The Left and Animals: Marx and the Question of Animal Exploitation in Capitalism
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Leftist thinkers and social activists normally neglect the animal question. Even though animals have been obviously, cruelly, and brutally exploited, the Left is barely different from the Right when it comes to the animal question. That is, the Left still holds prejudices against animals: they are inferior to humans; they are supposed to be exploited by humans; and humans have nothing to do with the animal question. As one of the most important thinkers of the Left, Karl Marx has been frequently mentioned as the one who gave the Left a justification for human prejudices against animals. As it is usually claimed, Marx himself thought that humans are superior to animals, and he did not even see how animal exploitation is relevant to capitalism. As a result, many leftists take it for granted that animal exploitation is irrelevant to their struggle against capitalism. This article challenges that popular assumption. It argues that although the animal question is not a major topic in Marx’s writings, Marx did not hold prejudices against animals, and he did not accept the idea that humans are superior to animals. Instead, Marx did pay attention to and worry about animal exploitation in capitalism. Therefore, if leftists today still hold on to Marx’s ideas as their inspiration, they should rethink their positions. Their prejudices against animals must be rejected, and their struggle against capitalism should be extended to include the question of animal exploitation.
Article Details
- เนื้อหาและข้อมูลที่ลงตีพิมพ์ในวารสารรัฐศาสตร์และรัฐประศาสนศาสตร์ถือเป็นข้อคิดเห็นและความรับผิดชอบของผู้เขียนบทความโดยตรง ซึ่งกองบรรณาธิการวารสารรัฐศาสตร์และรัฐประศาสนศาสตร์ ไม่จำเป็นต้องเห็นด้วย หรือร่วมรับผิดชอบใดๆ
- บทความและข้อมูล ที่ได้รับการตีพิมพ์ในวารสารรัฐศาสตร์และรัฐประศาสนศาสตร์ ถือเป็นลิขสิทธิ์ของวารสาร หากบุคคลหรือหน่วยงานใดต้องการนำข้อมูลไปใช้ประโยชน์ในทางวิชาการ ขอให้อ้างอิงแหล่งที่มาด้วย
References
Adams, C. (2015). The Sexual Politics of Meat: A Feminist-vegetarian Critical Theory. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing.
Adams, C., & Donovan, J. (1999). Introduction. In Adams, C., & Donovan, J. (Eds.). Animals and Women: Feminist Theoretical Explorations (pp. 1-8). Durham: Duke University Press.
Alvarado, P. (2016). 9 Everyday Products You Didn't Know Had Animal Ingredients. Retrieved September 10, 2019, from https://www.treehugger.com/green-food/9-everyday-products-you-didnt-know-had-animal-ingredients.html
Aquinas, T. (1929). Summa Theologica. (Fathers of the English Dominican, Trans.). London: Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd.
Aristotle. (2009). Politics. (Barker, E., Trans.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Augustine. (1966). The Catholic and Manichaean Ways of Life. (Gallagher, D. A., & Gallagher, I. J., Trans.). Boston: The Catholic University Press.
Bellamy, J., & Clark, B. (2018). Marx and Alienated Speciesism. Monthly Review, (70)7. Retrieved September 10, 2019, from https://monthlyreview.org/2018/12/01/marx-and-alienated-speciesism/
Benton, T. (1993). Natural Relations: Ecology, Animal Rights & Social Justice. London: Verso.
______. (2011). Humanism = Speciesism? Marx on Humans and Animals. In Sanbonmatsu, J. (Ed.). Critical Theory and Animal Liberation (pp. 99-119). Lantham: Rowman & Littlefield.
Bogss, C. (2011). Corporate Power, Ecological Crisis, and Animal Rights. In Sanbonmatsu, J. (Ed.). Critical Theory and Animal Liberation (pp. 71-96). Lantham: Rowman & Littlefield.
Capps, A. (2013). Catching Up With Science: Burying the ‘Humans Need Meat’ Argument. Retrieved September 10, 2019, from freefromharm.org/health-nutrition/catching-up-with-science-burying-the-humans-need-meat-argument/
Charlton, A., Coce, S., & Francione, G. (1993). The American Left Should Support an Animal Right: A Manifesto. The Animals’ Agenda, 13(1), 28–34.
Cochrane, A. (2010). An Introduction to Animals and Political Theory. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Descartes, R. (1998). Discourse on Method. (Cress, D. A., Trans.). Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company.
