James Richard O'Connor (April 20, 1930 – November 12, 2017)[1] was an American political economist and professor of sociology.
[2] His political commitment was evident in his networking and organizing with intellectuals across continents to bring to the attention of North American audiences news, perspectives, and analyses of social and environmental struggles from different parts of the world.
[3] This is one major way in which the journal Capitalism, Nature, and Socialism came to have international breadth and reach, as well as benefit from the input of thinkers from many countries.
[6] However, its relevance extends beyond the U.S. context, as it sheds light on similar challenges faced by other countries during that period and even in today’s global economy.
[15] In it O’Connor revised historical materialism and theorized labour not as the enemy of nature, but as a partner in a common history of capitalist exploitation, claiming that “the more that (human modified) nature is seen as the history of labour, property, exploitation, and social struggle, the greater will be the chances of a sustainable, equitable, and socially just future.” [16]