Taking the ongoing genocide in Palestine as a point of departure, The Exterminating Empire traces capital’s centuries-long war against life itself. From the slave plantations and scorched-earth campaigns of early colonialism, to Vietnam, Haiti, Iraq, and today’s climate apartheid, Chris de Ploeg shows that, not only has exterminatory violence against peoples and ecosystems been central to the imperial project, but omnicidal tendencies—the drive to kill everything—have always been present. Operating at different scales, these tendencies possess the potential to annihilate even the imperial core itself, along with the rest of the planet.
Drawing from the revolutionary traditions of the Global South, de Ploeg offers a strategic vision of resistance rooted in class struggle, internationalism, socialism, and ecological justice. The Exterminating Empire gives a coherent worldview to those first politicized by the genocidal violence against Palestinians, and at the same time offers fresh perspectives to the seasoned reader. Whether unearthing the Roman invasions of Palestine, or exhuming the invention of hell, delivering the imperial birth story behind eco-fascism, or brandishing the weaponization of hunger and wage slavery de Ploeg maintains a relentless clarity and momentum, packing shocking facts, historical revelations, and praxis onto every page. This book is both an admonition against the annihilation we face and a survival guide.
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ENDORSEMENTS
Jason Hickel, professor at the Institute for Environmental Science & Technology (ICTA-UAB), author of Less Is more and The Divide.
“The book you hold in your hands provides a wide-ranging account of capital and imperialism, how it works, and the violence it has inflicted against humans and nature for hundreds of years. It is a furious book, unflinching and uncompromising. It reminds us that it is fruitless to appeal to capital, to imperial power, in moral terms. Our objective must be to defeat it.” (From the foreword).
Vijay Prashad, Executive Director of Tricontinental Institute for Social Research, author of dozens of books, including Washington Bullets
“Chris Kaspar de Ploeg’s The Exterminating Empire is a punchy book that tells us how to confront the existential crisis the world is in, and bring it back into equilibrium. This book is a journey — one that begins when you get organised to change the world.”
Max Ajl, Climate Justice Postdoc Researcher at Tunis University, author A People’s Green New Deal
“De Ploeg, drawing on the legacies of anti-colonial and anti-imperialist Marxism, illuminates with brilliance the connections between climate crisis, capitalism, and genocide. A must read.”