ABSTRACT
The burning of fossil fuels would give real definitional force to the destructive tendencies of the Anthropocene age and, simultaneously, the material basis of capitalism’s violence against nature. Knowledge of the Anthropocene thus proves to have a strong societal significance over and beyond its power to define a new epoch in geological terms. The Anthropocene offers important insights on the nature of social, economic and political worlds, prompting new interpretations of ‘right’ and ‘wrong relations’, ‘good’ as well as ‘bad’ practices, and altering how the boundaries of the ‘just society’ are commonly drawn. The global planetary sphere becomes the primary reference point when assessing not only the nature of the threat but also mechanisms needed to avoid future catastrophe. Intergenerational justice on climate change matters has become a project for real sociopolitical and legal change and must be acknowledged by sociological research as such.
