What Every Environmentalist Needs to Know About Capitalism by John Bellamy Foster and Fred Magdoff was published in June of 2011. Based on an article of the same name written by Foster and Magdoff and printed in the March 2010 edition of the socialist magazine Monthly Review, the book is described by its publisher “short, readable…manifesto for those environmentalists who reject schemes of ‘green capitalism’ or piecemeal reform.” The work argues that there is no ecological survival inside of capitalism because capitalism is the root cause of the world’s environmental problems, which is an interconnected group of dilemmas that includes climate change. Therefore, according to Foster and Magdoff, the only way out of environmental disaster is through a complete change in the mode of production. Fred Magdoff is Professor Emeritus of Plant and Soil Science at the University of Vermont. His academic interests “range from soil science to agriculture and food to the environment to the US economy”
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In addition, most of these sources are discussing primary sources of data and news rather than being the data and news themselves. What Every Environmentalist Needs to Know About Capitalism could even be read as a form of meta-analysis of current writing on capitalism and its connection to the environment. Often, Magdoff and Foster will put whole paragraphs from other texts into the book to act as evidence for their argument. Magdoff and Foster also use real life examples of the negative effects capitalism has on the environment and people. At the time the book was written, BP’s 2010 oil spill into the Gulf of Mexico was still in the forefront of the American population’s mind. The authors use the spill and BP’s other environmental sins as examples throughout the text, most likely because of its relevance to current events at the
In addition, most of these sources are discussing primary sources of data and news rather than being the data and news themselves. What Every Environmentalist Needs to Know About Capitalism could even be read as a form of meta-analysis of current writing on capitalism and its connection to the environment. Often, Magdoff and Foster will put whole paragraphs from other texts into the book to act as evidence for their argument. Magdoff and Foster also use real life examples of the negative effects capitalism has on the environment and people. At the time the book was written, BP’s 2010 oil spill into the Gulf of Mexico was still in the forefront of the American population’s mind. The authors use the spill and BP’s other environmental sins as examples throughout the text, most likely because of its relevance to current events at the