Rethinking Species-Being in the Anthropocene

The challenges arising with our new geological epoch—the Anthropocene—call on us to think beyond the human and to consider our species in relation to others. Val Plumwood (2007, 1) has made clear what is at stake here: "If our species does not survive the ecological crisis, it will probably be due to our failure … to work out new ways to live with the earth, to rework ourselves … We will go onwards in a different mode of humanity, or not at all." In response to Plumwood's statement, in this article I rethink Marx's concept of species-being in order to open up a space in which to explore different modes of humanity for the Anthropocene. Keywords: Species-BeingClimate ChangeSocial Movements Acknowledgements This article has benefited from conversations with colleagues at the 2009 Limits of the Human conference at the Australia National University and with colleagues in the Centre for Citizenship and Public Policy at the University of Western Sydney. I would especially like to thank Katherine Gibson, David Ruccio, Boone Shear, Allison Weir, and Magdalena Zolkos for their reflections on earlier drafts.