[Book Review] Free gifts: capitalism and the politics of nature

<p dir="ltr">In the pathbreaking and vital <i>Free Gifts: Capitalism and the Politics of Nature</i>, Alyssa Battistoni argues that capitalism fails to value nature and rather treats it like a ‘free gift’. Such free gifts are those things which are simultaneously incredibly useful yet not granted any economic value: wind powering sailing ships and turbines, fertile land and sunshine for agriculture, or housework and childcare. These gifts are never actually free but always paid for elsewhere – whether by the exploitation of workers, atmospheric pollution, the gendered character of reproductive labour, or the regenerative power of the biosphere. Battistoni shows how capitalism’s failure to value nature is not an accident or an unfortunate oversight but built into its structure and dynamics.</p>