The geographies of nature literature has revolutionized conceptions of nature in geography. Yet all is not well on the socionatural front. Geographers have focused on the downstream consequences of capital for ecology but neglected modernity’s upstream sources, its foundational eco-relations and eco-logic. The production of nature thesis, a foundational statement for geographies of nature, pointed toward historical-theoretical reconstruction of capital-nature relations but stagnated at the stage of thesis. This article argues for moving from the production of nature thesis to world-ecological synthesis through an overview and critique of the world-ecological perspective, an approach pioneered by geographer Jason W. Moore. This perspective represents a great leap forward for rethinking capital’s eco-relations and eco-logic, but remains overlooked by many human geographers for at least two reasons, both of which this article aims to remedy. First, a comprehensive overview remains missing. Accordingly, this article first reviews Moore’s work, from its historical-geographical foundations, to its theoretical elaborations and its account of present crises and political struggles. Second, the world-ecology perspective has been advanced through a historical materialism somewhat at odds with contemporary human geographer’s focus on culture, power and knowledge. My critique suggests that bringing Gramsci’s ethico-politically infused historical materialism into world-ecology marks a pathway forward for geographies of nature.