Forbes. (2019). Thailand’s 50 Richest. Retrieved September 10, 2019, from https://www.forbes.com/thailand-billionaires/list/
Grant, J., & Jungkunz, V. (Eds.). (2011). Political Theory and the Animal/Human Relationship. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Gruen, L. (2011). Ethics and Animals: An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Gunderson, R. (2011). Marx’s Comments on Animal Welfare. Rethinking Marxism, 23(4), 543-548.
Igor, I. (2018). Most Active Large Agribusiness Corporations in the AgTech Domain. Retrieved September 10, 2019, from https://medium.com/remote-sensing-in-agriculture/most-active-large-agribusiness-corporations-in-the-agtech-domain-dd0f16c1c684
Kant, I. (1963). Lectures on Ethics. (Infield, L., Trans.). New York: Harper & Row.
Kongkirati, P., & Kanchoochat, V. (2018). The Prayuth Regime: Embedded Military and Hierarchical Capitalism in Thailand. TRaNS: Trans-Regional and -National Studies of Southeast Asia, 6(2), 279-305.
Kru, E. (2018). 10 Everyday Items That Contain Animal Products. Retrieved September 10, 2019, from https://raisevegan.com/10-everyday-items-that-contain-animal-products/
Kymlicka, W., & Donaldson, S. (2014). Animal Rights, Multiculturalism, and the Left. Social Philosophy, 45(1), 116-135.
Llorente, R. (2011). Reflections on the Prospects for a Non-speciesist Marxism. In Sanbonmatsu, J. (Ed.). Critical Theory and Animal Liberation (pp. 121-135). Lantham: Rowman & Littlefield.
Macdonald, B. (2011). Marx and the Human/Animal Dialectic. In Grant, J., & Jungkunz, V. (Eds.). Political Theory and the Animal/human Relationship (pp. 23-48). Albany: State University of New York Press.
Marx, K. (1978a). Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844. In Tucker, R. (Ed.). The Marx-Engels Reader (pp. 66-125). New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
______. (1978b). On the Jewish Question. In Tucker, R. (Ed.). The Marx-Engels Reader (pp. 26-52). New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
______. (1990). Capital Volume I. (Fowkes, B., Trans.). London: Penguin Books.
______. (1993). Capital Volume II. (Fernbach, D., Trans.). London: Penguin Books.
Marx, K., & Engels, F. (1978a). Manifesto of the Communist Party. In Tucker, R. (Ed.). The Marx-Engels Reader (pp. 469-500). New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
______. (1978b). The German Ideology Part I. In Tucker, R. (Ed.). The Marx-Engels Reader (pp. 146-200). New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
Nibert, D. (2013). Animal Oppression & Human Violence. New York: Columbia University Press.
Painter, C. (2016). Non-human Animals Within Contemporary Capitalism: A Marxist Account of Non-Human Animal Liberation. Capital & Class, 40(2), 325-343.
Perlo, K. (2002). Marxism and the Underdog. Society & Animals, 10(3), 303-318.
Petre, A. (2016). 6 Science-based Health Benefits of Eating Vegan. Healthline.com. Retrieved September 10, 2019, from www.healthline.com/nutrition/vegan-diet-benefits
Phongpaichit, P., & Baker, C. (2004). Thaksin: The Business of Politics in Thailand. Copenhagen: Nordic Institute of Asian Studies.
Rahim, L. (2018). Six Reasons to Go Vegan, According to Science. Retrieved September 10, 2019, from https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/body/six-reasons-go-vegan-according-science/
Regan, T. (2004). The Case for Animal Rights. Berkley: University of California Press.
Sanbonmatu, J. (2011). Introduction. In Sanbonmatsu, J. (Ed.). Critical Theory and Animal Liberation (pp. 55-69). Lantham: Rowman & Littlefield.
Sharma, S. (2018). Mighty Giants: Leaders of the Global Meat Complex. The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. Retrieved September 10, 2019, from https://www.iatp.org/blog/leaders-global-meat-complex
Singer, P. (2002). Animal Liberation. New York: HarperCollins.
Soronson, J. (2011). Constructing Extremists, Rejecting Compassion: Ideological Attacks on Animal Advocacy from Right and Left. In Sanbonmatsu, J. (Ed.). Critical Theory and Animal Liberation (pp. 219-237). Lantham: Rowman & Littlefield.
Stache, C. (2018). On the Origins of Animalist Marxism. Monthly Review, (70)1. Retrieved September 10, 2019, from https://monthlyreview.org/2018/12/01/on-the-origins-of-animalist-marxism/
Torres, B. (2007). Making a Killing: The Political Economy of Animal Rights. Oakland: AK Press.
Wilde, L. (2000). The Creatures, Too, Must Become Free? Marx and the Animal/Human Distinction. Capital & Class, 24(3), 37-53.