Fossil capitalism in the 21st century: economic, energetic, military and elitist mechanisms to trigger the collapse of the planet
This research addresses the structural mechanisms that maintain the burning of fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions in the world stage. This is taking place despite of already wellknown facts, such as climate change, erosion of the biosphere and human suffering. This work begins with the studie...
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2019 |
| País: | México |
| Institución: | UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL AUTÓNOMA DE MÉXICO |
| Repositorio: | Estudios Latinoamericanos |
| Idioma: | español |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:ojs.pkp.sfu.ca:article/77199 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://revistas.unam.mx/index.php/rel/article/view/77199 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | fossil capitalism fossil imperialism fossil fuels greenhouse gasses effect energy rate return militarism power elites. capitalismo fósil imperialismo fósil combustibles fósiles gases de efecto invernadero tasa de retorno energético militarismo élites del poder. capitalismo fóssil imperialismo fóssil combustíveis fósseis gases de efeito estufa taxa de retorno energético elites do poder. |
| Sumario: | This research addresses the structural mechanisms that maintain the burning of fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions in the world stage. This is taking place despite of already wellknown facts, such as climate change, erosion of the biosphere and human suffering. This work begins with the studies on fossil capitalism developed by Elmar Altvater, Ian Angus and Andreas Malm. The starting point of the problem is not “overpopulation”, but rather the activities and roles from which economic elites usually take advantage of. This work uses economic, fossil, military and class indicators that maintain (and will maintain) the burning of fossil fuels during the 21st century. Two categories are proposed to synthesize the capitalist engine of this “accumulated destruction” and the objective responsibility of those who have caused and have been benefited from this threat: 1) the military-industrial-fossil complex, and 2) the fossil elites, both following the work of C. Wright Mills. Finally, it is shown that if we don’t stop the excess of the economic elites, we may see the unfolding of an irreversible effect on the planet. |
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