A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things: A Guide to Capitalism, Nature, and the Future of the PlanetNature, money, work, care, food, energy, and lives: these are the seven things that have made our world and will shape its future. In making these things cheap, modern commerce has transformed, governed, and devastated Earth. In A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things, Raj Patel and Jason W. Moore present a new approach to analyzing today’s planetary emergencies. Bringing the latest ecological research together with histories of colonialism, indigenous struggles, slave revolts, and other rebellions and uprisings, Patel and Moore demonstrate that throughout history, crises have always prompted fresh strategies to make the world cheap and safe for capitalism. At a time of crisis in all seven cheap things, innovative and systemic thinking is urgently required. This book proposes a radical new way of understanding—and reclaiming—the planet in the turbulent twenty-first century. |
Contents
| 1 | |
1 Cheap Nature | 44 |
2 Cheap Money | 64 |
3 Cheap Work | 91 |
4 Cheap Care | 111 |
5 Cheap Food | 138 |
6 Cheap Energy | 161 |
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Common terms and phrases
African agricultural American Anthropocene became Black Death Braudel capi capitalism capitalism’s ecology capitalist cash chapter cheap energy cheap food cheap lives cheap money cheap nature cheap things Chichimec civilization climate change coal colonial Columbus commodity conquest crisis crop debt demand developed Dutch Dutch Republic early modern economic emerged empires encomienda England English Europe European extrahuman feudal force forest fossil fuel frontiers gender Genoa Genoese Global South grain Green Revolution household humans Ibid ideas India Indigenous industry International island labor labor power land Little Ice Age London Madeira Medieval Warm Period modern world Moore Nature and Society neoliberal organizing Patel peasants percent planetary plantations political population possible production profit relations relationship reparation rise silver sixteenth century slaves social soil Spanish strategy sugar tion trade transformed turn United University Press wage wheat women workers world-ecology