Aesthetics, Necropolitics, and Environmental Struggle

“With typical sangfroid, Critical Art Ensemble dissects the beast of our own making: the Anthropocene. Clarifying the philosophical roots of the Euro-American confusion about nature, this text offers severe and essential medicine for coming to terms with our ecological predicament.”

–Claire Pentecost, professor, School of the Art Institute of Chicago

“This book presents a perspective about the environmental crisis that I suspected was there but couldn’t put my finger on. Follow these authors deep into one of the biggest cultural lacunas of our day: necropolitics. This book fully abandons solutionist bull in favor of a measured approach grounded only in what we know. Read it, weep, and then kick ass. Once again, Critical Art Ensemble has blown my fucking mind.”

–Mike Bonanno, The Yes Men

“Aesthetics, Necropolitics, and Environmental Struggle takes a deep look at the elephant in the Anthropocene. This book calls the bluff on the unacknowledged relationship with death that has long haunted environmental positions from the far left to the far right. Digging deep into the philosophical underpinnings of the many anthro- and enviro-isms, Critical Art Ensemble returns with overlooked contradictions that have been historically and strategically ignored. And, despite its unflinching look at the politics of death, the book remains approachable and highly readable, and it won’t have you tightening a noose around your neck.”

–Rich Pell, Center for PostNatural History