The best starting point for reconstructing a world-historical theory of ecological transformation under capitalism is found in Marx’s concept of metabolic rift. For Marx and Engels (1970), the theory of metabolic rift centers on the ecological moment of the antagonistic relation between town and country under capitalism. With the transition to capitalism,the nutrient cycling of local ecosystems was radically disrupted as the latter were integrated into the new division of labor, and localized relations gave way to progressively globalized or world-historical relations between the country and the city (Marx & Engels, 1970, pp. 54-58).
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