ABSTRACT
The concept of metabolic rift may be defined thus:Nature consists of biophysical processes and cycles. Michael Friedman offers a useful summary of how the concept is deployed in Foster's eco-sociology. Foster attributes the metabolic rift to the intrinsic dynamic of capitalist production, with its private ownership of the means of production, drive for profits, ever-expanding markets, and continuous growth. The potential for a metabolic rift exists because humanity cannot merely live off nature. The concept of metabolic rift makes its first appearance in social theory in Marx's Capital. Marx's and Engels’ eco-social theories establish that the source of metabolic rift lie in the capitalist industrialization process. The concept of metabolic-biospheric rift arising from human relations with and actions upon the world is empirically substantiated. The treadmill of production is internal-and-necessary to the capitalist mode of production.
