: Routledge.
  30. Perelman Michael, 1988, Environment, Technology and Society, 51, 15
  31. Redclift, Michael, and Graham Woodgate. 1994. "Sociology and the Environment." Pp. 51-66 in Social Theory and the Global Environment, vol. 1. Edited by Michael Redclift and Ted Benton. New York: Routledge.
  32. Schnaiberg, Allen. 1980. The Environment. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  33. Shanin, Teodor. 1983. Late Marx and the Russian Road. New York: Monthly Review.
  34. 10.2307/2592204 · DOI
  35. Uranovsky, Y. M. 1935. "Marxism and Natural Science." Pp. 136-74 in Marxism and Modern Thought. New York: Harcourt, Brace.
  36. Wolman Abel, 1965, Scientific American, 213, 179

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Metadata

Authors
Foster, J. B.
Affiliations
University of Oregon (US)
Corresponding author
Foster, John Bellamy
Venue
American Journal of Sociology
Publisher
University of Chicago Press
Published
1999-09
Volume
105
Issue
2
Pages
366-405
ISSN
  • 0002-9602 (ISSN-L)
  • 1537-5390
DOI
10.1086/210315
OpenAlex
W2006759735
Semantic Scholar
08977c53168b07510bc2890c2e7e9e0d28e3ce0b
Cited by
1,495
References
84
Citations by year
2026: 170 · 2025: 128 · 2024: 133 · 2023: 126 · 2022: 82 · 2021: 116 · 2020: 98 · 2019: 77 · 2018: 81 · 2017: 56 · 2016: 59 · 2015: 67 · 2014: 54 · 2013: 41 · 2012: 34
FWCI
33.61
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
American Journal of Sociology (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Political Economy and Marxism
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Philosophy › Marxism and Critical Theory
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Contemporary Sociological Theory and Practice
Keywords
metabolic rift, Karl Marx, environmental sociology, classical sociology, Max Weber, Émile Durkheim, environmental problems, history of environmental thought

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