Tuesday, October 24, 2017, 2:30-5:30 PM

 

From Colonialism to Climate Change: The Power to Externalize

 

Dr. D.T. Cochrane, Social Sciences, York University (dt.cochrane@gmail.com)

 

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The history of capitalism is a history of externalization. While benefits were tallied, costs were routinely excluded from accounts. In this presentation I examine the history of externalization as a power process. A history of brutality and destruction marketed as innovation and efficiency, externalization has been the shadowy counterpart to accumulation. From colonialism to climate change, I will describe how negative effects of economic activity are systematically imposed on vulnerable communities via the interconnected processes of production and accounting. Finally, I will consider how externalities have made their way back onto the books through uprisings, court rulings and environmental disasters.