MACMILLAN Ecologically Unequal Exchange: Environmental Injustice in Comparative and Historical Perspective

At a time of societal urgency surrounding ecological crises from depleted fisheries to mineral extraction and potential pathways towards environmental and ecological justice, this book re-examines ecologically unequal exchange (EUE) from a historical and comparative perspective. The theory of ecologically unequal exchange posits that core or northern consumption and capital accumulation is based on peripheral or southern environmental degradation and extraction. In other words, structures of social and environmental inequality between the Global North and Global South are founded in the extraction of materials from, as well as displacement of waste to, the South. This volume represents a set of tightly interlinked papers with the aim to assess ecologically unequal exchange and to move it forward. Chapters are organised into three main sections: theoretical foundations and critical reflections on ecologically unequal exchange; empirical research on mining, deforestation, fisheries, and the like; and strategies for responding to the adverse consequences associated with unequal ecological exchange. Scholars as well as advanced undergraduate and graduate students will benefit from the spirited re-evaluation and extension of ecologically unequal exchange theory, research, and praxis. Review “Ecologically Unequal Exchange stands for what is now widely recognized as a key area of investigation in environmental sociology. In this varied collection, R. Scott Frey, Paul K. Gellert, and Harry F. Dahms bring together a number of interesting essays on the topic, adding to this burgeoning literature, and in a way that will undoubtedly influence the further development of the field.” (John Bellamy Foster, Professor of Sociology, University of Oregon; author (with Paul Burkett) of Marx and the Earth) “State-of-the-art theory and analysis of global inequality and power in the web of life. Ecologically Unequal Exchange offers a series of creative, insightful, and empirically-grounded accounts of how capitalism forges destructive and unequal developments, with gruesome impacts on humans and the rest of nature.” (Jason W. Moore, Professor of Sociology, Binghamton University; author of Capitalism in the Web of Life) From the Back Cover At a time of societal urgency surrounding ecological crises from depleted fisheries to mineral extraction and potential pathways towards environmental and ecological justice, this book re-examines ecologically unequal exchange (EUE) from a historical and comparative perspective. The theory of ecologically unequal exchange posits that core or northern consumption and capital accumulation is based on peripheral or southern environmental degradation and extraction. In other words, structures of social and environmental inequality between the Global North and Global South are founded in the extraction of materials from, as well as displacement of waste to, the South. This volume represents a set of tightly interlinked papers attempting to assess ecologically unequal exchange and to move it forward. Chapters are organised into three main sections: theoretical foundations and critical reflections on ecologically unequal exchange; empirical research on mining, deforestation, fisheries, and the like; and strategies for responding to the adverse consequences associated with unequal ecological exchange. Scholars as well as advanced undergraduate and graduate students will benefit from the spirited re-evaluation and extension of ecologically unequal exchange theory, research, and praxis. About the Author Harry F. Dahms is Professor of Sociology, co-director of the Center for the Study of Social Justice, and co-chair of the Committee on Social Theory at the University of Tennessee – Knoxville, USA. He is the editor of ‘Current Perspectives in Social Theory’ and director of the International Social Theory Consortium.  R. Scott Frey is Professor of Sociology an