S03E32
Jacob Blumenfeld on Climate Barbarism and Managing Decline
Jacob Blumenfeld discusses the concept of “managing decline”, the subject of fossil capitalism and the implications of transitioning away from it.
---
Info on Creative Construction Book Launch:
Date: March 4th, 19h Location: aquarium am Südblock Skalitzer Str. 6 10999 Berlin Deutschland
About the book:
Groos, J. & Sorg, C. (2025). Creative Construction - Democratic Planning in the 21st Century and Beyond. Bristol University Press. [for a review copy, please contact: amber.lanfranchi[at]bristol.ac.uk]
https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/creative-construction
If you are interested in democratic economic planning, these resources might be of help:
Democratic planning – an information website
https://www.democratic-planning.com/
Sorg, C. & Groos, J. (eds.)(2025). Rethinking Economic Planning. Competition & Change Special Issue Volume 29 Issue 1.
https://journals.sagepub.com/toc/ccha/29/1
International Network for Democratic Economic Planning
Democratic Planning Research Platform:
https://www.planningresearch.net/
---
Shownotes
The Centre for Social Critique at the Humboldt University Berlin:
https://criticaltheoryinberlin.de/
Blumenfeld, J. (2022). Climate barbarism: Adapting to a wrong world. Constellations, 30(2), 162–178.
https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8675.12596
Blumenfeld, J. (2023) What was socialization. A look back.
https://sfb294-eigentum.de/en/blog/what-was-socialization-a-look-back/
Blumenfeld, J. (2024a). Managing Decline. Cured Quail, Vol. 3.
https://curedquail.com/Managing-Decline
Blumenfeld, J. (2024b). The Concept of Property in Kant, Fichte, and Hegel. Freedom, Right, and Recognition. Routledge.
Blumenfeld, J. (2024c). Socialising Nature.
https://www.break-down.org/post/socialising-nature
Blumenfeld, J. (2024d). Welcome to the Anderscene. Brooklyn Rail.
https://brooklynrail.org/2024/07/field-notes/Welcome-to-the-Anderscene/
Angebauer, N., Blumenfeld, J., & Wesche, T. (2025). Umkämpftes Eigentum: Eine gesellschaftstheoretische Debatte. Suhrkamp.
https://www.suhrkamp.de/buch/umkaempftes-eigentum-t-9783518300503
Jacob contributed to this soon to be published book: Forstenhäusler, Robin, et al. (Eds.). (2025). Klima und Gesellschaftskritik. Verbrecher Verlag.
https://www.verbrecherverlag.de/shop/klimawandel-und-gesellschaftskritik/
Buck, H. J. (2021). Ending Fossil Fuels: Why Net Zero is Not Enough. Verso Books.
https://www.versobooks.com/products/2735-ending-fossil-fuels
on the productive forces turning into destructive forces see:
https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1845/german-ideology/ch01d.htm
Staab, P. (2022). Anpassung. Leitmotiv der nächsten Gesellschaft. Suhrkamp.
https://www.suhrkamp.de/buch/philipp-staab-anpassung-t-9783518127797
Felli, R. (2021). The Great Adaptation: Climate, Capitalism and Catastrophe. Verso Books.
https://www.versobooks.com/products/841-the-great-adaptation
Malm, A., & Carton, W. (2024). Overshoot: How the World Surrendered to Climate Breakdown. Verso Books.
https://www.versobooks.com/products/3131-overshoot
on the „Promethean Gap“:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Promethean_gap
on Otto Neurath:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_Neurath
on Freud’s concept of the “Reality Principle”:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reality_principle
Marcuse, H. (1955) Eros and Civilization. A Philosophical Inquiry into Freud. Beacon Press.
https://archive.org/details/HerbertMarcuseErosandCivilization
on Vaclav Smil:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaclav_Smil
on the Yellow Wests Protests (also “Gilets Jaunes”):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_vests_protests
Mann, G., & Wainwright, J. (2018). Climate Leviathan: A Political Theory of Our Planetary Future. Verso Books.
https://www.versobooks.com/products/520-climate-leviathan
Moore, S., & Roberts, A. (2022). The Rise of Ecofascism: Climate Change and the Far Right. Polity Books.
on Marxist crisis theory:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crisis_theory
Markley, S. (2023) The Deluge. Simon & Schuster.
https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Deluge/Stephen-Markley/9781982123109
Future Histories Episodes on Related Topics
S03E23 | Andreas Malm on Overshooting into Climate Breakdown
S03E30 | Matt Huber & Kohei Saito on Growth, Progress and Left Imaginaries
S03E03 | Planning for Entropy on Sociometabolic Planning
S02E55 | Kohei Saito on Degrowth Communism
https://www.futurehistories.today/episoden-blog/s02/e55-kohei-saito-on-degrowth-communism/
S02E47 | Matt Huber on Building Socialism, Climate Change & Class War
S02E27 | Nick Dyer-Witheford on Biocommunism
https://www.futurehistories.today/episoden-blog/s02/e27-nick-dyer-witheford-on-biocommunism/
S02E18 | Drew Pendergrass and Troy Vettese on Half Earth Socialism
Future Histories Contact & Support
If you like Future Histories, please consider supporting us on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/join/FutureHistories
Contact: office@futurehistories.today
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FutureHpodcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/futurehpodcast/
Mastodon: https://mstdn.social/@FutureHistories
English webpage:
https://futurehistories-international.com
Episode Keywords
#JacobBlumenfeld, #Podcast, #JanGroos, #Interview, #FutureHistories, #futurehistoriesinternational, #FutureHistoriesInternational, #Degrowth, #Socialism, #Capitalism, #GreenNewDeal, #ClimateJustice, #PoliticalEconomy, #ClimateCrisis, #FossilCapitalism, #EcoSocialism, #Marx, #DemocraticEconomicPlanning, #Market, #Adaption, #Mitigation, #AndreasMalm, #Marcuse, #Freud, #DemocraticPlanning, #PostCapitalism, #ClimatePolitics, #RadicalEcology, #JustTransition, #Prometheanism