Wikipedia article
Necrocapitalism is a socioeconomical concept introduced in the mid-2000s and formalized by Subhabrata Bobby Banerjee from City, University of London, in a 2008 publication of the same name. It is defined as a contemporary form of organizational accumulation that involves dispossession and the subjugation of life to the power of death.
Definition
A form of capitalism where a country’s trade and industry are founded on, linked to and dependent directly or indirectly on death and the profits accruing from it.
In her article Unveiling the Necrocapitalist Dimensions of the Shadow Carceral State: On Pay-to-Stay to Recoup the Cost of Incarceration, Brittany Friedman, demonstrates how necrocapitalism is an increasing vector of civil and administrative pipelines to incarceration, civil financial alternatives to criminal sanctions, and innovations to generate criminal justice revenue.
In his review about Monsanto: a photographic investigation by photographer by Mathieu Asselin, Dr. Thom Davies describes Monsanto’s behavior, that caused ecological, social, and health problems for countless people across the world, as necrocapitalism
Academic Case Study
Orr, W., Henne, K., Lee, A., Harb, J.I. and Alphonso, F.C. (2023), Necrocapitalism in the Gig Economy: The Case of Platform Food Couriers in Australia. Antipode, 55: 200-221.
Usage:
an economy of genocide which profits necro capitalism
2:44
But he also points out that what distinguishes this genocide from others is that uh certain people including President Trump and his family will profit enormously from what is taking place by seizing and developing large tracks of land in Gaza. the Palestinians will be effectively dispossessed.
What do you make of Omar Bartov’s words?
Chapter 3: Big Tech and the Business of War
The United States with this administration, but also with the Biden administration has assumed huge responsibilities for Israel’s main conducts. And uh yes, I agree um that there is there is a complicity with Israel’s actions that puts the United States in the driving um in the driving seat of this and of course the people profing from it. This is what I this is what I described in my uh last year’s report in my fifth report on the genocide which was which was discussing the the how the Israeli economy had turned from an economy of occupation which profited Israel and other companies into an economy of genocide which profits necro capitalism. I mean there are organizations like Palantir but also big actor in the big tech and other firms who are frankly investing into into the Israeli economy pushing the I mean making the stock exchange race uh while the economy many Israelis is in crisis. So it’s not damaging this genocide is damaging the Palestinians of course so many Israelis and these don’t there is project ongoing and in fact has reached an acceleration and this imper this is US imperialism in the region and I’m when I say US imperialism I know that I’m making I assume that I’m making a disservice and paying disservice to many cities in fact who are not even aware of how uh their resources are uh spent.
Yes.
and pride from it because there are many Americans, many US citizens who cannot meet tens at the end of the month who needs to do three, four jobs in order to put something on the table for their families and they cannot even afford American while their government and many uh private in the private sector are profiting from from a genocidal war in in Palestine. and aggression in the in south in southwest Asia in in the Middle East.
5:21
QUESTIONS:
What would it take to graph Necrocapitalism against other trends, such as concentration of wealth, campaign finances, unemployment, poverty, etc?
What factors do you think would most closely precede the rise of necrocapitalism.
Is there widespread opposition to necrocapitalism among the bottom 75% of the sociopolitical spectrum? What factors, such as jobs, maintain support of the bottom three quarters?
MORE:
In July 2025, Francesca Albanese—the Italian lawyer serving as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories—was targeted by United States government sanctions (read more)