ABSTRACT
This introductory essay provides an overview of the development and resistance dynamics of extractivism, which is the dominant form taken by capitalism in the current era of neoliberal globalization. Neoliberalism, the ideology or idea system that underlies and sustains the current world order and what we might term extractivist capitalism, is characterized by a belief in the virtues and sanctity of free market capitalism, a system freed from the regulatory constraints of the development state (i.e. governments that have assumed responsibility for economic development and social welfare). The introduction provides an overview of the development and resistance dynamics associated with the advance of resource-seeking ‘extractive’ capital (i.e. foreign investments in the acquisition of land and the extraction of natural resources for the purpose of exporting them to capitalist markets in unprocessed or primary form).
The introduction also provides a brief synopsis of the argument advanced in each of the 15 chapters of the book, arguments that analyse not only the different forms taken by extractivism and their destructive impacts but also the diverse experiments and experiences formed in the search for a pathway in the transition towards an alternative more inclusive and sustainable form of development.
