COVID-19 and the Planetary Crisis Multiplicity: From Marxist Crisis Theory to Planetary Assemblage Theory

Albert, Michael

Abstract

The COVID-19 crisis gives us occasion to reflect on the insights and limitations of Marxist crisis theory. While ecological Marxists in particular have made incisive analyses of these crises, I argue that traditional Marxist frameworks are insufficient for conceptualizing twenty-first century global crises, which emerge from complex material entanglements across multiple socio-ecological systems and take on self-organizing dynamics that exceed human agency. I therefore suggest that an encounter between ecological Marxism and Deleuzian assemblage theory can provide a more productive theoretical foundation for understanding the COVID-19 crisis and mapping what I call the broader "planetary crisis multiplicity."

Citation

Albert, M. (2022). COVID-19 and the Planetary Crisis Multiplicity: From Marxist Crisis Theory to Planetary Assemblage Theory. Theory and Event, 25(2), 332-363. https://doi.org/10.1353/tae.2022.0015

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 20, 2021
• Publication Date: Apr 13, 2022
• Deposit Date: Jun 24, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 29, 2022
• Journal: Theory and Event
• Electronic ISSN: 1092-311X
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 25
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 332-363
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/tae.2022.0015
• Publisher URL: https://muse.jhu.edu/article/852388