Abstract
The capitalist system, driven at its core by the maximization of profit, regardless of social and ecological costs, is incompatible with a just and sustainable future. Ecosocialism offers a radical alternative that puts social and ecological well-being first. Attuned to the links between the exploitation of labor and the exploitation of the environment, ecosocialism stands against both reformist “market ecology” and “productivist socialism.” By embracing a new model of robustly democratic planning, society can take control of the means of production and its own destiny. Shorter work hours and a focus on authentic needs over consumerism can facilitate the elevation of “being” over “having” and the achievement of a deeper sense of freedom for all. To realize this vision, however, environmentalists and socialists will need to recognize their common struggle and how that connects with the broader “movement of movements.”
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
This paper is an enlarged version of an essay published on the Great Transition site, founded by Paul Raskin.
- 2.
Joel Kovel, Enemy of Nature: The End of Capitalism or the End of the World? (New York, Zed Books, 2002), 215.
- 3.
Via Campesina, a worldwide network of peasant movements, has long argued for this type of agricultural transformation. See https://viacampesina.org/en/
- 4.
Ernest Mandel, Power and Money: A Marxist Theory of Bureaucracy (London, Verso, 1992), 206.
- 5.
The opposition between “having” and “being” is often discussed in the Manuscripts of 1844. On free time as the foundation of the socialist “Kingdom of Freedom,” see Karl Marx, Das Kapital, Volume III, Marx-Engels-Werke series, vol. 25 (1884; Berlin: Dietz Verlag Berlin, 1981), 828.
- 6.
Karl Marx, Das Kapital, Volume 1, Marx-Engels-Werke series, vol. 23 (1867; Berlin: Dietz Verlag Berlin, 1981), 528–530.
- 7.
See, for example, Manuel Sacristan, Pacifismo, Ecología y Política Alternativa (Barcelona: Icaria, 1987); Raymond Williams, Socialism and Ecology (London: Socialist Environment and Resources Association, 1982); André Gorz, Ecology as Politics (Boston, South End Press, 1979); Barry Commoner, The Closing Circle: Man, Nature, and Technology (New York: Random House, 1971).
- 8.
“An Ecosocialist Manifesto,” 2001, http://environment-ecology.com/political-ecology/436-an-ecosocialist-manifesto.html; “Belem Ecosocialist Declaration,” December 16, 2008, http://climateandcapitalism.com/2008/12/16/belem-ecosocialist-declaration-a-call-for-signatures/
- 9.
United Nations Environment Programme, The Emissions Gap Report 2017 (Nairobi: UNEP, 2017). For an overview of the report, see https://news.un.org/en/story/2017/10/569672-un-sees-worrying-gap-between-paris-climate-pledges-and-emissions-cuts-needed
- 10.
E. P. Thompson, “The Moral Economy of the English Crowd in the Eighteenth Century,”
Past & Present, no. 50 (February 1971): 76–136.
- 11.
See Ariel Salleh’s Ecofeminism as Politics (New York: Zed Books, 1997) or the recent issue of Capitalism, Nature, and Socialism (29, no. 1: 2018) on “Ecofeminism Against Capitalism,” with essays by Terisa Turner, Ana Isla, and others.
References
Belem Ecosocialist Declaration (2008) December 16, 2008 http://climateandcapitalism.com/2008/12/16/belem-ecosocialist-declaration-a-call-for-signatures/
Ecosocialist Manifesto (2001). http://environment-ecology.com/political-ecology/436-an-ecosocialist-manifesto.html
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Löwy, M. (2020). Ecosocialism: A Radical Alternative. In: Brundenius, C. (eds) Reflections on Socialism in the Twenty-First Century. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33920-3_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33920-3_10
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-33919-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-33920-3
eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceEconomics and Finance (R0)