John Bellamy Foster

Tag: Turkish Edition

  • The Cultural Apparatus of Monopoly Capital

    “The Cultural Apparatus of Monopoly Capital: Critical Views from the 1960s—An Introduction” [PDF], (coauthored with Robert W. McChesney, Foster listed first), Monthly Review vol. 64, no. 8 (July-August 2013), pp. 1-32.

    The past half-century has been dominated by the rise of media to a commanding position in the social life of most people and nations, to the point where it is banal to regard this as the “information age.” The once-dazzling ascension of television in the 1950s and ‘60s now looks like the horse-and-buggy era when one assesses the Internet, smartphones, and the digital revolution. For social theorists of all stripes communication has moved to center stage. And for those on the left, addressing the role of communication in achieving social change and then maintaining popular rule in the face of reactionary backlash is now a primary concern.… political economists of communication, including one of us, identified themselves as in the tradition of radical political economy, but with a sophisticated appreciation of media that had escaped.… [the stellar critique of journalism produced… by Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky]. Paul Baran and Paul Sweezy were occasionally held up by political economists of communication as representing the sort of traditional Marxists who underappreciated the importance of media, communication, and culture.… We were never especially impressed by this criticism. To us, Monopoly Capital, and the broader political economy of Baran and Sweezy, far from ignoring communication, provided key elements for a serious study of the subject.

    Reprints:
    • Reprinted in Savaş Çoban, ed., The Media and the Left (Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 2014), pp. 67-103;
    • Reprinted in Robert W. McChesney, Blowing the Roof Off the Twenty-First Century: Media, Politics, and the Struggle for Post-Capitalist Democracy (New York: Monthly Review Press, 2014, 188-218.
    Translations:
    • Turkish translation in Monthly Review, Turkish edition (May 2014), pp. 53-68.
  • Class War and Labor’s Declining Share

    Class War and Labor’s Declining Share

    “Class War and Labor’s Declining Share”, (coauthored with Fred Magdoff; Magdoff listed first), Monthly Review vol. 64, no. 10 (March 2013), pp. 1-11. DOI: 10.14452/MR-064-10-2013-03_1

    Given [the] background of high unemployment, lower-wage jobs, and smaller portions of the pie going to workers, it should come as no surprise that, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 50 million people in the United States live in poverty (with income in 2011 below $23,021 for a family of four) while another 50 million live between the poverty level and twice the poverty level—one paycheck away from economic disaster. Thus, the poor (those in poverty or near poverty), most of whom belong to the working poor, account for approximately 100 million people, fully one-third of the entire U.S. population.… Wage repression and high unemployment are the dominant realities of our time. A vast redistribution of income—Robin Hood in reverse—is occurring that is boosting the share of income to capital, even in a stagnating economy. Is it any wonder, then, that for years on end polls have shown a majority of the population agreeing with the statement that the United States is on the wrong track and not headed in the right direction?

    Translations:
    • Turkish translation in Monthly Review, Turkish edition (October 2013), pp. 29- 41.

     

  • James Hansen and the Climate-Change Exit Strategy

    James Hansen and the Climate-Change Exit Strategy

    “James Hansen and the Climate-Change Exit Strategy,”, Monthly Review, vol. 64, no. 9 (February 2013) pp. 1-19. DOI: 10.14452/MR-064-09-2013-02_1

    The world at present is fast approaching a climate cliff. Science tells us that an increase in global average temperature of 2°C (3.6° F) constitutes the planetary tipping point with respect to climate change, leading to irreversible changes beyond human control. A 2°C rise is sufficient to melt a significant portion of the world’s ice due to feedbacks that will hasten the melting. It will thus set the course to an ice-free world. Sea level will rise. Numerous islands will be threatened along with coastal regions throughout the globe. Extreme weather events (droughts, storms, floods) will be far more common. The paleoclimatic record shows that an increase in global average temperature of several degrees means that 50 percent or more of all species—plants and animals—will be driven to extinction. Global food crops will be negatively affected.

    Translations:
    • Turkish translation in Monthly Review, Turkish edition, no. 33 Istanbul: Kalkedon, 2013).
    • Norwegian translation in Vardøger no. 35 (May 2015): 98-116;

     

  • The Endless Crisis

    The Endless Crisis

    “The Endless Crisis”, (coauthored with Robert W. McChesney, Foster listed first), Monthly Review, vol. 64, no. 1 (May 2012), pp. 1-28. DOI: 10.14452/MR-064-01-2012-05_1

    The Great Financial Crisis and the Great Recession began in the United States in 2007 and quickly spread across the globe, marking what appears to be a turning point in world history. Although this was followed within two years by a recovery phase, the world economy five years after the onset of the crisis is still in the doldrums…. The one bright spot in the world economy, from a growth standpoint, has been the seemingly unstoppable expansion of a handful of emerging economies, particularly China. Yet, the continuing stability of China is now also in question. Hence, the general consensus among informed economic observers is that the world capitalist economy is facing the threat of long-run economic stagnation (complicated by the prospect of further financial deleveraging)…. It is this issue of the stagnation of the capitalist economy, even more than that of financial crisis or recession that has now emerged as the big question worldwide.

    Translations:
    • Turkish translation in Monthly Review, Turkish edition, no. 31 (Istanbul: Kalkedon, 2012), pp. 3-36.
    • German language translation in Info-Verteiler, infoverteiler.net, June 2012.
    • Chinese translation forthcoming in Journal of Gansu Administration Institute.

