The Capitalist Commodification of Animals

Brett Clark|Tamar Diana Wilson

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9781839826818

30 November 2020

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30 November 2020

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Contents
About

While animal suffering and abuse have taken place throughout history, the alienation of humanity from nature caused by the development of capitalism - by the logic of capital and its system of generalized commodity production - accelerated and increased the depredations in scope and scale.

The capitalist commodification of animals is extensive. It includes, but is not limited to:

livestock production in concentrated animal feeding operations
leather and fur production
the ivory trade in which tusks are used for 'traditional medicines; or carved into decorative objects
entertainment such as in zoos, marine parks, and circuses
laboratory experimentation to test medicines, beauty products, pesticides, and other chemicals
the pursuit of trophy hunting, sometimes on canned farms and sometimes in the wild
bioengineering of livestock and of animals used in laboratories

The contributors to this special issue of Research in Political Economy provide insightful analyses that address the historical transformations in the material conditions and ideological conceptions of nonhuman animals, alienated speciesism, the larger ecological crisis that is undermining the conditions of life for all species, and the capitalist commodification of animals that results in widespread suffering, death, and profits. This book is a must-read not only for political economists, but also for researchers interested in animal studies, environmentalism, and sustainability.

Introduction. The Capitalist Commodification of Animals: A Brief Introduction; Brett Clark and Tamar Diana Wilson Part I. Theoretical Approaches to the Commodification of Animals Chapter 1. It’s Not Humans, It’s Animal Capital; Christian Stache Chapter 2. Animals and Nature: The Co-Modification of the Sentient Biosphere; Paula Brügger Chapter 3. Abstract Life, Abstract Labor, Abstract Mind; Charles Thorpe and Brynna Jacobson Chapter 4. Mission Impossible? Reflections on Objectification and Instrumentalization of Animals in the Economy; Wolfgang Leyk Part II. Case Studies of the Commodification of Animals Chapter 5. The Commodification of Living Beings in the Fur Trade: The Intersection Cheap Raw Materials and Cheap Labor; Tamar Diana Wilson Chapter 6. Capitalism Has Granted Wolves a Temporary Reprieve from Extinction; Alexander Simon Chapter 7. The Landowners’ Ethic: Aldo Leopold, Game Management, and Private Property; Cade Jameson Part III. Argentina’s Working Class Chapter 8. The Dynamics of Violence and Labor Conflict in Villa Constitución, Argentina, 1973-1975; Agustín Santella

Brett Clark is professor of sociology, environmental humanities, and environmental and sustainability studies at the University of Utah. His research focuses on the political economy of global environmental change.

Tamar Diana Wilson is an independent researcher. Her research mainly examines internal and international Mexican migration and the informal economy/precarious work.