About this episode
The episode discusses the transformation of sugar into a commodity through capitalism and the impact of enslaved labor on its production.
Sugar may seem like a natural, almost eternal substance, cultivated over thousands of years. But it was remade by capitalism and turned into a homogenized commodity. Enslaved labor was central to sugar production on vast plantations, which would then be discarded as sugar laid waste to both the lands and human bodies. And, as historian of science David Singerman illustrates, scientific techniques were utilized to standardize sugar, while attempting to replace the knowledge of the workers who labored in its refineries. David Singerman, Unrefined: How Capitalism Reinvented Sugar University of Chicago Press, 2025 Photo by Immo Wegmann on Unsplash The post Sugar and Capitalism appeared first on KPFA.
People in this episode
Guest: David Singerman
Topics covered
- sugar
- capitalism
- enslaved labor
- commodification
- scientific techniques
- plantations
Keywords
- sugar
- capitalism
- enslaved labor
- commodification
- plantations
- scientific techniques
- David Singerman
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: University of Chicago Press
Books & works: Unrefined: How Capitalism Reinvented Sugar
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