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Sustainability and Metabolic Revolution in the Works of Henri Lefebvre

Author

Listed:
  • Brian M. Napoletano

    (Centro de Investigaciones en Geografía Ambiental, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia 58087, Mexico)

  • Brett Clark

    (Department of Sociology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA)

  • John Bellamy Foster

    (Department of Sociology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA)

  • Pedro S. Urquijo

    (Centro de Investigaciones en Geografía Ambiental, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia 58087, Mexico)

Abstract

Humanity’s present social–ecological metabolic configuration is not sustainable, and the need for a radical transformation of society to address its metabolic rifts with the rest of nature is increasingly apparent. The work of French Marxist Henri Lefebvre, one of the few thinkers to recognize the significance of Karl Marx’s theory of metabolic rift prior to its rediscovery at the end of the twentieth century, offers valuable insight into contemporary issues of sustainability. His concepts of the urban revolution, autogestion , the critique of everyday life, and total (or metabolic) revolution all relate directly to the key concerns of sustainability. Lefebvre’s work embodies a vision of radical social–ecological transformation aimed at sustainable human development, in which the human metabolic interchange with the rest of nature is to be placed under substantively rational and cooperative control by all its members, enriching everyday life. Other critical aspects of Lefebvre’s work, such as his famous concept of the production of space, his temporal rhythmanalysis, and his notion of the right to the city, all point to the existence of an open-ended research program directed at the core issues of sustainability in the twenty-first century.

Suggested Citation

  • Brian M. Napoletano & Brett Clark & John Bellamy Foster & Pedro S. Urquijo, 2020. "Sustainability and Metabolic Revolution in the Works of Henri Lefebvre," World, MDPI, vol. 1(3), pages 1-18, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jworld:v:1:y:2020:i:3:p:21-317:d:460060
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Peter Marcuse, 2009. "From critical urban theory to the right to the city," City, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(2-3), pages 185-197, June.
    2. Iván Franch-Pardo & Brian M. Napoletano & Gerardo Bocco & Sara Barrasa & Luis Cancer-Pomar, 2017. "The Role of Geographical Landscape Studies for Sustainable Territorial Planning," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-23, November.
    3. Stefano B. Longo & Brett Clark & Thomas E. Shriver & Rebecca Clausen, 2016. "Sustainability and Environmental Sociology: Putting the Economy in its Place and Moving Toward an Integrative Socio-Ecology," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(5), pages 1-17, May.
    4. Brett Clark & Daniel Auerbach & Stefano B. Longo, 2018. "The bottom line: capital’s production of social inequalities and environmental degradation," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 8(4), pages 562-569, December.
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