The dialectics of capital: learning from Gran Chaco
The critical impact of humans on the biosphere has led scientists to coin the term Anthropocene. The global environmental changes associated with it are happening under the aegis of capitalism. A transition towards sustainability requires a critical scrutiny of capitalism. The social–ecological syst...
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| Format: | info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo |
| Language: | Inglés |
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Springer
2022
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/13013 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11625-022-01203-1 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-022-01203-1 |
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| author | Ceddia, M. Graziano Montani, Rodrigo Mioni, Walter Fernando |
| author_browse | Ceddia, M. Graziano Mioni, Walter Fernando Montani, Rodrigo |
| author_facet | Ceddia, M. Graziano Montani, Rodrigo Mioni, Walter Fernando |
| author_sort | Ceddia, M. Graziano |
| collection | INTA Digital |
| description | The critical impact of humans on the biosphere has led scientists to coin the term Anthropocene. The global environmental changes associated with it are happening under the aegis of capitalism. A transition towards sustainability requires a critical scrutiny of capitalism. The social–ecological system (SES) approach conceptualises the relationship between the socio-economic subsystem and the biosphere. However, in its various operationalisations it either treats the former as a black box or it fails to capture dynamic aspects. We address these limits and develop a Dialectical Socio-Ecological System (D-SES) framework, which combines process ecology with historical materialism, to describe the emergence and persistence of capitalist dynamics. We draw on data collected through fieldwork and desk research and deploy our framework to study capital-intensive agriculture in the Chaco Salteño, an important agricultural frontier in South America, obtaining some general insights. We open up the socio-economic subsystem and break it down into a lower-level material/economic sphere and an upper-level cultural/institutional sphere. Capitalist dynamics emerge out of the peculiar relationships occurring both within and between these spheres. This configuration shows the typical signs of autocatalysis. It attracts resources and capital to expand itself (centripetality). It becomes more complex and organised over time, fine-tuning production modes, cultures, and institutions (directionality). It is subject to the laws of competition and profit maximisation, which emerge independently from the individual actors and processes making up the system (autonomy). Finally, it engenders frictions, reflecting class antagonism between the direct producers and the appropriators of wealth. These frictions can become leverage points for a system’s transformation. |
| format | info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo |
| id | INTA13013 |
| institution | Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA -Argentina) |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| publishDateRange | 2022 |
| publishDateSort | 2022 |
| publisher | Springer |
| publisherStr | Springer |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | INTA130132022-09-29T16:55:48Z The dialectics of capital: learning from Gran Chaco Ceddia, M. Graziano Montani, Rodrigo Mioni, Walter Fernando Agricultura Ecología Sistemas Socioculturales Medio Ambiente Entorno Socioeconómico Agriculture Ecology Sociocultural Systems Environment Socioeconomic Environment Región Chaco Salteño The critical impact of humans on the biosphere has led scientists to coin the term Anthropocene. The global environmental changes associated with it are happening under the aegis of capitalism. A transition towards sustainability requires a critical scrutiny of capitalism. The social–ecological system (SES) approach conceptualises the relationship between the socio-economic subsystem and the biosphere. However, in its various operationalisations it either treats the former as a black box or it fails to capture dynamic aspects. We address these limits and develop a Dialectical Socio-Ecological System (D-SES) framework, which combines process ecology with historical materialism, to describe the emergence and persistence of capitalist dynamics. We draw on data collected through fieldwork and desk research and deploy our framework to study capital-intensive agriculture in the Chaco Salteño, an important agricultural frontier in South America, obtaining some general insights. We open up the socio-economic subsystem and break it down into a lower-level material/economic sphere and an upper-level cultural/institutional sphere. Capitalist dynamics emerge out of the peculiar relationships occurring both within and between these spheres. This configuration shows the typical signs of autocatalysis. It attracts resources and capital to expand itself (centripetality). It becomes more complex and organised over time, fine-tuning production modes, cultures, and institutions (directionality). It is subject to the laws of competition and profit maximisation, which emerge independently from the individual actors and processes making up the system (autonomy). Finally, it engenders frictions, reflecting class antagonism between the direct producers and the appropriators of wealth. These frictions can become leverage points for a system’s transformation. EEA Salta Fil: Ceddia, M. Graziano. University of Bern. Centre for Development and Environment; Suiza Fil: Montani, Rodrigo. University of Bern. Centre for Development and Environment; Suiza Fil: Montani, Rodrigo. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Antropología de Córdoba; Argentina Fil: Montani, Rodrigo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Antropología de Córdoba; Argentina Fil: Mioni, Walter Fernando. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Salta; Argentina. 2022-09-29T16:47:37Z 2022-09-29T16:47:37Z 2022-08 info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/13013 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11625-022-01203-1 1862-4065 1862-4057 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-022-01203-1 eng info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) application/pdf Springer Sustainability Science (Published: 20 August 2022) |
| spellingShingle | Agricultura Ecología Sistemas Socioculturales Medio Ambiente Entorno Socioeconómico Agriculture Ecology Sociocultural Systems Environment Socioeconomic Environment Región Chaco Salteño Ceddia, M. Graziano Montani, Rodrigo Mioni, Walter Fernando The dialectics of capital: learning from Gran Chaco |
| title | The dialectics of capital: learning from Gran Chaco |
| title_full | The dialectics of capital: learning from Gran Chaco |
| title_fullStr | The dialectics of capital: learning from Gran Chaco |
| title_full_unstemmed | The dialectics of capital: learning from Gran Chaco |
| title_short | The dialectics of capital: learning from Gran Chaco |
| title_sort | dialectics of capital learning from gran chaco |
| topic | Agricultura Ecología Sistemas Socioculturales Medio Ambiente Entorno Socioeconómico Agriculture Ecology Sociocultural Systems Environment Socioeconomic Environment Región Chaco Salteño |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/13013 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11625-022-01203-1 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-022-01203-1 |
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