Abstract

Anthropocene, Capitalocene, Fossil Capitalism: Why should Anthropocene research talk about fossil capitalism? According to critics, the concept of the Anthropocene shifts the blame for environmental destruction onto universal “humanity” while obstructing its societal background. Instead of humanity, capitalism has been put forward as the prime culprit, and the debate often revolves around the concepts of the Anthropocene and Capitalocene. In this article, I argue that criticizing the Anthropocene concept from the perspective of the Capitalocene largely ignores a decisive factor behind the contemporary ecocatastrophe: fossil energy and its associated form of capitalism, fossil capitalism. I maintain that fossil capitalism should not merely be analysed as capitalism per se but also in direct relation to fossil fuels. In the article, I present a preliminary analysis of the special bond between fossil fuels and capitalism, which aims to justify the distinctive character of fossil capitalism. When this distinct character is left unperceived, research on the debate between the Anthropocene and Capitalocene is easily confined to either a sociopolitical or a technical perspective without combining the two. Hence, the debate should focus more closely on fossil capitalism.