Nature - autonomous learning

de-naturalisation 159Here, a firm advances a sum of money (M) to purchase commodities C– namely, MP (means of production: raw materials, machinery etc.) and LP(labour power: people’s capacity to work).When combined in a processof physical production (P), MP and LP yield new commodities (C*) thatare sold for the original amount put forward plus an increment (: profit).This profit is, in turn, reinvested in the next round of production and soon in a spiral of growth.Among other things, a capitalist mode of productionis distinguished from others by the following three characteristics.First, there are two main productive classes (i.e. owners of firms and thosewho work for them). Second, the principal aim of production is profit(what Marx called ‘growth for growth’s sake’) rather than, say, a decentstandard of living for all. Capitalist firms are primarily interested in theexchange value of the commodities they produce rather than their practicaluse value. Finally, capitalist firms relate to one another competitively: theyhave to fight for market share.What has this got to do with the north Pacific fur-seal case? First, fromthe 1870s, seals were valued in monetary terms rather than, say, moralterms. Commensurate with the production goals of capitalist societies, theybecame mere vehicles for the realisation of profit on the part of sealers.Rather than being seen as inherently good or valuable they became prizedfor the exchange value of their pelts. Second, because sea-sealers and theland-based companies were locked into relations of competition it was‘rational’ for them to kill seals willy-nilly – even though they knew thatone day the seal herd might be decimated.This was exacerbated by the factthat the sealers were divided by nation, reducing the chance of a morecontrolled, cooperative approach to harvesting seals. For these two reasons,it is no surprise that the seal herd was badly overexploited by the earlytwentieth century. However, this overexploitation was not only due to theanti-environmental ‘logic’ of capitalism. It was also due to the ‘nature’ ofthe fur seals.ACTIVITY 3.5On the basis of the Marxist analysis presented in the previous twoparagraphs, in what ways did the fur seals ‘matter’? Make a list of the waysthe seals’ natural characteristics shaped the fur-seal trade in the northPacific.