Rent and the Critique of Capitalist Political Ecology: From the Appropriation of Nature to Uneven Development
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Recently, critical scholars interested in the political ecology of contemporary capitalism have highlighted rent as a key category for the analysis of nature–capital relations. However, this ecological dimension is not adequately integrated in the concept mobilised in most rent analysis. This paper argues that theorising the exteriority of nature to capital, a key point of contention in recent debates within ecological Marxism, is crucial for this, and develops a concept of rent defined through its double basis (material and class bases). This definition helps define its specificity vis-à-vis other forms of value and nature appropriation, and understand how capital’s appropriation of nature determines its uneven development.
Source: Capitalism Nature Socialism
Author: André Novas Otero
Institution: King's College London
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7127909300