The dissertation reinterprets the concept of forces of production through an ecological lens and analyzes the fettering of “green productive forces” in the context of the deepening climate crisis. In contrast to more established interpretations, I define forces of production broadly as the practices, processes, relations and objects through which we are purposefully linked to and transform the rest of nature. I demonstrate the basis for this interpretation in Marx’s own work and develop its implication through contemporary scholarship. In present circumstances, it allows us to see that ecological knowledge itself, as well as associated developments in renewable energy technology and green infrastructure, represent advancements in productive forces. However, I argue that such green productive forces are today fettered by capitalist relations of production. The second portion of the dissertation analyzes this process through case studies focusing on Canadian fossil capitalism. In this context, I examine the deepening of fossil-fuelled productive forces and simultaneous blockages in the development and productive utilization of renewable energy and ecological knowledge. This includes a focus on carbon capital’s strategic efforts to colonize such productive forces and fashion them in a manner that is consonant with the accumulation strategies and power relations permeating fossil capitalism. / Graduate / 2020-03-29
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uvic.ca/oai:dspace.library.uvic.ca:1828/10901 |
| Date | 23 May 2019 |
| Creators | Graham, Nicolas |
| Contributors | Carroll, William K. |
| Source Sets | University of Victoria |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | Available to the World Wide Web |
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