book: Palm Oil: The Grease of Empire, Max Haiven
What does it mean to be human in a world made of palm oil, in the sense that it is in or on or part of the production of so many things we use every day? What does it mean to tell our story to ourselves in bodies that are made of palm oil [...]?
Haiven posits the cosmology of capitalism as a system of divine worship (of "the market") demanding incessant human sacrifice. through the history and current uses of palm oil, Elaeis guineensis. the modern capitalist system runs on palm oil. dispossession drives workers into harvesting palm oil for pittance, so it's dirt-cheap. dirt-cheap refined palm oil permits the survival of the impoverished working class, who have so little in terms of resources that we throw ourselves at any shitty job we can get. it greases the machines of industry. it is the fundamental element of the most exploited of humanity.
Haiven follows the story of palm oil, and asks where we might go next.
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