Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Carbon Capitalism: Energy, Social Reproduction and World Order

Modern civilization and its capitalist systems are bound inextricably with fossil fuels usage. But as carbon resources become scarce, what implications will this have for social reproduction based upon capitalism? Will renewable energy sustain these systems? Or will we witness the end of existing capitalist economies? This book provides an innovative and timely study that mobilizes a new theory of capitalism to explain the rise and fall of petro-market civilization. Di Muzio investigates how political economy theory has traditionally understood energy supply and usage and illuminates how the combination of carbon resources with technological development initiated the industrial revolution, building today s capitalist world order. He then examines the likelihood of renewable resources providing a feasible alternative and asks whether they can beat peak oil prices to sustain food production, health care, science and democracy. Interrogating capital as power this book examines who will be the winners and losers in a world that links energy security with social reproduction and capitalism