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The Theory of "Metabolic Rupture" and Marx's Ecological Reading


The theory of metabolic rift or rupture was originally addressed by John Bellamy Foster (2005) based on Karl Marx's theoretical construct, which asserts that this phenomenon arose from an “irreparable rift” in metabolism, understood as the process between humans and nature and between the city and the countryside. This theory, as Foster (2005, pp. 201-202) noted, anticipated much of today's ecological thinking by developing a critique of environmental degradation and is one of the aspects that highlight the ecological character of Marxist theory.


According to Vanessa de Castro Rosa (2019), a Brazilian researcher, the way humans organize themselves in society is decisive for how they "impact, transform, and appropriate nature." Therefore, the concept of "metabolism" can be considered the basis for understanding political ecology, in a scenario where capitalist production distorts the metabolism between humans and the earth (ROSA, 2019, p. 45).


Thus, the relevance and importance of Marxist theory for understanding the environmental crisis cannot be ignored.


Marx’s Ecology - John Bellamy Foster


In his work "Marx's Ecology", John Bellamy Foster argues against the notions that Marx had no ecological concerns, adopted a “Promethean” or productivist view with little interest in scientific questions or the effects of technology on the environment, or was "speciesist," radically differentiating humans from animals and siding with the former to the detriment of the latter, among other arguments that attempt to distance Marxian thought from ecology.


The productivism or Soviet errors should not be confused with Marxian thought, as Professor Dr. Alysson L. Mascaro states, "the Soviet Union, instead of being a solid socialist state—whose stable existence is virtually an impossibility—was merely a variant of state capitalism" (MASCARO, 2015, p. 25). Similarly, Foster argues that Marx and Engels' ecological critique “was reasonably well known (though its philosophical foundations were more obscure) and had a direct impact on Marxism in the decades immediately following their deaths," but was later discarded, particularly within the Soviet Union during Stalin's control, "when the expansion of production for production's sake became the supreme goal of Soviet society” (FOSTER, 2005, p. 324).


Thus, Marx's ecological view is not only materialistic but also dialectical, as:


Unlike a vitalist or spiritualist worldview, which tends to see the world in accordance with some teleological purpose, a materialist sees evolution as an open process of natural history, governed by contingency, but open to rational explanation [...] A dialectical approach forces us to recognize that organisms in general do not simply adapt to their environment but affect the environment in various ways and, by affecting it, modify it. The relationship is, therefore, reciprocal (FOSTER, 2005, pp. 31-32).

In his work, Foster demonstrates how Marx developed the category of metabolic rift or rupture based on Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and a critique of Malthusianism, as well as studies like that of chemist Justus von Liebig on soil depletion by agriculture.


According to Foster (2005), Marx always treated nature as an extension of the human body, that is, as man's “inorganic body,” because the relationship, which is clearly organic, transcends physically, practically extending the very organs of human beings, who produce the historical relationship with nature largely by producing their means of subsistence (DALLA RIVA, 2020).


In this sense:

For Marx, nature and humans would possess a unique metabolism; nature would be the inorganic body of humans, and with the alienation of the self in capitalism, a visceral separation between the two would occur, establishing the so-called 'metabolic rift.' Marx and Engels, as the first to apply the concept of metabolism to society, associated the term with the city-country relationship, large industry-large agriculture, human-nature, and the 'rift' would lie in the unsustainability of these relationships within capitalism (FREITAS; NÉLSIS; NUNES apud ROSA, 2018, p. 37).

The category of metabolic rift, rupture, or fracture created by Marx and developed by Foster thus denounces how the capitalist mode of production, starting from the Industrial Revolution, deepened the separation between humans and nature to the point of disrupting the metabolic balance existing in the relationship between the two.


DARWIN AND MARX: How the Naturalist Inspired Marx in Analyzing the Metabolic Rift

Darwinian theory influenced Marx's ecological view of the relationship between humans and nature. According to Foster (2005, pp. 51-62), Darwin adopted an unequivocally materialistic position in The Origin of Species.


Marx believed that Darwinian theory offered a compatible materialistic perspective that could serve as a historical-natural basis for his thought, though applied to a different set of phenomena (FOSTER, 2005, pp. 275-279).


