Exploring the Chaos of Commodification: From the Arcades to the Cascades with Benjamin and Leopold

In this study, I work through ideas from Ben Agger on critical theory to develop a provisional exploration of how Walter Benjamin helps us understand the chaos of commodification.This analysis also unfolds as a thought experiment about the Anthropocene as economies and environments merge in today's planetary urbanization.To accomplish these goals, I also examine the merits of mapping Walter Benjamin's critique of capitalist modernity as well as Aldo Leopold's understanding of biotic community against the advent of the Anthropocene to elaborate a layered critique of built and unbuilt environments in the contemporary world-system.