Join us for a conversation with author Chris de Ploeg about his new book. Which is a radical and urgent indictment of the global capitalist system and the imperial violence it unleashes upon people and planet alike. At its core, the book argues that genocide and ecocide are not tragic byproducts of capitalism – they are its fundamental features. In his book, he illustrates how the genocide in Gaza, is connected to this systemic imperial violence across the globe, rather than an isolated case. The moderator will be Max Arto de Ploeg. During the conversation we will dive deeper into the interconnections of the great challenges of our time. And more importantly, how to fight back. Join us for an intimate evening with food and plenty of room for questions with the author. In the last part we will also make room to meet others and dialogue together about what actions we can take against this imperialist monster that is destroying life on the planet. 

About the author: Chris de Ploeg (he/him) is an Armenian-Dutch journalist and organiser. Prior to The Exterminating Empire, he published The Great Colonial War trilogy and Ukraine in the Crossfire. He is a co-founder of Aralez, a grassroots organisation for decolonisation and is active with the revolutionary party De Vonk in Amsterdam. Chris writes, speaks, and organises on themes including (neo)colonialism, climate justice, racism, and capitalism. You can find more about his work via his website.
About the moderatorMax de Ploeg   (he/him) is an Armenian-Dutch organizer and multi-instrumentalist working on decolonization. He co-founded Rooting Resistance, where he offers musical journeys for activists to ground their struggle in community and spirituality. Max is also co-founder of Aralez, coordinator of the Week Against Racism and a teacher about colonialism at IIES. For this evening, he will play the Armenian Duduk to guide poetry by his brother Chris, which will ground their ancestral struggles in the global struggle for liberation.
About the bookTaking the ongoing genocide in Palestine as a point of departure, The Exterminating Empiretraces capital’s centuries-long war against life itself. From the slave plantations and scorched-earth campaigns of early colonialism, to Vietnam, Haiti, Iraq, and today’s climate apartheid, Chris Kaspar de Ploeg shows that exterminatory violence against peoples and ecosystems has been central to the imperial project. He argues that omnicidal tendencies—the drive to kill everything—have always been present, possessing the potential to annihilate even the imperial core itself.

Drawing from the revolutionary traditions of the Global South, de Ploeg offers a strategic vision of resistance rooted in class struggle, internationalism, socialism, and ecological justice. The Exterminating Empire gives a coherent worldview to those first politicized by the genocidal violence against Palestinians, and offers fresh perspectives to the seasoned reader. Whether unearthing the Roman invasions of Palestine, exhuming the invention of hell, or brandishing the weaponization of hunger and wage slavery, de Ploeg maintains a relentless clarity and momentum. This book is both an admonition against the annihilation we face and a survival guide.The book has also been published in Dutch by EPO, under the title “De hel op aarde Genocide, ecocide en de oorlog tegen het leven.

Reviews of The Exterminating Empire:

“De Ploeg, drawing on the legacies of anti-colonial and anti-imperialist Marxism, illuminates with brilliance the connections between climate crisis, capitalism, and genocide. A must read.” —Max Ajl, climate justice Postdoc Researcher at Tunis University, author A People’s Green New Deal

“Chris de Ploeg’s The Exterminating Empire is a punchy book that tells us how to confront the existential crisis the world is in… This book is a journey—one that begins when you get organised to change the world.”—Vijay Prashad, Executive Director of Tricontinental Institute for Social Research, author of Washington Bullets.

“…provides a wide-ranging account of capital and imperialism… It is a furious book, unflinching and uncompromising. It reminds us that it is fruitless to appeal to capital, to imperial power, in moral terms. Our objective must be to defeat it.”—Jason Hickel, author of Less Is More and The Divide.