ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we would like to discuss not so much the denial of the Anthropocene but more specifically the refusal of the need for or the opportunity of reassessing the difference between natural and social processes. We will then take into consideration two forms of refusing the reassessment or overcoming the nature–culture divide that, in being particularly articulated and resonant, may be considered exemplary. Furthermore, apart from sharing a common dislike of the many contemporary theories that undermine the nature–society dualism, they could not seem more removed from each other. The first rebuttal is the “Half-Earth” proposal by US biologist Edward O. Wilson, fully developed in his 2016 eponymous book; the second is the restoration of dialectical materialism by Swedish historian Andreas Malm’s The Progress of this Storm. Particular attention is given to the latter, since it constitutes a sophisticated argument in favour of a clear distinction between nature and society and a harsh attack on “hybridism”.
We will argue that, though Malm is right in pointing to a risk of depoliticization, his reinstatement of a universal and ahistorical opposition between natural processes as key to climate struggle is not, by itself, a guarantee of a Marxist “import” nor of a distinctive political effectiveness.
