ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes the principal ideas on the subject neoextractivism in the social sciences literature. It takes the position that neoextractivism cannot be understood in isolation from extractivism. The main goal is to explore the term neoextractivism in a coherent manner to identify the different ways it is currently used. The purpose is to unmask neoextractivism as a phase in capitalist development. This unmasking should help political activists, organizers in radical social movements, and progressive forces in general to conduct a more affective struggle for alternatives to capitalist development. The pervasiveness of the impact of extractivism on political, economic, social life and on the environment in natural resources rich countries is undeniable. It is therefore necessary to distinguish between ‘extractivism’ and ‘neoextractivism’ to clarify the process of capitalist development and exploitation in the periphery through natural resources extraction.
