Published In
Hampton Institute
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-6-2020
Subjects
Climatic changes -- Social aspects, Racial justice, Capitalism -- Social aspects, Energy consumption -- Social aspects -- United States, Fossil fuels -- Social aspects -- United States, Social justice
Abstract
The narrative of oppression moves through dialectical pressures. Capitalism evolved from the feudal order that preceded it, creating new forms of racial oppression that benefited an emerging ruling class [1]. Racial tensions evolve alongside economic oppression that subjugates labor to capital. The preceding racial order molds to emerging mechanisms of expropriation and exploitation by way of force and resistance. Beneath the surface of these tensions lies the interconnected threads of ecological and human expropriation. At the heart of all oppression, lies the manipulation of reproduction. The social processes necessary to reproduce black and brown communities, the ecological processes necessary to reproduce various species, and the dialectical processes that exist between humans and nature that are necessary to reproduce societies; the history of oppression is a tapestry of exploitation and expropriation interwoven so as to reproduce the means of maintaining the ruling class lifestyle. From afar this tapestry looks like a single garment; enslavement, capitalism, colonialism, etc. all coming together to produce the image of modernity, but on close examination one can see the interlocking threads of history weaving together a tapestry of oppression.
Rights
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/34526
Citation Details
McGee Julius and Patrick Trent Greiner (2020). “Racial Justice is Climate Justice: Racial Capitalism and the Fossil Economy,” Hampton Institute.
Included in
Economics Commons, Environmental Policy Commons, Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies Commons, Social Justice Commons, Social Welfare Commons, Sociology Commons, Urban Studies and Planning Commons