The progress of this storm: Nature and society in a warming world
Andreas Malm’s powerful critique of current environmental philosophies puts historical materialism and cutting-edge science at the center of a call for militant action
Andreas Malm
THE PROGRESS OF THIS STORM
Nature and society in a warming world
Verso Books, 2018
reviewed by Ian Angus
Anyone who reads contemporary green literature has seen books with titles like The End of Nature, and statements such as these:
- “There is no such thing as nature.”[1]
- “Nature is nothing if it is not social.”[2]
- “Many of us no longer believe in a Nature that is independent of the Anthropos.”[3]
- “There is nothing in our environment that we have not, in some sense or other, had a hand in producing.”[4]
- “In every respect the world we inhabit will henceforth be the world we have made.”[5]
- “The contrast between what is nature and what is not no longer makes any sense.”[6]
In contrast to environmentalists who want to protect nature, in some circles it has become common, even fashionable, to assert that nature no longer exists, that humans have taken over and it is impossible to distinguish between what is natural and what is social. The proponents of such views aren’t just saying that humans are part of the natural world; rather they claim that nature and society literally cannot be separated, in theory or in practice. “For better or worse,” writes Bruno Latour, “we have entered into a postnatural world.”[7]
Proponents of this viewpoint fall into three camps. Ecomodernists see the end of nature as cause for celebration. We should expand and deepen the process, to free humanity from dependence on nature and use whatever of it remains for our benefit. Others mourn the loss of nature but see no way out.
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