ABSTRACT
Chapter 2 details in empirical terms the myriad ways in which the phenomena normally identified as central to IPE are integrally material ecological processes. That is, these forces either directly involve the flow of socio-ecological materials – soil, food, water, energy, timber, and the like – or are processes that indirectly influence the flows of those resources and thus degrade various ecological systems and the lives of the humans that depend on them. The chapter starts with an empirical discussion of the importance of economic growth to the ecological impact of the global economy. It then discusses the standard triad of IPE – trade, multinational production and finance – to demonstrate how we can understand them in ecological terms. The chapter thus demonstrates that contemporary growth-based capitalism is predicated upon this throughput of resources, a notion that serves as a foundation for approaches in global ecological political economy.
