Scapegoat: What the Invasive Species Story Gets Wrong

The problem with invasive species is a problem of capitalism.

A caste of plants and animals labeled "invasive" are villainized as primary drivers of habitat degradation that must be eradicated at any cost—an ethically fraught and often futile approach. Fanatical intervention efforts lay waste to local ecosystems, yet this outdated narrative of “species management” persists in both public belief and conservation policy, distracting from and even justifying a far greater threat to biodiversity: the global capitalist system that is destroying our planet.

Drawing on environmental science and semiotics, Scapegoat recounts how the rhetoric of war between “native” and “invasive” species provides cover for business and political interests and their social and ecological consequences. In her clear-eyed polemic, Clare Follmann challenges received wisdom in light of the true ecological crisis we face. The choice is simple: we can have capital, or we can have life.

© 2026 AK Press (Ebook): 9781849356220

Release date

Ebook: 3 March 2026