Energy geographers seem to agree that the carbon economy represents a symbiotic relationship between social and material components. There is less consensus, however, on how this symbiosis is best conceptualized. We critique the portrayal of carbonscapes as loosely associated, flexibly (re)arranged and easily enacted upon through small-scale radical innovation. Instead, we advocate for a historical materialist approach foregrounding people’s relationship to nature and to each other through the wage relation and systems of social reproduction. By assuming the vantage point of petroleum workers, we show how geographies of (de)alienation can inform a politics of reconnection in the carbon economy.

能源地理学家似乎同意碳经济代表了社会和物质成分之间的共生关系。然而，关于如何最好地概念化这种共生关系的共识较少。我们批评将碳景观描述为松散关联、灵活（重新）安排和通过小规模激进创新轻松实施。相反，我们提倡历史唯物主义的方法，通过工资关系和社会再生产系统来突出人们与自然和彼此之间的关系。通过假设石油工人的有利位置，我们展示了（去）异化的地理如何为碳经济中的重新连接政治提供信息。