R&E Political Economy Nature Labor

Geographers address political-economic processes through an analysis of social relations and the environment…

across space, and at all scales

Why do capitalists have to underpay workers and/or nature?

If they didn’t, there would be surplus value, and thus, no capitalism

Why is Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela ‘underpaid’?

Because oil spills and equipment leaks are not cleaned up or fixed

Why is the capitalist imperative?

1. Money needs to circulate (investing) to make more money: ‘spend money to make money’

2. Innovate production techiniques squeeze more surplus value out of same amoutn of labor and raw materials (efficiency)

3. Accelerate buying and selling to maximize the number of profitable transactions

4. Keep underpaying workers (wages) and environment (conservation/protection/use) and continues to reduce if possible

Overaccumulation

Concentration of wealth in hands of few

1. Earnings NOT reinvested for more profit

2. Limited capital in circulation

Overproduction

More goods than can be sold

Underconsumption

Wages too low so workers cannot buy

Economic contradiction of capitalism

Has a tendency to undermine the very economic conditions for its own perpetuation, i.e., create crises

Solutions to contradiction #1 of capitalism

Spacial Fix

What is spatial fix?

Tendency for capitalism to temporarily solve the crises by establishing new markets and new sites of production in other places

Contradiction #2a of Capitalism

1. Undermines social conditions of production

2. The physical/bodily conditions of production associated with the reproduction of human labor power

Environmental contradiction of capitalism

1. Undermines environmental conditions of production

2. The environmental necessities and natural conditions of production through resource exploitation

3. Capitalism will undermine the environmental basis for its own perpetuation, through degradation of natural resources and environmental quality

Solutions to contradiction #2 of capitalism

Tendency for capitalism to temporarily solve the crises by finding labor and natural resources in other places