Historisch-materialistische Kritik gängiger Erklärungen des gesellschaftlichen Naturverhältnisses im Kapitalismus fördert idealistische, kulturalistische und politizistische Verkürzungen zu Tage. Eine kritische Theorie des gesellschaftlichen Naturverhältnisses auf Basis des Marx'schen Hauptwerks Das Kapital zeigt, dass die Gesetzmäßigkeiten der kapitalistischen Gesellschaft notwendig zu systematischer Naturzerstörung führen. Die kapitalistische Produktionsweise ist mit nachhaltiger Entwicklung unvereinbar.
Historical-materialistic critique of common explanations of the social relationship to nature in capitalism brings to light idealistic, culturalistic and politicistic short-cuts. A critical theory of social nature relations based on Marx's major work Das Kapital shows that the laws of capitalist society necessarily lead to systematic destruction of nature. The capitalist mode of production is incompatible with sustainable development.
Historisch-materialistische Kritik gängiger Erklärungen des gesellschaftlichen Naturverhältnisses im Kapitalismus fördert idealistische, kulturalistische und politizistische Verkürzungen zu Tage. Eine kritische Theorie des gesellschaftlichen Naturverhältnisses auf Basis des Marx'schen Hauptwerks Das Kapital zeigt, dass die Gesetzmäßigkeiten der kapitalistischen Gesellschaft notwendig zu systematischer Naturzerstörung führen. Die kapitalistische Produktionsweise ist mit nachhaltiger Entwicklung unvereinbar.
In the last three decades, the interchange between Marxism and critical human–animalism has gratifyingly picked up. Scholars use Marxist categories to analyse and criticise the exploitation and oppression of animals in capitalism. But the application of Marx's original concepts often rests on fragile analogies and judgements. To conceptualise the exploitation of animals accurately and substantiate the common class struggle for humans and animals theoretically, the present article serves to get the terminology straight with respect to four interrelated topics. First, the common charge against Marx's theory to build on a human–animal dualism is refuted by showing that he understands the relationship between humans and animals as a historical materialist, socio-practical and dialectical differentiation. Second, based on a relational understanding of the capitalist mode of production, I argue that animals are not wage labourers, slaves or super-exploited commodities. Rather, as nature in general, they are super-exploited and despotically oppressed by the capitalist class. This capital–animal relation turns animals into private property and means of production at the hands of capital. It also has significant consequences for a value theory of animal labour. Animals, third, do not create value or surplus value and they do not produce commodities. They produce products and these as well as their labour are appropriated by capital for free. Finally, fourth, I defend the transfer of the concept of alienation to animals in general. But animal alienation has to be derived from the form of social labour as in the human case and it has to include the estrangement from body and life as well due to the special form of animal exploitation in capitalism.
In human-animal studies and critical animal studies, the most influential treatment of animalist Marxism and Marxist animalism has been developed by Ted Benton on the basis of his interpretation of Karl Marx's work. This article focuses minutely on Benton's argument and Marx's Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844 (or Paris Manuscripts), refuting Benton's contentions point by point and forcefully challenging the idea that Marx's work was speciesist in orientation.
Historical-materialistic critique of common explanations of the social relationship to nature in capitalism brings to light idealistic, culturalistic and politicistic short-cuts. A critical theory of social nature relations based on Marx's major work Das Kapital shows that the laws of capitalist society necessarily lead to systematic destruction of nature. The capitalist mode of production is incompatible with sustainable development.
