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Ecological economics, Marxism, and technological progress: Some explorations of the conceptual foundations of theories of ecologically unequal exchange

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  • Hornborg, Alf

Abstract

Almost regardless of ideological persuasion, the seemingly self-evident concept of “technological progress” inherited from early industrialism is resorted to as an article of faith serving to dispel the specter of truncated growth. The increasingly acknowledged threats of peak oil and global warming are thus generally countered with visions of a future civilization based on solar power. I discuss this technological scenario as a utopia that raises serious doubts about mainstream understandings of what “technology” really is. Technological utopianism raises difficult but fundamental analytical questions about the relation between thermodynamics and theories of economic value. While Marxism and some ecological economics share the ambition of grounding notions of economic value in physical parameters, notions of economic value and physical processes should be kept analytically distinct.

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  • Hornborg, Alf, 2014. "Ecological economics, Marxism, and technological progress: Some explorations of the conceptual foundations of theories of ecologically unequal exchange," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 11-18.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:105:y:2014:i:c:p:11-18
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2014.05.015
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Keen, Steve, 1993. "Use-Value, Exchange Value, and the Demise of Marx's Labor Theory of Value," Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Cambridge University Press, vol. 15(1), pages 107-121, April.
    2. Hornborg, Alf, 1998. "Towards an ecological theory of unequal exchange: articulating world system theory and ecological economics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 127-136, April.
    3. Hornborg, Alf, 2006. "Footprints in the cotton fields: The Industrial Revolution as time-space appropriation and environmental load displacement," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(1), pages 74-81, August.
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    1. Althouse, Jeffrey & Cahen-Fourot, Louison & Carballa-Smichowski, Bruno & Durand, Cédric & Knauss, Steven, 2023. "Ecologically unequal exchange and uneven development patterns along global value chains," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    2. Zhang, Haoran & Li, Ruixiong & Cai, Xingrui & Zheng, Chaoyue & Liu, Laibao & Liu, Maodian & Zhang, Qianru & Lin, Huiming & Chen, Long & Wang, Xuejun, 2022. "Do electricity flows hamper regional economic–environmental equity?," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 326(C).
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    4. Ingrid Harvold Kvangraven, 2021. "Beyond the Stereotype: Restating the Relevance of the Dependency Research Programme," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 52(1), pages 76-112, January.
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    6. Olk, Christopher, 2024. "How much a dollar cost: Currency hierarchy as a driver of ecologically unequal exchange," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    7. Franklin Obeng‐Odoom, 2022. "Editor’s Introduction: Retheorizing Ecological Imperialism," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 81(3), pages 417-441, May.
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    11. Alban Pellegris, 2023. "Energy as a limiting factor of economic growth: the profit rate channel," Working Papers hal-04120296, HAL.
    12. Kuchler, Magdalena, 2014. "Sweet dreams (are made of cellulose): Sociotechnical imaginaries of second-generation bioenergy in the global debate," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 431-437.
    13. Robert Miehe & Matthias Finkbeiner & Alexander Sauer & Thomas Bauernhansl, 2022. "A System Thinking Normative Approach towards Integrating the Environment into Value-Added Accounting—Paving the Way from Carbon to Environmental Neutrality," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-20, October.
    14. Yuecheng Xu & Yunfei Cai, 2024. "RETRACTED ARTICLE: Is green finance a motivator for energy transformation investments in the OECD?," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 57(3), pages 1-15, June.
    15. Falconí, Fander & Ramos-Martin, Jesus & Cango, Pedro, 2017. "Caloric unequal exchange in Latin America and the Caribbean," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 140-149.
    16. Peng, Shuijun & Zhang, Wencheng & Sun, Chuanwang, 2016. "‘Environmental load displacement’ from the North to the South: A consumption-based perspective with a focus on China," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 147-158.
    17. Wang, Pengfei & Li, Hongbo & Huang, Zhenbin, 2023. "The inter-provincial trade inequality in China: An assessment of the impact of changes in built-up land and carbon storage," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).
    18. Andrea Ricci, 2016. "Unequal Exchange in International Trade:A General Model," Working Papers 1605, University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Department of Economics, Society & Politics - Scientific Committee - L. Stefanini & G. Travaglini, revised 2016.
    19. Yang Yu & Jianfei Lu & Yuxin Pan & Xiangqian Zhao & Dingchao Chen, 2021. "Research and Practice on Filling Technology of Fully Mechanized Coal Mining Face through Trend Abandoned Roadway," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-14, September.
    20. Kolinjivadi, Vijay, 2019. "Avoiding dualisms in ecological economics: Towards a dialectically-informed understanding of co-produced socionatures," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 32-41.
    21. Heikkurinen, Pasi & Ruuska, Toni & Wilén, Kristoffer & Ulvila, Marko, 2019. "The Anthropocene exit: Reconciling discursive tensions on the new geological epoch," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 1-1.
    22. Lowe, Benjamin H. & Genovese, Andrea, 2022. "What theories of value (could) underpin our circular futures?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    23. Adrián Almazán, 2024. "A socio-historical ontology of technics: Beyond technology," Environmental Values, , vol. 33(1), pages 12-27, February.
    24. Jesús Ramos-Martín & Fander Falconí & Pedro Cango, 2017. "The Concept of Caloric Unequal Exchange and Its Relevance for Food System Analysis: The Ecuador Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-15, November.

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