Planetary Crises: ‘Anthropocene Communism’

Next monthly session September 16

The MEP’s Ecosocialist Study Group meets monthly to discuss important new works on the science and politics of the climate emergency, the nature of economic and ecological crises, and related topics. On September 16 we will consider Anthropocene Communism: Land and Capital in the Age of Disaster, by Paul Guillibert.

In Anthropocene Communism, the philosopher and activist Paul Guillibert proposes a new communism to move us beyond the ecological crisis of late capitalism. In a highly original reading of Karl Marx’s exchanges with Russian populists, and informed by the cultural studies of Raymond Williams, the José Carlos Mariátegui, and Ernst Bloch, Guillibert develops a philosophical naturalism that rethinks our relations with the environment. For Guillibert, if we are to move beyond the Anthropocene, we must develop new strategies. Communism must become environmentalism, and political ecology can only become truly revolutionary once it is communist.

Other recent books of interest to this group are listed here.

Facilitated by Fred Murphy. Since 2015 Fred has led numerous MEP study groups on ecosocialism, science and technology, political economy, the history of capitalism, and Latin American politics. He studied and taught historical sociology at the New School for Social Research and reported from Latin America for several socialist publications.