Conservation practice as primitive accumulation

Protected areas appear to be examples of Marx's primitive accumulation, complete with acts of enclosure, dispossession, dissolution of the commons and accumulation. There are limits to these parallels, however. Though primitive accumulation generally involves the enclosure of a commons in favor...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of peasant studies 2011-10, Vol.38 (4), p.683-701
Main Author: Kelly, Alice B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accumulation
Capital accumulation
Capitalism
Common Lands
Conservation
conservation practice
Economic conditions
enclosure
Environmental protection
Land tenure
Markets
Marx, Karl
Marxism
Modes of Production
Peasants
primitive accumulation
Private property
Production
Property
protected areas
Resistance
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Summary:Protected areas appear to be examples of Marx's primitive accumulation, complete with acts of enclosure, dispossession, dissolution of the commons and accumulation. There are limits to these parallels, however. Though primitive accumulation generally involves the enclosure of a commons in favor of private property, protected areas generally create public, not private property. Protected areas that limit extraction are not being commodified, but are being taken out of the market. This paper shows that arguments against the parallels between primitive accumulation and the creation of protected areas may be confounded bythe realities of conservation practice. The violent acts of enclosure and dispossession related to the creation of protected areas may lead to private benefit, and expand the conditions under which capitalist production can expand and continue. I show the mechanisms by which enclosure and dispossession take place, the consequences of these actions, as well as the acts of resistance against them.
ISSN:0306-6150
1743-9361
DOI:10.1080/03066150.2011.607695