Marx linked Darwin's theory to his analysis of human history's development through changes in production and technology, differentiating what is called natural technology from human technology.


While Darwin focused on the history of natural technology (understood as the formation of the organs of plants and animals, which serve as production tools to sustain life), Marx focused on the history of human productive organs in society, "organs that are the material basis of every particular organization of society," created by humans themselves, so that "it reveals the active relationship of humans with nature, the direct process of producing their life" (MARX apud FOSTER, 2005, pp. 278-281).


Therefore, Darwin provided a historical-natural basis for Marx's general theory on the role of labor in the development of human society because "from the beginning the secret, not only of the development of human society but also of the 'transition from ape to man,' lay in labor" (FOSTER, 2005, p. 284).


Additionally, from this Darwinian base, Marx defined the labor process and human relationship with nature as a metabolic interaction in materialistic and evolutionary terms.


EPICURUS'S INFLUENCE ON MARX


Marx's "materialist conception of nature"—as it was called by Engels—stems first from the influence of the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus on his thought since, in addition to implying the expulsion of divine power and teleological principles from nature, "the Epicurean philosophy of nature had as its starting point the 'principle of conservation,' and therefore the tendency towards an ecological worldview" (FOSTER, 2005, pp. 51-62, 93).


As Epicurus emphasized, humans are not only surrounded by nature, but they can alter their relationship with it through inventions. Thus, Marx insisted that the solution to human alienation from nature would only be discovered in practical human history (FOSTER, 2005, p. 110).


In addition to Epicurus's materialism, British and French thinkers played a significant role in shaping Marx's materialist conception of nature and history, as thinkers like Helvétius and Holbach brought materialism into the social sphere, leading, through historical struggle, to the rise of the more radical materialism of communism and socialism: “If a man extracts all his knowledge, perception, etc. from the world of the senses and the experiences obtained there, then what is necessary is to arrange the empirical world in such a way that man experiences and becomes accustomed to what is truly human there ... If properly understood interest is the principle of all morality, man's private interest must be made to coincide with the interest of humanity” (MARX; ENGELS apud FOSTER, 2005, p. 93).


Moreover, it is through Epicurus and Lucretius that the embryo of evolutionary analysis emerges, later appearing in Darwinian theory, which notably influenced Marx's ecological view of the relationship between humans and nature, as Darwin adopted an unequivocally materialistic position in The Origin of Species (FOSTER, 2005, pp. 51-62).


Furthermore, Marx's ecological view is not only materialistic but also dialectical, as: unlike a vitalist or spiritualist worldview, which tends to see the world in accordance with some teleological purpose, a materialist sees evolution as an open process of natural history, governed by contingency, but open to rational explanation [...] A dialectical approach forces us to recognize that organisms in general do not simply adapt to their environment but affect the environment in various ways and, by affecting it, modify it. The relationship is, therefore, reciprocal (FOSTER, 2005, pp. 31-32).


MARXISM AND NATURE: Ecology, History, and Politics


The work MARXISM AND NATURE: Ecology, History, and Politics was organized by Michel Goulart da Silva and contains five studies that take Marxism as a theoretical framework or object of analysis and discuss ecology and the production of knowledge about the relationships established between humans and nature.


In this work, the following essays are found:


-"Capitalism, Science, and Marxism," written by Osvaldo Coggiola, discusses the emergence of science in recent centuries and the influence of capitalism on scientific knowledge due to the commodification of human production.


-"History, Labor, and Evolution," Michel da Silva addresses the relationship between labor and human evolution, considering human activity's contribution as a mediator between humans and nature.


-"Marxism and Ecology: A Dialectical Reflection," Gilson Dantas discusses the relationship between Marxism and ecology, based on John Bellamy Foster's theoretical construct and other thinkers in the field.


-"Ecology, Capitalism, and Class Struggle," as the title suggests, by Osvaldo Coggiola, examines the ecological issue in relation to class.


-"Avatar: Revolution and the Paradox of Technology" - Daniel Menezes Delfino analyzes the film "Avatar" and discusses the ideological limits of the political proposal presented in the movie.


