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Marxism and the Environment: A View From the Periphery

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Political Action and Social Identity

Part of the book series: Explorations in Sociology ((EIS,volume 19))

Abstract

The emergence of the Green Movement in Europe has focused attention on the environment as the most neglected aspect of Marxist theory. The Greens’ message is important for a number of reasons. First, they represent a new constellation of forces on the Left. Unlike the peace movement of the 1960s, the anti-nuclear movement in Europe today, by incorporating radical ecology and the feminist critique of patriarchy, seeks to problematise industrial society itself. Secondly, at another, deeper level the Green Movement is both a product of Marxism and a challenge to Marxism. The new ecological politics is a logical, if unexpected, outcome of Marxism’s attachment to the institutional forms and processes of monopoly capitalism. From a Green perspective the ‘growth model’ which lies at the heart of industrial capitalism is shared by Left and Right. The issues of alienation from work and the socially engineered dependence on the consumption of unnecessary goods are seldom raised by the orthodox Left, but they are central planks in the Green alternative (Bahro 1982a, 1982b; Gorz, 1982).

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Authors
  1. M. R. Redclift
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Cardiff and in the Department of Town Planning at the University of Wales, Wales Institute of Science and Technology, Cardiff, UK

    Gareth Rees (Lecturer in the Department of Sociology at University College) (Lecturer in the Department of Sociology at University College)

  2. University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, UK

    Janet Bujra (Lecturer in the Department of Economic and Social History and Sociology) (Lecturer in the Department of Economic and Social History and Sociology)

  3. University of Glasgow, UK

    Paul Littlewood (Lecturer in the Department of Sociology) (Lecturer in the Department of Sociology)

  4. University of Essex, UK

    Howard Newby (Professor in the Department of Sociology and Director of the ESRC Survey Archive) (Professor in the Department of Sociology and Director of the ESRC Survey Archive)

  5. University College, Cardiff, UK

    Teresa L. Rees (Research Fellow in the Sociological Research Unit) (Research Fellow in the Sociological Research Unit)

Copyright information

© 1985 Gareth Rees, Janet Bujra, Paul Littlewood, Howard Newby, and Teresa L. Rees

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Redclift, M.R. (1985). Marxism and the Environment: A View From the Periphery. In: Rees, G., Bujra, J., Littlewood, P., Newby, H., Rees, T.L. (eds) Political Action and Social Identity. Explorations in Sociology, vol 19. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-17847-6_9

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