Ian Angus

IAN ANGUS is a socialist educator, historian and activist based in Canada. He speaks frequently at conferences on socialist and ecological issues, and his articles have been published in journals and newspapers around the world. He is Editor of Climate and Capitalism, an online journal focusing on capitalism, climate change, and the ecosocialist alternative. https://climateandcapitalism.com

THE WAR AGAINST THE COMMONS: DISPOSSESSION AND RESISTANCE IN THE MAKING OF CAPITALISM, A unique historical account of poor peoples’ self-defence strategies in the face of the plunder of their lands and labor. For five centuries, the development of capitalism has been inextricably connected to the expropriation of working people from the land they depended on for subsistence. Through ruling class assaults known as enclosures or clearances, shared common land became privately-owned capital, and peasant farmers became propertyless laborers who could only survive by working for the owners of land or capital.

A REDDER SHADE OF GREEN: INTERSECTIONS OF SCIENCE AND SOCIALISM. Environmentalists, scientists, and ecosocialists share concerns about the misuse and overuse of natural resources, but often differ on explanations and solutions. Ian Angus responds to these concerns with a fresh, insightful clarity, bringing socialist values to science, and scientific rigor to socialism. He challenges not only mainstream green thought, but also radicals who misuse or misrepresent environmental science.

FACING THE ANTHROPOCENE: FOSSIL CAPITALISM AND THE CRISIS OF THE EARTH SYSTEM. Bridging the gap between Earth System science and ecological Marxism, Ian Angus examines not only the latest scientific findings about the physical causes and consequences of the Anthropocene transition, but also the social and economic trends that underlie the crisis. The book was described by noted ecosocialist Michael Lowy as "an outstanding contribution, not only for understanding the nature of the Anthropocene and its deadly consequences for human life, but also for explaining its social and economic causes."

In TOO MANY PEOPLE? POPULATION, IMMIGRATION, AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS, co-written with Simon Butler, Angus provides a clear, well-documented, and popularly written refutation of the idea that “overpopulation” is a major cause of environmental destruction, arguing that a focus on human numbers not only misunderstands the causes of the crisis, it dangerously weakens the movement for real solutions.

CANADIAN BOLSHEVIKS: THE EARLY YEARS OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF CANADA, has been described by academic reviewers as "an underground classic among historians of the Canadian left" and "required reading for anyone seriously interested in the history of communism in Canada." A second edition was published in 2004.