Toward a Critical Anthropology of Global Warming: Beyond Capitalism and Toward an Alternative World System
Hans A. Baer, Development Studies Program, School of Social and Environment Enquiry, and Centre of Health and Society, University of Melbourne.
While anthropologists have long examined the impact of environmental factors on human societies, only a few have explored the impact of global warming or climate change on human societies. This paper (1) briefly reviews anthropological studies of global warming to date; (2) discusses the gravity of global warming; (3) posits the roots of global warming in the treadmill of production and consumption associated with the capitalist world system; and (4) examines the impact of global warming on human subsistence, settlement patterns, and health. Given that anthropologists have long recognised that social systems, whether local, regional, national, or global do not last forever, I argue that ultimately the only way to mitigate global warming will be through the transcendence of global capitalism and its replacement by a new global political economy organised around a commitment to social parity, democratic processes, and environmental sustainability.
