The Vulnerable Planet: A Short Economic History of the Environment

John Bellamy Foster's book "The Vulnerable Planet" admirably fulfills its purpose as an introduction to the current ecological crisis and its economic, historical and social background. Written in an accessible style, Foster gives an overview of the history of man's interaction with nature and the successes and failures in doing this, as well as an analysis of the current crisis and its severity. Unlike some introductions of this kind, the author takes care to discuss the ecological impact of our civilizations before the Industrial Revolution, and points out that even in ancient times, unsustainable forms and modes of production have collapsed even great civilizations and empires, such as the Sumerians in Mesopotamia, the Mayans in Central America and the Romans in North Africa. However, Foster takes pains to show how the Industrial Revolution transformed our prior relations with nature, interaction as equals, into seemingly unlimited mastery over all natural resources. Combined with a worldwide mode of production that sustains itself by unlimited accumulation on one pole, and a compulsion of billions to labor for the same on the other pole, it is obvious that the planet can ill afford this system existing for much longer. Nations that have attempted to escape the domination of foreign capital and that have attempted to steer an independent course for their peoples have yet had to industrialize in the same manner to be able to maintain themselves politically, compelled by the same logic that they set out to resist. It is obvious therefore that to save our planet (and thereby ourselves), we must not only overthrow our current mode of production, but also do so in a manner that consciously resists the same logic of accumulation and resource destruction that has brought us into this crisis. The red and the green must always go hand in hand if humanity is to steer away from the abyss.

There's a lot of information out there about the destruction of the planet, but an understanding of where it comes from is harder to come by. Vulnerable Planet is a very useful starting point. Using historical materialism to trace the roots of environmental degradation, Foster breaks down some of the key debates, showing that it is not over-population, industrial production or humanity in of itself that is the problem. Rather the way that production and distribution are organized under capitalism that consistently puts the drive for profit above environmental sustainability. This book is short, but packed with information, statistics, and crucially a sound political framework from which to understand both the roots and the solution to the problem.

This is a little book, but very informative, although some may be put off by its Marxist point of view. Environmental destruction, as Foster shows, is as old as humankind. Nevertheless destruction of the natural world has increased at an astonishing rate during modern times making ours a very vulnerable planet. Foster links this increase to a specific social system, capitalism, instead of industrialism in general as many other critics do. This is a thought-provoking connection to make, since our media is usually silent on this topic. According to Foster (and Marx), it seems our system, capitalism, has an inborn need to turn everything it can into a saleable commodity in order to make money. Moreover it has to keep expanding commodities into ever new fields in order to return profits on money already invested. Like Topsy, then, the laws of its development tell it to either grow or die. Thus, when venture capitalists look at nature, they don't see what is living there; they see limitless raw material to be processed and sold, and if they don't do it, some competitor will. It is this relentless engine of development and destruction that has made the planet vulnerable. Thus Foster blames the problem on the way our economy operates, and not on technology in general. Critics should examine his arguments. A couple of other subjects Foster discusses are worthy of review, given how they are usually talked about. On the topic of population and poverty, Malthus, an 18th century clergyman, famously blames poverty on the poor. The poor keep having kids when they shouldn't, he argues, which is why there are more hungry mouths to feed than food to feed them. So, the lesson is don't feed them, they'll just have more kids. Being a parson and a kind of Newt Gingrich of his time, he would leave the wretched to the mercies of God. On the other hand, Foster (and Marx) take an historical perspective on overpopulation. Capital must have the poor, because wage levels depend on having an excessive number of poor people around. Employers need them as so-called replacement workers, should their own employees strike for higher wages. Without that threat, wages would rise and employers would lose money. The poor are not God's creation, they are man's. (Considering how our chief cental banker Alan Greenspan acts by encouraging unemployment, Foster's approach makes sense.) Ecology is another important part of our planet's mounting crisis. In making his case that our economic system is the main cause of the problem, Foster discusses Barry Commoner's four informal laws of capitalist ecology. They are worth mentioning. 1) Only the cash nexus (money) is lasting; 2) Waste can go anywhere as long as it's out of the capitalist loop; 3) The free market knows best: 4) nature is the possession of the private property owner. Together these provisions make up capital's marching orders in its assault on nature. Provision #3 seems particularly dest