"Marx's Ecology in the 21st Century" - Brett Clark & John Bellamy Foster


The text "Marx's Ecology in the 21st Century" by Brett Clark & John Bellamy Foster is recommended for those interested in delving deeper into the topic of Ecosocialism. It is an essential text for understanding the concept of "metabolic rift."


Below, we translate some of its main arguments:


"Marx was an important precursor, indeed a pioneer, of ecological critique" (p. 142).


"Marx's materialist and metabolic approach, his emphasis on the contradiction between use value and exchange value, between wealth and accumulation, his focus on the sustainability of human development, and his critique of capital as a whole, provide a valuable methodological basis for criticizing contemporary environmental degradation and for imagining social and ecological transformation" (p. 143).


"[...] we are not putting forward the absurd notion that 'the original Marxist canon' contains in itself 'the true and sufficient guide to saving nature from capitalism.' However, it is our assertion that Marx's ecology provides us with a critical method [...] to engage with the main limitation of contemporary ecological thought: its inability to develop a dialectical ecological materialism that relates the 'problem of nature' back to the problem of society."


"Marx explained that labor is part of the metabolic exchange through which humans actively transform the Earth. [...] He emphasized how humans are dependent on nature and forge their history in relation to it. [...] he used the concept of social metabolism to refer to the 'dynamic exchange between humans and nature' of matter and energy."


"Capitalism is a system based on the constant accumulation of capital. It is both 'the subjective goal and the driving force of the entire economic system.' As a result, it is driven by endless growth, on an ever-increasing scale in the wake of accumulation, as 'monetary capital is transformed into a commodity (via production), which then has to be sold for more money, realizing the original value plus an added value or surplus value.' This 'insatiable appetite' for expansion and accumulation is reinforced by competition and the concentration and centralization of capital. This growth requires raw materials and energy, as nature is used to fuel industry and produce commodities for the market. This inherent drive for exponential growth intensifies the social metabolism of the capitalist order, increasing the demands placed on nature" (p. 145).


"The increasing scale of production generates widespread ecological degradation and pollution in a finite world, and the systematic exploitation of nature threatens to undermine the cycles and processes that help regenerate ecosystems" (p. 145).


"The social metabolism of capitalism is increasingly separated from natural metabolism, producing metabolic rifts in natural cycles and processes" (p. 146).


"Marx explained that this type of production 'disturbs the metabolic interaction between man and the earth, that is, it prevents the return to the soil of its constituent elements consumed by man in the form of food and clothing; therefore, it hinders the operation of the eternal natural condition for the lasting fertility of the soil.' As a consequence, a metabolic rift is created in the nutrient cycle" (p. 146).


"The social metabolic order of capitalism is inseparable from ecological imperialism and the expansion of the economic system" (p. 146).


"The power of Marx's ecology is that it provides a rigorous approach to studying the exchange between society and nature, taking into account the specific ecological conditions of an ecosystem (and the larger web of nature), as well as the particular social interactions shaped by the capitalist mode of production."


"Capitalist growth has become increasingly dependent on the burning of fossil fuels to power the production machine and support the unequal exchange of trade between nations. [...] At the same time, the carbon sink absorption capacity is decreasing due to deforestation. As a result, capitalism's carbon metabolism is driving global climate change, pushing humanity toward a tipping point that would fundamentally alter ecological conditions" (p. 147).


"Marx's metabolic analysis has also been extended to the marine environment, where humans have transformed the ocean ecosystem through overfishing, causing a collapse in fisheries, which impairs the ability of fish to replenish their populations. The delicate web that runs through aquatic systems and food chains is threatened by a system that knows no limits [...] capitalist agribusiness relies on a treadmill of fertilizers to produce food on marginal and depleted lands at the rate and scale demanded by the system" (p. 147).


"These metabolic analyses illuminate socio-natural displacements associated with capitalist growth, as metabolic rifts are created in ecosystem after ecosystem, multiplying in intensity and scale as the system's metabolism is pushed forward, oppressing nature on all fronts. This materialist-metabolic ecological analysis reveals the inherently unsustainable character of the capitalist system, as the world is reduced to the logic of capital, and every realm of the world serves as a means to promote the accumulation process" (p. 147).


