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Fossil Capital
- The Rise of Steam Power and the Roots of Global Warming
- Narrated by: Liam Gerrard
- Length: 18 hrs and 24 mins
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Fossil Capital
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Summary
How capitalism first promoted fossil fuels with the rise of steam power
The more we know about the catastrophic implications of climate change, the more fossil fuels we burn. How did we end up in this mess? In this masterful new history, Andreas Malm claims it all began in Britain with the rise of steam power. But why did manufacturers turn from traditional sources of power, notably water mills, to an engine fired by coal? Contrary to established views, steam offered neither cheaper nor more abundant energy - but rather superior control of subordinate labor. Animated by fossil fuels, capital could concentrate production at the most profitable sites and during the most convenient hours, as it continues to do today.
Sweeping from 19th-century Manchester to the emissions explosion in China, from the original triumph of coal to the stalled shift to renewables, this study hones in on the burning heart of capital and demonstrates, in unprecedented depth, that turning down the heat will mean a radical overthrow of the current economic order.
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What listeners say about Fossil Capital
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Fares Khalil
- 15-11-24
super informative and well argued
has to be offered to everyone in a more concise and practical form of education
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Arkhidamos
- 26-10-22
Truly superb
Malm has been getting himself a reputation as one of the foremost authors on the intersection of climate change and politics. This book is part of that. The sweep of the narrative is broad, and at its best it refreshes and updates British social history of the kind that every history undergrad reads, such as EP Thompson’s Making of the English Working Class. The accounts of the battles between labour and capital, the explanation of the uses of the state and the illumination of other potential paths (particularly hydro-power rather than steam power in the early industrial revolution) are a worthwhile listen, especially because it’s a period so poorly served by high school history. It engages with political economy, especially Marx, in historical context - which is great. The author doesn’t hesitate to disagree, and is clear when laying out what other theorists have said and why he disagrees. Best of all, it absolutely skewers some recurrent myths; the evisceration of terms like “Anthropocene”, as if all anthropoi (humans) are equally to blame for the carbon cycle, is brilliant. Malm nails his own colours to the mast, preferring “Capitalocene”, as it expresses how capital, not labour, is responsible for the carbon cycle. Less collective guilt, more collective action - quite right too.
Excellent book. I didn’t mind the narrator, I know that some others have been put off, but the book itself is riveting if you let it take hold - especially if you know the UK well, and so it’s telling you the history of places where you live, especially around Manchester.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
- Simon Barrow
- 18-01-22
great book, disappointing audiobook
the narrator reads out every footnote/citation in full, very annoying to have to hear e.g. 'Andrew Uhr, The Philosophy of Manufactures, eighteen thirty-five' every other sentence
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ms. L. Gordon
- 20-12-20
Unlistenable
I really wanted to listen to this no doubt fantastic book but the eagerly upbeat chipper actor/narrator should be in children’s TV but not this important book. I haven’t yet been able to take one word of it in...so disappointed
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2 people found this helpful