Accumulation by difference-making: an anthropocene story, starring witches

Abstract

What do witches have to do with the Anthropocene? More than one might think. In this article we undertake an in-depth book review of Silvia Federici’s Caliban and the Witch to demonstrate how the rise of a division between the productive and reproductive realm, engendered in part through the witch hunts, is a founding condition of the Anthropocene.

Keywords:

• Anthropocene
• Federici
• feminist political economy
• gendered division of labour
• socio-ecological reproduction
• witch-hunts

Acknowledgements

For helpful comments on an earlier draft, our thanks to Rebecca Lave and to members of a graduate reading group in the geography department at UBC: Rachel Brydolf-Horwitz, Kendra Jewell, Fernanda Rojas Marchini, Nicole Molinari and Zoe Power. Thanks also to three anonymous reviewers for their incisive feedback that pushed us to clarify and sharpen our argument, and to Pamela Moss for her editorial guidance. Special thanks to Sutapa Chattophadhay for organizing this special issue and the conference session on which it is based.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Rosemary-Claire Collard

Rosemary-Claire Collard studies the relationship between capitalism and wildlife, with a focus on the global exotic pet trade. She is an assistant professor of geography at Simon Fraser University, in Burnaby.

Jessica Dempsey

Jessica Dempsey researches attempts to monetize biodiversity conservation. She is an associate professor of geography at the University of British Columbia, in Vancouver. Together, Collard and Dempsey write about the politics and production of capitalist natures.