Naturetm Inc.: Nature as neoliberal capitalist imaginary

Abstract

This chapter reviews a rapidly expanding body of research in political ecology exploring processes by which environmental conservation has become increasingly conjoined with neoliberal capitalism, a trend we shorthand with the label ‘Nature™ Inc.’ It outlines three main lines of critical analysis concerning this trend: (1) the ways in which neoliberal principles such as commodification, competition, financialization and market discipline articulate with earlier conservation strategies, local socio-cultural dynamics and rural livelihoods, producing novel mechanisms and major landscape changes; (2) how these mechanisms seek to transcend the conservation of particular in situ natural resources ..