Fossil Capital

The Rise of Steam Power and the Roots of Global Warming

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science, Government, Public Policy, Science & Nature, Science, Earth Sciences, Business & Finance, Economics
Cover of the book Fossil Capital by Andreas Malm, Verso Books
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Author: Andreas Malm ISBN: 9781784781309
Publisher: Verso Books Publication: February 23, 2016
Imprint: Verso Language: English
Author: Andreas Malm
ISBN: 9781784781309
Publisher: Verso Books
Publication: February 23, 2016
Imprint: Verso
Language: English

How capitalism first promoted fossil fuels with the rise of steam power

The more we know about the catastrophic implications of climate change, the more fossil fuels we burn. How did we end up in this mess? In this masterful new history, Andreas Malm claims it all began in Britain with the rise of steam power. But why did manufacturers turn from traditional sources of power, notably water mills, to an engine fired by coal? Contrary to established views, steam offered neither cheaper nor more abundant energy—but rather superior control of subordinate labour. Animated by fossil fuels, capital could concentrate production at the most profitable sites and during the most convenient hours, as it continues to do today. Sweeping from nineteenth-century Manchester to the emissions explosion in China, from the original triumph of coal to the stalled shift to renewables, this study hones in on the burning heart of capital and demonstrates, in unprecedented depth, that turning down the heat will mean a radical overthrow of the current economic order.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

How capitalism first promoted fossil fuels with the rise of steam power

The more we know about the catastrophic implications of climate change, the more fossil fuels we burn. How did we end up in this mess? In this masterful new history, Andreas Malm claims it all began in Britain with the rise of steam power. But why did manufacturers turn from traditional sources of power, notably water mills, to an engine fired by coal? Contrary to established views, steam offered neither cheaper nor more abundant energy—but rather superior control of subordinate labour. Animated by fossil fuels, capital could concentrate production at the most profitable sites and during the most convenient hours, as it continues to do today. Sweeping from nineteenth-century Manchester to the emissions explosion in China, from the original triumph of coal to the stalled shift to renewables, this study hones in on the burning heart of capital and demonstrates, in unprecedented depth, that turning down the heat will mean a radical overthrow of the current economic order.

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