This bold and wide-ranging book views the history of humankind through
the prism of natural resources - how we acquire them, use them, value
them, trade them, exploit them. History needs a cast of characters and
in this story the leading actors are peat and hemp, grain and iron, fur
and oil, each with its own tale to tell.
The uneven spread of available resources was the prime mover for trade,
which in turn led to the accumulation of wealth, the growth of
inequality and the proliferation of evil. Different sorts of raw
material have different political implications and give rise to
different social institutions. When a country switches its reliance from
one commodity to another, this often leads to wars and revolutions. But
none of these crises go to waste - they all lead to dramatic changes in
the relations between matter, labour and the state. Our world is the
result of a fragile pact between people and nature.
As we stand on the verge of climate catastrophe, nature has joined us in
our struggle to distinguish between good and evil. And since we have
failed to change the world, now is the moment to understand how it
works.