Freedom in the Anthropocene

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-x

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2. Prologue: Smog, Haze, Sulfur: The Elusive Clarity of the Anthropocene

   • Alexander M. Stoner, Andony Melathopoulos

   Pages 1-17

3. Introduction: What Is the Meaning of Freedom in the Anthropocene?

   • Alexander M. Stoner, Andony Melathopoulos

   Pages 18-27

4. Georg Lukács (1885–1971) and the Critique of Reification: On the Dialectical Genesis of the Great Acceleration

   • Alexander M. Stoner, Andony Melathopoulos

   Pages 28-47

5. Theodor W. Adorno (1903–1969) and the Critique of Identity Thinking: The Great Acceleration as Historical Sedimentation

   • Alexander M. Stoner, Andony Melathopoulos

   Pages 48-72

6. Moishe Postone (1942-) and the Critique of Traditional Marxism: Helplessness and the Present Moment of the Great Acceleration

   • Alexander M. Stoner, Andony Melathopoulos

   Pages 73-98

7. Conclusion

   • Alexander M. Stoner, Andony Melathopoulos

   Pages 99-109

8. Back Matter

   Pages 110-125

   PDF

Freedom in the Anthropocene illuminates the Anthropocene from the perspective of critical theory. The authors contextualize our current ecological predicament by focusing on the issues of history and freedom and how they relate to our present inability to render environmental threats and degradation recognizable and surmountable.

• Adorno
• Anthropocene
• climate change
• critical theory
• critique
• ecological economics
• environment
• environmental politics
• environmental sociology
• globalization
• global warming
• Lukacs
• Marxism
• posthumanism
• postmodernism
• Postone
• social domination
• sustainability
• climate
• climate change impacts

"Freedom in the Anthropocene is a very sharply perceptive book. The authors' clear and well-constructed argument provides just what a contemporary critical theory should. Their fresh way of understanding the Anthropocene should be read by anyone interested in opposing the juggernaut of the Great Acceleration, and particularly those who think that 'environmentalism' is sufficient to that task." - Andrew Biro, Acadia University, Canada, author of Denaturalizing Ecological Politics (2005) and editor of Critical Ecologies: The Frankfurt School and Contemporary Environmental Crises (2011)

"Stoner and Melathopoulos's book highlights the urgent need to situate climate change and related environmental issues and phenomena in the context of rigorous critical social theory. The challenge of ethically sound action geared towards 'saving the planet' (and, by implication, humanity) must be understood in light of and in relation to structural circumstances that thwart solutions to problems identified in the debate about the Anthropocene, on the basis of conscientious individual actions and decisions." - Harry F. Dahms, University of Tennessee Knoxville, USA, author of The Vitality of Critical Theory (2011)

• Salisbury University, USA

  Alexander M. Stoner

• Dalhousie University, Canada

  Andony Melathopoulos

Alexander M. Stoner is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Salisbury University. His areas of expertise include environmental sociology, political economy, and social theory. He is the 2013 co-recipient of the American Sociological Association (ASA) Albert Szymanski-T.R. Young/Marxist Sociology Research Paper Award. His work has appeared in journals such as Critical Sociology and Logos: A Journal of Modern Society and Culture.

Andony P. Melathopoulos studies the antagonism between agricultural productivity and the conservation of habitat for wild insects. His interdisciplinary approach spans diverse fields: from pollination ecology, agricultural history to critical theory. He has presented his research at international forums, such as the International Conference on Global Food Security and EcoSummit, and his work has appeared in journals such as Ecological Economics, Annals of Applied Biology and BMC Genomics.