     

  • Capitalism and the Accumulation of Catastrophe

    Capitalism and the Accumulation of Catastrophe

    “Capitalism and the Accumulation of Catastrophe,”, Monthly Review, vol. 63, no. 7 (December 2011), pp. 1-17. DOI: 10.14452/MR-063-07-2011-11_1

    Over the next few decades we are facing the possibility, indeed the probability, of global catastrophe on a level unprecedented in human history. The message of science is clear. As James Hansen, the foremost climate scientist in the United States, has warned, this may be “our last chance to save humanity.” In order to understand the full nature of this threat and how it needs to be addressed, it is essential to get a historical perspective on how we got where we are, and how this is related to the current socioeconomic system, namely capitalism.

    Translations:
    • Turkish translation in Monthly Review, Turkish edition 30 (Istanbul: Kalkedon, 2012), pp. 3-22.

     

  • Education and the Structural Crisis of Capital

    Education and the Structural Crisis of Capital

    “Education and the Structural Crisis of Capital: The U.S. Case“, Monthly Review vol. 63, no. 3 (July 2011), pp.6-37. DOI: 10.14452/MR-063-03-2011-07_3

    Today’s conservative movement for the reform of public education in the United States, and in much of the world, is based on the prevailing view that public education is in a state of emergency and in need of restructuring due to its own internal failures. In contrast, I shall argue that the decay of public education is mainly a product of externally imposed contradictions that are inherent to schooling in capitalist society, heightened in our time by conditions of economic stagnation in the mature capitalist economies, and by the effects of the conservative reform movement itself. The corporate-driven onslaught on students, teachers, and public schools—symbolized in the United States by George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation—is to be explained not so much by the failure of the schools themselves, but by the growing failures of the capitalist system, which now sees the privatization of public education as central to addressing its larger malaise.

    Translations:
    • Turkish translation in Monthly Review, Turkish edition, no. 29 (Istanbul: Kalkedon, 2012), pp. 49-87.

     

  • Marx’s Ecology

    Marx’s Ecology

    Buy at Monthly Review Press

    “Marx’s Ecology: Materialism and Nature,” (New York: Monthly Review Press, 2000), 310 pp.

    Marx, it is often assumed, cared only about industrial growth and the development of economic forces. John Bellamy Foster examines Marx’s neglected writings on capitalist agriculture and soil ecology, philosophical naturalism, and evolutionary theory. He shows that Marx, known as a powerful critic of capitalist society, was also deeply concerned with the changing human relationship to nature.

    Marx’s Ecology covers many other thinkers, including Epicurus, Charles Darwin, Thomas Malthus, Ludwig Feuerbach, P. J. Proudhon, and William Paley.

    By reconstructing a materialist conception of nature and society, Marx’s Ecology challenges the spiritualism prevalent in the modern Green movement, pointing toward a method that offers more lasting and sustainable solutions to the ecological crisis.

     Awards:
    • Winner of the Best book award granted the Marxist Sociological Section, American Sociological Association, 2000

    Editions:

    • Portuguese language edition, (Rio de Janeiro: Civilização Brasileira, 2005).
    • Korean language edition (Seoul: In-Gan-Sa-Rang Publishing Company, 2007).
    • Japanese language edition, (Tokyo: Kobushi Forum/Sakai Agency, 2004), translated by Keiko Watanabe.
    • Persian edition, containing a new “Preface to the Persian Language Edition,” (Tehran Digar Publishing House, 2004)—translator Akbar Masoumbeigi.
    • Turkish language edition, (Ankara: EPOS, 2001)–contains new “Preface to the Turkish Edition” by the author.
    • Indian edition, (KharagpurI, India:Cornerstone Books, 2001).
    • Chinese language edition (Beijing: High Education Press, 2006).
    • Finnish language edition, Publishing Company TA, 2001.
    • Spanish language edition, Ediciones de Intervencion Cultural/El Viejo Topo, 2004.
    • Indonesian language edition, translated by Pius Ginting (Jakarta: Wahana Lingkungan Hidup Indonesia, 2013).
    Translations:
    • Russsin-language translation by Yrii Trofimenko in process.
    • German-language translation (Hamburg: Laika Verlag, 2012), translators Alp Kayserilioglu and Max Zirngast.
  • The Vulnerable Planet

    The Vulnerable Planet

    Buy at Monthly Review Press

    “The Vulnerable Planet: A Short Economic History of the Environment,” (New York: Monthly Review Press, 1994), 160 pp.
    (A volume in the Cornerstone Books series; second edition, 1999.)

    In this clearly written and accessible book, John Bellamy Foster grounds his discussion of the global environmental crisis in the inherently destructive nature of our world economic system. Rejecting both individualistic solutions and policies that tinker at the margins, Foster calls for a fundamental reorganization of production on a social basis so as to make possible a sustainable and ecological economy.

    The Vulnerable Planet has won respect as the best single-volume introduction to the global environmental crisis. This edition includes a new afterword by the author.

    Editions:

    • Bangla language edition (Dhaka: Shahitya Prakash, 2010), with a new preface by the author.
    • Turkish language edition, (Maltepe-Ankara: EPOS Yayinlari, 2002).
    • Japanese edition, (Tokyo: Kobushi Forum/Sakai Agency, 2001), translated by Keiko Watanabe.
    • Telugu language edition (Andhra Padesh, India: Prajasakti), 2001.
    • Korean language edition, (Seoul: Dongzoknara, 1996)–contains new “Preface to the Korean Edition” by author.
    • Low cost edition, (Kharaaqpur, India: Cornerstone Publications, 1995)–for Indian market.
    Translations:
    • Chinese translation by Guo Jianren (Beijing: Commercial Press, 2013).
    • Chinese translation, Beijing University Press.
    • German translation (Hamburg: Laika-Verlag). Chapter 6, entitled “The Vulnerable Planet,” reprinted in Leslie King and Deborah McCarthy, Environmental Sociology: From Analysis to Action. (Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2005), pp. 3-15.