Totalizing period terms remain necessary for Marxist opposition

Evidence

Our proposal of Corpocene as a term to supplement the above is to some degree ironic, to some degree serious. Almost all variations on the term Anthropocene incorrectly presume that -cene means “epoch” or “age” rather than “recent.” We acknowledge the interpretation of -cene as “age” or “epoch” is a misreading yet still accept it. We generally agree with those who argue that, regardless of the name we give our context, it’s not really humans, as such, that have changed the planet but specific modalities of capitalism—industrial and imperial alike. Like Haraway, we agree that most -cenes are far too totalizing. But what is Marxist theory without totality? Even though there are countless alternative ways of living, if one cannot sketch a model of the dominant conjuncture how would it be possible to oppose and invent a new way of living? — Grant Bollmer, Katherine Guinness, The Influencer Factory, 348

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies the etymology the term Corpocene builds on — -cene means ‘recent’ not ‘epoch.’
• QUESTION: The author’s own defensiveness about using a ‘misread’ suffix is worth chasing — is the Corpocene irony or sincere?