Paper Summary:

This paper looks at how political imperialism and capitalist forces are closely connected with ecological imperialism. In particular, the paper examines the theories of Alfred W. Crosby and Karl Marx on imperialism and looks at how they relate to ecological imperialism. The paper first discusses Crosby's thesis that imperialism did not only change the political and social structures of colonies but also affected their ecological systems. The paper then looks at Marx's arguments about the damage caused by capitalism. According to Marx, capitalism was a force that treated laborers as machines and did not give them the value they deserved. This degradation of work leads to degradation of environment and ecology.

From the Paper:

"Imperialism is a well-understood concept and the mere mention of the word generates extreme sentiments of resentment and bitterness against certain nations of the world. When imperialism in politics was destroying the colonies, there was another phenomenon at work, which had also been working hand in hand. It was called ecological imperialism where entire ecologies of colonies were changed because of imperial influences. Alfred W. Crosby first brought this forward in 1986 in his book Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900-1900."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Karl Marx, Capital, volume 1 (New York: Vintage, 1976), p. 896; Malthus to Ricardo, August 17, 1817, in David Ricardo, Works and Correspondence (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1952), vol. 7
• Alfred W. Crosby, Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986).
• Karl Marx, The Poverty of Philosophy (New York: International Publishers, 1963)
• Accion Ecologica, "No More Plunder, They Owe Us the Ecological Debt!" (Retrieved October 10, 2007 from www.cosmovisiones.com/DeudaEcologica/a_averde78in.html, 1999).

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