Matthew

Any given emission is not the sole product of an individual, but rather is a product of a web of social relations that make the moment of combustion possible.

For example, what was plantation slavery but a racialized class system of production? This system generated immense wealth and helped establish the United States as a major global power. As Barbara and Karen Fields remind us, this was not a solely racist institution, “as though the chief business of slavery [was] the production of white supremacy rather than the production of cotton, sugar, rice, and tobacco.”

Capitalism is defined by a massive “rentier class,” which can include diverse individuals collecting interest on mass sums of wealth, landlords collecting rents, and corporations whose main revenue comes from a monopoly-level ownership of some key infrastructure or exclusive content.