Ecology and the World-System - (Studies in the Political Economy of the World-System) by Walter L Goldfrank & Andrew Szasz & David Goodman

About the Book

Integrating environmental and world-systems analyses in chapters ranging from the ancient to the contemporary, from the global to the local, from West to East, and from North to South, this book is the first collection to analyze environmental issues from the world-systems perspective. The introduction provides Immanuel Wallerstein's fullest explication of the role of ecological constraints in the world-system. Early chapters diagnose the increasing environmental threats to global sustainability and suggest ways to arrive at an integrated theoretical understanding of those threats. The work then shows the historical and geographical range necessary to do justice to ecological considerations in chapters considering ancient civilizations, capitalism, the circumpolar North, the dam-builders of Asia, and the polluters of East Central Europe. The final chapters analyze the successes and limits of environmental movements in the United States, South Africa, and South Korea.

Book Synopsis

Integrating environmental and world-systems analyses in chapters ranging from the ancient to the contemporary, from the global to the local, from West to East, and from North to South, this book is the first collection to analyze environmental issues from the world-systems perspective. The introduction provides Immanuel Wallerstein's fullest explication of the role of ecological constraints in the world-system. Early chapters diagnose the increasing environmental threats to global sustainability and suggest ways to arrive at an integrated theoretical understanding of those threats. The work then shows the historical and geographical range necessary to do justice to ecological considerations in chapters considering ancient civilizations, capitalism, the circumpolar North, the dam-builders of Asia, and the polluters of East Central Europe. The final chapters analyze the successes and limits of environmental movements in the United States, South Africa, and South Korea.

Review Quotes

?The essays that appear in Ecology and the World-System provide a wealth of factual information on large-scale ecological processes and offer unapologetic opinions and forecasts regarding the ways in which ecological considerations are changing humankind's patterns of production, consumption, and surplus accumulation....Ecology and the World-System is an important read for students, teachers, or professionals interested in evironmental science or policy issues. The authors provide abundent evidence on a global scale that environmental quality is tightly linked to contemporary economic activity.?-FORUM

"The essays that appear in Ecology and the World-System provide a wealth of factual information on large-scale ecological processes and offer unapologetic opinions and forecasts regarding the ways in which ecological considerations are changing humankind's patterns of production, consumption, and surplus accumulation....Ecology and the World-System is an important read for students, teachers, or professionals interested in evironmental science or policy issues. The authors provide abundent evidence on a global scale that environmental quality is tightly linked to contemporary economic activity."-FORUM

About the Author

WALTER L. GOLDFRANK is Professor of Sociology at the University of California--Santa Cruz.

DAVID GOODMAN is Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of California at Santa Cruz.

ANDREW SZASZ is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of California at Santa Cruz.