Human impacts on the Earth system mark the dawn of a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene. This claim has triggered a debate in science, media, and politics in which ‘humanity’ as a whole is commonly identified as the driving force of epochal environmental change. The historically and geographically specific expansion of capitalist society-nature relations and the associated social differentiation have led to persistent social inequalities, challenging the assumption of humanity as a homogenous driver. Based on a review of social and political ecology literature, we propose a differentiated research agenda focusing on drivers of accelerating resource use in the Anthropocene. As many current governance instruments replicate and reinforce these drivers, such a research agenda can offer crucial insights for sustainability transformations.

人类对地球系统的影响标志着人类新纪元的到来。这种说法引发了科学，媒体和政治领域的辩论，其中“人类”作为一个整体通常被认为是时代性环境变化的驱动力。资本主义社会与自然关系在历史和地理上的特定扩张以及相关的社会分化导致了持续的社会不平等，挑战了人类作为同质驱动器的假设。在回顾社会和政治生态学文献的基础上，我们提出了差异化的研究议程，重点关注人类世间加速资源利用的驱动因素。由于许多当前的治理工具可以复制并加强这些驱动力，因此这样的研究议程可以为可持续性转型提供至关重要的见解。