Preface: from COVID-capitalism to survival of the species
Acknowledgements
Introduction: corporate ecocide
1 What is the corporation?
2 From colonialism to ecocide: capital’s insatiable need to
destroy
3 Regulation at the end-point of the world
Conclusion: kill the corporation before it kills us
Notes
David Whyte is Professor of Socio-legal Studies at the University of Liverpool
'Ecocide is a refreshing analysis of the huge damage wrought on
people and planet by the multinational corporations that play such
a significant role in all of our lives. Rather than trying - and
failing - to regulate these corporate behemoths, Whyte makes a
compelling case that we must rid ourselves of private corporations
altogether. Fast paced, original, and highly compelling, Ecocide
should be required reading for activists and academics alike.'
Grace Blakeley, author of Stolen: How to save the world from
financialisation
'This brilliant book not only offers solace to those struggling
against invisible and, seemingly, invincible corporate power, it
also throws us a lifeline through which we may be able to salvage
everything we hold dear. Where the wall of callous indifference
stands, Whyte paints a window to an alternative world away from
this slow motion apocalypse. The survival of organised human life
and avoidance of mass societal breakdown rests upon our ability to
mobilise in demand of this alternative world. It is said “the
corporation has no body to punish and no soul to condemn” and this
book illustrates clearly that this kind of unaccountability is in
no way exceptional to the neoliberal era, it is an inherent feature
of the corporation as a shapeshifting structure of
irresponsibility. Kill it so we may live.'
Lowkey, rapper and activist
'With a sense of urgency, but without despair, David Whyte
powerfully deploys the concept of ‘ecocide’ to rigorously reveal
how corporations and their reckless pursuit of profit are at fault
for the existential threat posed by climate change. The time has
come for solutions that are at once radical and possible.’
Joel Bakan, author of The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of
Profit and Power
'The timeliness of this brilliant account of the increasingly dire
ecological consequences of the legal immunity of capitalist
corporations could not be greater. At a moment when states
everywhere are keeping corporations on life-support amidst the
global pandemic of 2020, David Whyte's powerful rallying cry of
'death to the corporation' compels us to urgently address the
question of 'what different form of industrial organization under
what different forms of ownership' which has been for so long
avoided, at such terrible cost.'
Leo Panitch, author of Searching for Socialism: The Project of the
Labour New Left from Benn to Corbyn
'This book will have a good audience among the Extinction Rebellion
movement, who may not understand the DNA of business but still feel
the effects of its monopoly and expropriation of nature. It can
help guide their protests and reform policies, as it is clear that
corporations are at the centre of the ecological plunder we see
today in the world. Ecocide is also written in an accessible way
for both undergraduates and postgraduates who study political
economy and business – it has excellent examples and case studies
of modern business conduct. It is short, concise and easy to
understand and follow, with excellent notes and references. I
certainly will be putting it on my reading list.'
LSE Review of Books
‘Ecocide: Kill the corporation before it kills us provides an
original, well-evidenced and scholarly argument that proceeds
logically and in an engaging manner throughout the book. Each
chapter can be taken alone, but when read together they not only
alert the reader to the intrinsically ecocidal nature of the
corporate form, they also provide a comprehensive and compelling
argument for its dismantling. Although useful for an academic
audience, this book will also be engaging for those beyond the
academy with a more general interest in environmental harm.’
Journal of White Collar and Corporate Crime
'A brilliant introduction to how to think and act to avoid the
ultimate human catastrophe.'
Richard Falk, Professor Emeritus of International Law, Princeton
University and former United Nations Special Rapporteur on
Palestinian Human Rights
'A compelling read…which ranges across political economy, legal
theory and environmental studies with a fluency that is easy to
admire and doesn’t just dump jargon on the reader… and changes our
perspective on the problem of climate change.'
Morning Star
'The analysis of the connections across racialised capitalism,
ecocidal corporate chains and neocolonialism is excellent. A
thoroughly stimulating and thought-provoking book.'
Peter Somerville, Emeritus Professor of Social Policy, College of
Social Science, University of Lincoln
'A fabulous book, informative and clearly argued. I learned a great
deal from it.'
William K. Carroll, Professor of Sociology, University of Victoria,
Canada and Co-director, the Corporate Mapping Project
'A hard-hitting look at the environmental impacts of all industries
on our planet.'
The Environment Magazine
'Compellingly lays out the chilling reality of how capitalist
corporations are responsible for the threat of climate change.'
October Books Cooperative
'Expertly situates how corporations are the driving engine of the
ecological meltdown…Indispensable for a conversation we must have
now, before its too late.'
Occupy.com
'Unique and urgently important weapon-book for climate
activists.'
Wolfgang Küchler
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