Review by mars2k - Strange Harvests: The Hidden Histories of Seven Natural Objects

mars2k 's review for:

Strange Harvests: The Hidden Histories of Seven Natural Objects by Edward Posnett

3.0

adventurous dark informative reflective slow-paced

Strange Harvests started strong. The evocative writing style of the introduction really drew me in, but that spark quickly faded and the book ended up being quite dull overall. The aimlessness only got worse chapter by chapter, with Posnett talking about topics which on the surface seemed interesting, but he wasn’t really saying anything – it’s unclear what his message was supposed to be. In the introduction he mentions “the possibility of a different relationship with the natural world, one predicated on cooperation rather than domination” as something he intends to explore, but the rest of text seems to contradict that by describing nothing but cruelty and exploitation (of animals and human workers alike).

I cannot understate the extent to which capitalist realism permeates this book. Posnett’s insistence on never questioning or criticising capitalism really is beyond parody at times. Trickle-down economics is presented as the solution to wage theft and extreme poverty, though enviro-capitalism (“protecting” nature by exploiting it for profit) is treated with some scepticism, at least. Communism is misrepresented as dismissed as being an “ideology,” but what’s even more concerning is the way fascism is praised for providing jobs and boosting the economy.

I just want to share this bone-chilling quote: “This is the market. There is nothing that can be done against the law of the market. The law of supply and demand is stronger than God.”

Though I can’t really call this book bad, I will say it was uncomfortable to read. It could have been much better considering the potentially fascinating subject matter.

Content Warnings