On the importance of Marxian category surplus value as a preamble to all ecological reflection
Abstract
It may be agreed that ecology is a current topic of reflection in contemporary Philosophy, so this article attempts to show how the Marxian category surplus value can offer a deep insight into the causes of the present ecological crisis. That category not only exhibits the economic law of motion of modern society, but also what is hidden behind it, namely, predation of labour power, living things and environment. After reading the first five parts of Capital and explaining Marxian categories such as value, surpluslabor, plusproduct, relative and absolute surplusvalue, we will show how they help us think about both current social and ecological problems, and why they can guide a truly effective ecological reflection.
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