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Jason W. Moore on Socialism in the Web of Life

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Sep 14, 2025

Guest

Jason W. Moore

Jason W. Moore, an environmental historian at Binghamton University, dives into the complex interplay of socialism and ecology. He critiques the nature-society divide and how it distorts historical narratives. Moore emphasizes the interconnectedness of labor and nature, arguing for alternative frameworks in socialist thought. He discusses the need for radical democratization of governance and the critical importance of unifying the working class. The conversation challenges collapse narratives and calls for crisis-oriented solutions to ecological issues, highlighting the potential for renewed social movements.

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INSIGHT

Make Metabolism A Class Concept

Social metabolism must foreground historically specific labor and class relations, not a transhistorical metabolism.
Marx's concept of circulating constant capital links resource dynamics to class struggle and political economy.

question_answer

ANECDOTE

Socialism Under Siege Shaped Its Path

Socialist states industrialized under siege and imperialist hostility, shaping their strategies and compromises.
These pressures explain differences between socialist projects and their environmental legacies.

volunteer_activism

ADVICE

Reinvent Metrics For Democratic Planning

Reinvent measurement and science as 'proletarian science' that integrates non-human work into planning.
Build democratic metrics that mix quantitative accounting with qualitative relations across the web of life.

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Revisiting the Web of Life

02:11 • 10min

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Interconnectedness of Labor and Nature

12:37 • 23min

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Rethinking Measurement in Socialist Frameworks

35:10 • 25min

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Radical Democratization and Governance in the Web of Life

01:00:07 • 4min

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The Complexities of Socialism and Imperial Resistance

01:03:56 • 21min

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Beyond Collapse Narratives

01:25:06 • 17min

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Unifying the Working Class for Revolutionary Change

01:42:05 • 4min

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Renewal of Social Movements in Challenging Times

01:45:45 • 3min

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The American deep state

big money, big oil, and the struggle for U.S. democracy

Peter Dale Scott

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The ‘Russian’ Civil Wars, 1916-1926

Ten Years That Shook the World

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The collapse of complex societies

Joseph A. Tainter

Joseph Tainter's "The Collapse of Complex Societies" is a seminal work in the study of societal collapse. Tainter argues that complex societies, while initially successful, eventually become unsustainable due to diminishing returns on investments in complexity. He examines various historical examples, including the Roman Empire and the Maya civilization, to illustrate his theory. The book challenges simplistic explanations for societal decline and offers a more nuanced understanding of the factors leading to collapse. It has significantly influenced the field of historical and anthropological studies.

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Storms of My Grandchildren

The Truth About the Coming Climate Catastrophe and Our Last Chance to Save Humanity

James Hansen

In *Storms of My Grandchildren*, James Hansen explains the severe threats posed by global warming, emphasizing the need to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions to 350 ppm or less to avoid catastrophic climate changes. Hansen criticizes 'greenwashing' by politicians and advocates for a carbon tax, the phaseout of coal plant emissions, improved forestry and agricultural practices, and the use of nuclear power. He paints a realistic picture of the devastating consequences if current trends continue but remains optimistic about the possibility of taking effective action to preserve the planet's environment.

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Salvador Engel-Di Mauro

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Techno-Feudalism

Yanis Varoufakis

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Towards a Polycentric World

Samir Amin

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American Exception

Empire and the Deep State

Aaron Good

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A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things

A Guide to Capitalism, Nature, and the Future of the Planet

Jason W. Moore

Raj Patel

Raj Patel and Jason W. Moore's "A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things" explores the interconnectedness of ecological crises and capitalism's inherent drive for cheap production. The book uses the concept of 'cheapness' as an analytical tool to examine how capitalism externalizes costs, leading to environmental degradation and social inequalities. It delves into seven key areas: cheap nature, money, work, care, food, energy, and lives, demonstrating how these factors are intertwined and contribute to global crises. The authors argue that the relentless pursuit of cheapness has created unsustainable systems, and they propose a 'reparations ecology' as a potential path towards a more just and sustainable future. The book's accessible style and compelling examples make it relevant to a broad audience.

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Capitalism in the Web of Life

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Jason W. Moore

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Deep Politics and the Death of JFK

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Eden Medina

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Marx’s Ecology

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John Bellamy Foster

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Capital

Karl Marx

Das Kapital is a comprehensive critique of capitalism written by Karl Marx. The work is divided into three volumes. Volume I, published in 1867, focuses on the production process of capital, introducing the concept of surplus value and the exploitation of labor. Volume II, published posthumously in 1885, examines the circulation of capital, while Volume III, published in 1894, discusses the capitalist process as a whole, including the internal differentiation of the capitalist class and the tendency of the rate of profit to fall. Marx argues that capitalism is characterized by the exploitation of labor, leading to class conflict and eventual crises that necessitate the emergence of a new mode of production.

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Andreas Malm

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This Changes Everything

Colin Gillespie

In this essay, Colin Gillespie examines the significant scientific advancements of the 20th century and how they have transformed our lives. He also delves into what factors might be hindering further progress and presents a startling conclusion on how to overcome these obstacles. The book is a thought-provoking exploration of the intersection of science, society, and human potential.

Jason W. Moore discusses the problematic history of the nature-society divide, his alternative world-ecology approach and the challenges of building socialism.