"Those who viewed labor as the sole source of wealth were, according to Marx, attributing 'supernatural creative power' to labor. Instead, he cited William Petty, who said: 'labor is the father of material wealth, the land is its mother'" (p. 148).


"Capitalism's failure to incorporate nature into the value accounting and its tendency to confuse value with wealth were, for Marx, fundamental contradictions of the system, reflecting the dominance of exchange value over use value, and the theft of nature for the sake of accumulation" (p. 148)

.

"Under capitalism, the monopolization of natural resources has often led to the destruction of public wealth in the process of expanding private wealth."


"Marx's analysis of the destruction of nature's wealth for the sake of accumulation is most evident in his theory of rent, which deals with the consequences of the monopolization of land/nature for private gain."


"It is here, therefore, that Marx frequently refers to the conditions of sustainability: the need to protect the land for successive generations. A condition for this, as stipulated by Marx, is that no one (not even an entire society or all societies together) owns the land, which must be preserved for future generations in accordance with the principles of good housekeeping. For this to be possible, the metabolism in the relationship between humans and nature must be rationally regulated by associated producers according to their needs and those of future generations, while conserving the energy involved in such processes" (p. 152).


"He [Marx] also sometimes referred to the right of nature not to be reduced to a commodity at all."


"On this basis, we can speak of an 'elementary triangle of ecology' emerging from Marx's thought (...): (1) social use, not ownership, of nature; (2) rational regulation by associated producers of the metabolism between humans and nature; and (3) the satisfaction of common needs—not only of the present but also of future generations" (p. 152).


"The global metabolic rift cannot but expand within the capitalist system. It follows that the healing of the Earth can only occur through the restoration of the elementary ecological triangle under an egalitarian and sustainable socialist society" (p. 154).



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References:


COSTA NETO, Canrobert Penn Lopes. De Marx à agroecologia: a transição sociotécnica na reforma agrária brasileira. São Paulo: Cia do eBook, 2018.


DALLA RIVA, Leura. De Marx ao MST: capitalismo financeirizado e forma jurídica como entraves à agroecologia. 112f. Dissertation (Master's in Law) – Federal University of Santa Maria, Center for Social and Human Sciences, Graduate Program in Law, 2020.


FOSTER, John Bellamy. A ecologia da economia política marxista. Lutas Sociais, n. 28, Jan./Jun. 2012. Translated by Pedro Paulo Bocca. Available at: https://revistas.pucsp.br/ls/article/view/18539/pdf. Accessed on: March 30, 2020.


FOSTER, John Bellamy. A Ecologia de Marx: materialismo e natureza. Rio de Janeiro: Civilização Brasileira, 2005.


GUERRA, Clarissa de Souza Guerra.  Soberania Alimentar no Brasil: Limites econômicos (geo) políticos e jurídicos nos marcos do capitalismo periférico. 85f. Dissertation (Master's in Law) – Federal University of Santa Maria, Center for Social and Human Sciences, Graduate Program in Law, 2020.


MARX, Karl. O Capital: crítica da economia política. Book III, Volume 1. São Paulo: Abril Cultural, 1984.


MASCARO, Alysson Leandro. A crítica do Estado e do direito: a forma política e a forma jurídicaA crítica do Estado e do direito: a forma política e a forma jurídica. In: NETTO, José Paulo (ed.). Marx-Engels Free Course: The Creative Destroyer. São Paulo: Boitempo; Carta Maior, 2015.


ROSA, Vanessa de Castro. De Marx a Altieri: os limites do balizamento jurídico para a produção agroecológica nos marcos do capitalismo.. 2019. 250f. Thesis (Doctorate in Political and Economic Sciences) – Mackenzie Presbyterian University, São Paulo, 2019. Available at: http://tede.mackenzie.br/jspui/bitstream/tede/4067/5/Vanessa%20de%20Castro%20Rosa.pdf. Accessed on: April 7, 2020.


SILVA, Maria Beatriz Oliveira da. Marx, Marx, produtivista ou precursor da ecologia? A sempre renovada questão. Rev. Direito Práx. [online]. 2018, vol.9, n.3, p.1735-1752. Available at: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2179-set.89662018000301735&lng=en&nrm=iso. Accessed on: September 7, 2020.

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