Why is capitalism incapable of valuing the more-than-human world?

This question might sound obvious, but it's at the heart of the polycrisis. If our dominant economic system literally cannot place value on nature, we're destined to live out of alignment with it.

This is the subject of Alyssa Battistoni's superb new book, Free Gifts: Capitalism and the Politics of Nature. We dive into it in today's conversation! In the meantime, grab your copy of Free Gifts here!

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BIO: Alyssa Battistoni is assistant professor of political science at Barnard College. She is the coauthor of A Planet to Win: Why We Need a Green New Deal. Her writing has appeared in The Nation, The Guardian, Boston Review, n+1, Dissent, The New Statesman, Jacobin, and New Left Review.

Free Gifts is a searing, imminently readable breakdown of how and why capitalism is incapable of “valuing” nature, treating it instead as a “free gift.” I’ve had folks on the show before talking about ecosystem services—check out my conversations with Paul R. Ehrlich, Gerardo Ceballos, and Rodolfo Dirzo as starting points!—and while Free Gifts addresses those ideas too, it goes much deeper.

It’s not merely that what we call nature provides countless services that never get factored into the economy, it’s that the incentives of capitalism are fundamentally antithetical to human beings living sustainably on this planet. In the book, she conducts Marxist feminist analysis on how we got here, what it means for us, and ultimately drives us toward the necessary changes we must make if we want to survive. She reveals how, by treating nature as “free,” capitalism ultimately diminishes human freedom; it bars us from making truly ethical choices in how we value and relate to the more-than-human world.

A quick reminder: all the messy politics you’re witnessing right now—such as rising authoritarianism—is downstream of our economic system, which determines the shape of what is possible. Alyssa’s work reveals how entangled our economic systems are in everything from social systems to individual choices, and it’s an absolutely critical time to contend with that.

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Capitalism is a problem. How exactly do we address it? First we have to cut through the noise.

Today's guest, Brett Scott, is one of those special transdisciplinary thinkers—rooted in deep understandings of economics and finance—that I absolutely love to host conversations with. In this case, it was prompted by a shared frustration with how transhumanists believe about life-extension and immortality (typified by the actions of Bryan Johnson, of “Don’t Die” fame).

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As expected, this conversation gets into so much more than I even expected, including crypto, central bank digital currencies, degrowth/post-growth, and more. We have to remember that so much of the (geo)political nonsense we’re experiencing is ultimately downstream of the economy—and Brett is somebody who’s illuminating the problems, paradoxes, and responses in accessible language. Make sure to give him a follow and subscribe to asomo.co.

BIO: Brett Scott has spent over a decade exploring the architecture of global money and big finance, and is constantly on the search for ways to rewire our economic system. In 2013 he published The Heretic’s Guide to Global Finance: Hacking the Future of Money (Pluto Press), and in 2022 I published Cloudmoney: Cash, Cards, Crypto and the War for our Wallets (Penguin / Harper Collins). He has written for some of the world’s biggest publications, has appeared on major channels, and has spoken at over 300 events in over 30 countries.

People call him many things – financial activist, economic hacker – but deep down he says he’s also an artist, and in Altered States of Monetary Consciousness he’ll take you on creative journey to bring our economic system to life using visual imagery and metaphor.

Find more episodes of Urgent Futures at: youtube.com/@UrgentFutures.

How do we bridge divides that seem impossible? It sounds so simple, but the basic answer is empathy. Of course, genuine empathy is no small feat. On the Super Humanizer podcast, today's guests hosts conversations about some of the thorniest topics related to Gaza and Zionism, so I brought them onto Urgent Futures to explain their perspectives and what they've learned through their work on the show. What results is (unsurprisingly!) a powerful, evocative conversation—I can't wait for you to hear from them.

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BIOS:

Katherine Wela Bogen is a clinical psychology PhD student and reconstructionist Jewish woman dedicated to empowering sexual abuse survivors. Her research on interpersonal violence and human sexuality has been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals.

Beyond academia, she organizes international feminist psychology conferences, speaks at national political campaigns, and shares her stories and social commentary with millions on Instagram and TikTok. Raised in an American Jewish family by the son of a Holocaust survivor, Katie interrogated her inherited understanding of Zionism at a college level, and fostered relationships with anti-carceral human rights activists globally.

With degrees in Political Science and Clinical Psychology, her diverse experiences inform her commitment to direct action for social change. Integrating anti-carceral, anti-racist, and anti-colonial feminist principles into her work, Katie passionately advocates for the full political enfranchisement of both Palestinians and Jews.

Dr. Hani Chaabo is board-certified in Family, Integrative & Addiction Medicine. He completed training in Family Medicine at West Virginia University, a fellowship in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona, and the Primary Care Psychiatry, Addiction Medicine, and Child & Adolescent Psychiatry fellowship certification programs at the University of California in Irvine.

He has worked with middle eastern refugees, marginalized LGBTQ communities, and steered national scale public health projects.

He is currently Chief Clinical & Wellness Officer at El-Dorado Community Health Center in California. During his time as medical director of Well-being at Ridgecrest Regional Hospital, he was awarded by the American Medical Association’s Joy in Medicine Healthcare System recognition program. He established Ridgecrest’s first Addiction Medicine and Integrative Medicine programs.

Find more episodes of Urgent Futures at: youtube.com/@UrgentFutures.