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