Cars, capitalism and ecological crises: understanding systemic barriers to a sustainability transition in the German car industry

IF 3.8 2区经济学 Q1 ECONOMICS

New Political Economy Pub Date : 2023-06-20 DOI:10.1080/13563467.2023.2223132

A. Keil, J. Steinberger

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引用次数: 1

Abstract

In the face of climate and ecological crises, it is vital that car use be reduced, while simultaneously shifting towards different powertrains and reducing the size, weight and energy demand of vehicles. This poses a challenge to the global car industry, as its business model historically centres on selling more and larger cars. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to examine the social-ecological limits of industrial restructuring in Germany. A narrative literature review through the lens of Marxian political economy sheds light on intertwined system-immanent barriers to achieving social and ecological sustainability at the sectoral level. Consequently, powertrain electrification is structured by technological dynamism, which fuels appropriation in the quest for metals and rare earths, with significant social and ecological disadvantages. This generates an impasse for the industry’s transition strategies. Understanding how capitalist tendencies generate interlaced and mutually re-enforcing barriers to achieving social-ecological sustainability is key to understanding why industrial transitions are insufficient from a social-ecological perspective. ARTICLE HISTORY Received 10 October 2022 Accepted 6 June 2023

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汽车、资本主义和生态危机：理解德国汽车行业可持续转型的系统性障碍

面对气候和生态危机，减少汽车的使用是至关重要的，同时转向不同的动力系统，减少汽车的尺寸、重量和能源需求。这对全球汽车行业构成了挑战，因为其商业模式历来以销售更多、更大的汽车为中心。在此背景下，本文的目的是考察德国产业结构调整的社会生态限制。通过马克思主义政治经济学的视角，叙述文献综述揭示了在部门层面实现社会和生态可持续性的交织在一起的系统内在障碍。因此，动力系统的电气化是由技术动力构成的，这助长了对金属和稀土的追求，具有显著的社会和生态劣势。这导致了行业转型战略的僵局。理解资本主义倾向如何产生相互交织和相互加强的障碍，以实现社会生态的可持续性，是理解为什么从社会生态的角度来看，工业转型是不够的关键。文章历史接收日期2022年10月10日接收日期2023年6月6日

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来源期刊

New Political Economy Multiple-

CiteScore

10.10

自引率

9.50%

发文量

期刊介绍： New Political Economy aims to create a forum for work which combines the breadth of vision which characterised the classical political economy of the nineteenth century with the analytical advances of twentieth century social science. It seeks to represent the terrain of political economy scholarship across different disciplines, emphasising original and innovative work which explores new approaches and methodologies, and addresses core debates and issues of historical and contemporary relevance.