Shownotes

Jason’s personal website:

https://jasonwmoore.com/

Jason at Binghamtom University:

https://www.binghamton.edu/sociology/faculty/profile.html?id=jwmoore

The World-Ecology Research Collective:

https://worldecologynetwork.wordpress.com/

https://www.researchgate.net/lab/World-Ecology-Research-Collective-Jason-W-Moore

Moore, J. W., & Patel, R. (2020). A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things. A Guide to Capitalism, Nature, and the Future of the Planet. Verso.

https://www.versobooks.com/products/817-a-history-of-the-world-in-seven-cheap-things

Moore, J. W. (2015). Capitalism in the Web of Life. Ecology and the Accumulation of Capital. Verso.

https://www.versobooks.com/products/74-capitalism-in-the-web-of-life

for an overview of different approaches to conceptualizing society/capitalism and nature:

https://www.historicalmaterialism.org/ecology-marxism-andreas-malm/

on Andreas Malm:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andreas_Malm

Malm, A. (2018). The Progress of this Storm. Nature and Society in a Warming World. Verso.

https://www.versobooks.com/products/574-the-progress-of-this-storm

Malm, A. (2016). Fossil Capital. The Rise of Steam Power and the Roots of Global Warming. Verso.

https://www.versobooks.com/products/135-fossil-capital

Federici, S. (2004). Caliban and the Witch. Autonomedia.

https://files.libcom.org/files/Caliban%20and%20the%20Witch.pdf

on Ernst Haeckel:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_Haeckel

see also the chapter on Haeckel and the German Monist League in:

Gasman, D. (2017). The scientific Origins of National Socialism. Routledge.

https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781315134789/scientific-origins-national-socialism-daniel-gasman

on Actor-Network Theory:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actor%E2%80%93network_theory

on Bruno Latour:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruno_Latour

on John Bellamy Foster:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bellamy_Foster

Bellamy, J. F. (2000) Marx’s Ecology. Materialism and Nature. Monthly Review Press.

https://ia904504.us.archive.org/9/items/526394/John%20Bellamy%20Foster.%20Marx%27s%20Ecology..pdf

on Kohei Saito:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kohei_Saito

on Pietro Verri:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pietro_Verri

Marx, K. (1976). Capital. A Critique of Political Economy. Volume One. Penguin.

https://www.surplusvalue.org.au/Marxism/Capital%20-%20Vol.%201%20Penguin.pdf

Marx’s Theses on Feuerbach:

https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1845/theses/theses.htm

Marx’s Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844:

https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1844/manuscripts/preface.htm

Marx’s and Engel’s German Ideology:

https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1845/german-ideology/

Marx’s Capital Vol. 3.:

https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1894-c3/

Marx’s On The Jewish Question:

https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1844/jewish-question/

on Alfred Sohn-Rethel:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Sohn-Rethel

Machado, C. & Miguel, N. (2013). The Money of the Mind and the God of Commodities. The real abstraction according to Sohn-Rethel.

https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/48961/1/MPRA_paper_48961.pdf

on Donna Haraway:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donna_Haraway

on the “Special Period” in Cuba:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Period

on James Lovelock:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Lovelock

Lovelock, J. (1979). Gaia. A New Look at Life on Earth. Oxford University Press.

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/gaia-9780198784883?cc=de&lang=en&#

on “Social metabolism”:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_metabolism

on Raymond Williams:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Williams

Smele, J. D. (2016). The ‘Russian’ Civil Wars, 1916-1926. Ten Years that Shook the World. Hurst.

https://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/the-russian-civil-wars-1916-1926/

Engel-Di Mauro, S. (2021). Socialist States and the Environment. Lessons for Eco-Socialist Futures. Pluto Press.

https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745340418/socialist-states-and-the-environment/

Amin, S. (1990). Delinking. Towards a Polycentric World. Zed Books.

https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/delinking-9780862328030/

on material and energy flow accounting:

see the chapter on that topic in:

Bartelmus, P. (2008). Quantitative Eco-nomics. How sustainable are our economies. Springer.

https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-4020-6966-6

Zeug, W. (2025). INDEP talk with Walther Zeug: Democratic Economic Planning through Cybernetics & Holistic Accounting.

https://youtu.be/I4_8_lDfwEw?si=J-kdRzjIehZqPgs0

Kula, W. (2016). Measures and Men. Princeton University Press.

https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691639079/measures-and-men

Echterhölter, A. M. (2019). Quantification as Conflict. Witold Kula’s Political Metrology and Its Reception in the West . Historyka : studia metodologiczne, 49, 117-141 . Article 9.

https://journals.pan.pl/Content/114031/PDF/7%20ECHTERH%C3%96LTER.pdf

on Max Weber:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Weber

on Double-entry bookkeeping:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double-entry_bookkeeping

on “proletarian science”:

Moore, J.W. (2025). Nature and other dangerous words: Marx, method and the proletarian standpoint in the web of life. Dialectical Anthropology. 49, 149–167.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10624-025-09775-x

on Ecosystem services:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecosystem_service

on the “Ecological footprint” concept:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecological_footprint

on Thomas Müntzer:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_M%C3%BCntzer

on the Royal Botanic Gardens/Kew Gardens:

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Botanic_Gardens_(Kew)

on the Stakhanovite movement:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stakhanovite_movement

on Cybernetics: