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White Skin, Black Fuel

On the Danger of Fossil Fascism

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Paperback
$29.95 US
6.04"W x 9.21"H x 1.21"D   | 19 oz | 12 per carton
On sale May 18, 2021 | 576 Pages | 9781839761744
Rising temperatures and the rise of the far right. What disasters happen when they meet?

In the first study of the far right’s role in the climate crisis, White Skin, Black Fuel presents an eye-opening sweep of a novel political constellation, revealing its deep historical roots. Fossil-fuelled technologies were born steeped in racism. No one loved them more passionately than the classical fascists. Now right-wing forces have risen to the surface, some professing to have the solution—closing borders to save the nation as the climate breaks down.

Epic and riveting, White Skin, Black Fuel traces a future of political fronts that can only heat up.
“This bold and richly detailed study of far-right approaches to climate change is a revelation. Its admirably transnational reading of urgent political priorities could not be more timely.”
—Geoff Eley, author of Nazism as Fascism

“A highly engaging study, full of startling anecdotes and witty reflections. If you want to understand the political obstacles that will face climate action in the coming decades, White Skin, Black Fuel is a must-read.”
—Cara Daggett, author of The Birth of Energy

“A beautifully written, passionate, richly researched warning about fossil fascism—and its mutant offspring, ecofascism. With acute sensitivity, it traces the surprising connections between racist, nationalist ideology and climate denialism. And it persuasively explains why climate disaster only reinforces denialism on the right. An essential insight into an emerging threat.”
—Richard Seymour, author of Corbyn

White Skin, Black Fuel is a beautifully written, passionate, richly researched warning about fossil fascism—and its mutant offspring, ecofascism. With acute sensitivity, it traces the surprising connections between racist, nationalist ideology and climate denialism. And it persuasively explains why climate disaster only reinforces denialism on the Right. An essential insight into an emerging threat.”
—Richard Seymour

“This bold and richly detailed study of far-Right approaches to climate change is a revelation. With well-grounded historical depth and challenging theoretical reach, it brings disparate contemporary developments onto a much-needed common canvas. Its admirably transnational reading of urgent political priorities could not be more timely.”
—Geoff Eley, University of Michigan, author of Nazism as Fascism

“In this highly engaging study, full of startling anecdotes and witty reflections, Andreas Malm and the Zetkin Collective take us on a whirlwind tour of ascendant far-right movements and their anti-climate politics in Europe, the US, and Brazil. White Skin, Black Fuel is analytically rich, getting to the heart of fascism’s long-standing entanglement with white supremacy, fossil fuels, machinist fetishism, and capitalist cruelty. If you want to understand the political obstacles that will face climate action in the coming decades, this book is a must-read.”
—Cara Daggett, author of The Birth of Energy

“[Malm is] the hardest-working intellectual on the climate left.”
Wen Stephenson, The Nation

“A firm foundation for antifascist understandings of fascism. If the name of the game is to know our enemy, this is a crucial first step.”
Alex King, Spectre

“Compelling.”
—Paul Mason, New Statesman

“A critically needed analysis for movement thinkers and organisers seeking to understand the resurgence of fascism in the midst of climate breakdown.”
—Basav Sen, Antipode

“[White Skin, Black Fuel] shows how, in the political arena, arguments about economic rationality get woven together with hierarchical structures and the pursuit of domination, portending what it calls fossil fascism.”
—Olufemi O. Taiwo, New Yorker

White Skin, Black Fuel charts many of the risks facing progressive politics in a post-carbon era, but it would be foolish to dismiss such a politics as utopian. It is on utopia that we now depend.”
—James Butler, London Review of Books

“A sustained challenge to [the] complacent historical framing of our present condition … attempts to set out the ways in which gas-guzzling consumerism, fossil fuel addiction, settler colonialism and structures of racial power are historically entwined.”
—Adam Tooze, London Review of Books

“This rich study of the far right’s role in the climate crisis presents an eye-opening sweep of a novel political constellation, revealing its deep historical roots.”
—Adele Walton, gal–dem

“Fascinating.”
—Joseph Maggs, Race & Class
Andreas Malm is a scholar of human ecology and author of, among other books, Fossil Capital and The Progress of This Storm.

The Zetkin Collective is a group of scholars, activists and students working on the political ecology of the far right.
The Zetkin Collective View titles by The Zetkin Collective

About

Rising temperatures and the rise of the far right. What disasters happen when they meet?

In the first study of the far right’s role in the climate crisis, White Skin, Black Fuel presents an eye-opening sweep of a novel political constellation, revealing its deep historical roots. Fossil-fuelled technologies were born steeped in racism. No one loved them more passionately than the classical fascists. Now right-wing forces have risen to the surface, some professing to have the solution—closing borders to save the nation as the climate breaks down.

Epic and riveting, White Skin, Black Fuel traces a future of political fronts that can only heat up.

Praise

“This bold and richly detailed study of far-right approaches to climate change is a revelation. Its admirably transnational reading of urgent political priorities could not be more timely.”
—Geoff Eley, author of Nazism as Fascism

“A highly engaging study, full of startling anecdotes and witty reflections. If you want to understand the political obstacles that will face climate action in the coming decades, White Skin, Black Fuel is a must-read.”
—Cara Daggett, author of The Birth of Energy

“A beautifully written, passionate, richly researched warning about fossil fascism—and its mutant offspring, ecofascism. With acute sensitivity, it traces the surprising connections between racist, nationalist ideology and climate denialism. And it persuasively explains why climate disaster only reinforces denialism on the right. An essential insight into an emerging threat.”
—Richard Seymour, author of Corbyn

White Skin, Black Fuel is a beautifully written, passionate, richly researched warning about fossil fascism—and its mutant offspring, ecofascism. With acute sensitivity, it traces the surprising connections between racist, nationalist ideology and climate denialism. And it persuasively explains why climate disaster only reinforces denialism on the Right. An essential insight into an emerging threat.”
—Richard Seymour

“This bold and richly detailed study of far-Right approaches to climate change is a revelation. With well-grounded historical depth and challenging theoretical reach, it brings disparate contemporary developments onto a much-needed common canvas. Its admirably transnational reading of urgent political priorities could not be more timely.”
—Geoff Eley, University of Michigan, author of Nazism as Fascism

“In this highly engaging study, full of startling anecdotes and witty reflections, Andreas Malm and the Zetkin Collective take us on a whirlwind tour of ascendant far-right movements and their anti-climate politics in Europe, the US, and Brazil. White Skin, Black Fuel is analytically rich, getting to the heart of fascism’s long-standing entanglement with white supremacy, fossil fuels, machinist fetishism, and capitalist cruelty. If you want to understand the political obstacles that will face climate action in the coming decades, this book is a must-read.”
—Cara Daggett, author of The Birth of Energy

“[Malm is] the hardest-working intellectual on the climate left.”
Wen Stephenson, The Nation

“A firm foundation for antifascist understandings of fascism. If the name of the game is to know our enemy, this is a crucial first step.”
Alex King, Spectre

“Compelling.”
—Paul Mason, New Statesman

“A critically needed analysis for movement thinkers and organisers seeking to understand the resurgence of fascism in the midst of climate breakdown.”
—Basav Sen, Antipode

“[White Skin, Black Fuel] shows how, in the political arena, arguments about economic rationality get woven together with hierarchical structures and the pursuit of domination, portending what it calls fossil fascism.”
—Olufemi O. Taiwo, New Yorker

White Skin, Black Fuel charts many of the risks facing progressive politics in a post-carbon era, but it would be foolish to dismiss such a politics as utopian. It is on utopia that we now depend.”
—James Butler, London Review of Books

“A sustained challenge to [the] complacent historical framing of our present condition … attempts to set out the ways in which gas-guzzling consumerism, fossil fuel addiction, settler colonialism and structures of racial power are historically entwined.”
—Adam Tooze, London Review of Books

“This rich study of the far right’s role in the climate crisis presents an eye-opening sweep of a novel political constellation, revealing its deep historical roots.”
—Adele Walton, gal–dem

“Fascinating.”
—Joseph Maggs, Race & Class

Author

Andreas Malm is a scholar of human ecology and author of, among other books, Fossil Capital and The Progress of This Storm.

The Zetkin Collective is a group of scholars, activists and students working on the political ecology of the far right.
The Zetkin Collective View titles by The Zetkin Collective