Rewriting Capital as Nitrogen: The rise of Nr-ism
TL;DRAbstract
In his discussion on the emergence of modern capitalism in Egypt, Timothy Mitchell (2002) highlights the roles played by non-human entities such as mosquitos and fertilizers. Thus, Mitchell argues that capitalism has no singular logic, but rather ”survives parasitically… drawing its energies from the chemistry of others” (2002: 303). Therefore, social scientists need to take such non-human agents and materials into account when discussing the economy. Indeed, the 20th century growth in populations and economies cannot be dissociated from the advent of anthropogenic fixation of nitrogen. (Smil, 2001)This man-made accelleration of the nitrogen cycle is sometimes used as an indicator of the rise of the Anthropocene. (Steffen et.al., 2011) This paper will explore the connection between the concept of capitalism, on the one hand, and the intensification of this ”nitrogen cascade” (Galloway & Cowling, 2002: 67), on the other. In this endeavour, it draws upon Deleuze and Guattari's (1988)
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In his discussion on the emergence of modern capitalism in Egypt, Timothy Mitchell (2002) highlights the roles played by non-human entities such as mosquitos and fertilizers. Thus, Mitchell argues that capitalism has no singular logic, but rather ”survives parasitically… drawing its energies from the chemistry of others” (2002: 303). Therefore, social scientists need to take such non-human agents and materials into account when discussing the economy. Indeed, the 20th century growth in populations and economies cannot be dissociated from the advent of anthropogenic fixation of nitrogen. (Smil, 2001)This man-made accelleration of the nitrogen cycle is sometimes used as an indicator of the rise of the Anthropocene. (Steffen et.al., 2011) This paper will explore the connection between the concept of capitalism, on the one hand, and the intensification of this ”nitrogen cascade” (Galloway & Cowling, 2002: 67), on the other. In this endeavour, it draws upon Deleuze and Guattari's (1988)
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