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Re-Considering the Origins of the Climate Emergency: War, Finance, and the State

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  • Di Muzio, Tim
  • Dow, Matt

Abstract

One of the most important and recurring debates in the field of International Political Economy and international affairs are the links between capitalism, fossil fuel energy and climate change. In these debates, the origins of our current climate emergency are rooted in how Britain became the first country to become reliant on mass production and consumption coal (fossil fuels) for economic growth, industrialization, as well as social reproduction. Britain becoming a coal-fire capitalist-imperial global empire deeply influenced and structured the current world order and global political economy which is still locked-into a vicious cycle of path dependency whereby balance of power, production and social reproduction is dependent on energy, predominately fossil fuels.

Suggested Citation

  • Di Muzio, Tim & Dow, Matt, 2023. "Re-Considering the Origins of the Climate Emergency: War, Finance, and the State," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 23(22), pages 1-19.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:espost:309443
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    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/309443/1/Di-Muzio-Dow-Re-considering-climate-emergency.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    capital; climate; crisis; energy; finance; industrialization; Marxism; power; state; war;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H56 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - National Security and War
    • Q5 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • P18 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Energy; Environment
    • O14 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology
    • B51 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - Socialist; Marxian; Sraffian
    • P1 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies

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