
Metabolic Rifts
Capitalism's Assault on the Earth System
Ian Angus(Author)
Monthly Review Press,U.S.
Published on 26. March 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
248 pages
978-1-68590-161-5 (ISBN)
Description
Like an autoimmune disease that attacks the body it dwells in, capitalism is tearing apart the very planet that feeds it. Metabolic Rifts: Capitalism's Assault on the Earth System, builds on Karl Marx's insight that while capitalism is dependent on the natural world, it is also waging war on the natural systems that sustain life on Earth.
Focusing on deadly rifts in two of the most important natural systems--the carbon and nitrogen cycles--Ian Angus explains and elaborates on the Marxist view that capitalism is massively disrupting essential exchanges of matter and energy between society and the rest of nature, putting the entire Earth System in danger. After tracing the long-neglected history of metabolic rift theory in scientific and socialist writing, Angus draws on a wealth of modern research to extend and deepen the natural science basis of Marxist ecology. In clear, non-technical language, Metabolic Rifts offers a scientific basis for understanding the deep causes of today's environmental crises, and a program for action to prevent catastrophe in our time.More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 207 mm
Width: 137 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
344 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-68590-161-5 (9781685901615)
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Other editions
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E-Book
03/2026
Monthly Review Press
€20.49
Available for download
Person
Ian Angus is the author of Facing the Anthropocene (Monthly Review Press, 2016), editor of the online ecosocialist journal Climate & Capitalism, and a founding member of the Global Ecosocialist Network. His previous books include A Redder Shade of Green (2017), and The War Against the Commons (2023).