In the present planetary epoch, the concept of sustainable human development, as a way of conceiving of socialism, represents Marx’s most valuable legacy. No other ecological analysis has such breadth and power.
Archive | Marxist theory
Imperialism and super exploitation
Michael Roberts reviews John Smith’s Imperialism in the 21st Century. This “powerful and searing indictment of the exploitation of billions of people,” argues that “the huge low wage proletariat that has emerged in the last 30 years is the key to the profits of imperialism.”
The Socialist Alternative: Real Human Development
Cuban scholar Olga Fernández Ríos at the launch of the Cuban edition of Michael Lebowitz’ book. “Its publication contributes positively to the defense of the socialist ideal and to the necessary contemporary debate around the construction of the new society.”
Ecosocialist resources, January 2016
On the Papal Encyclical; Peoples power in Venezuela; Marxism & Ecology; Alternatives to neoliberalism; Top 10 climate events; Trade unions and climate justice; New Mexico’s last wild river; Climate insurgency after Paris
Why capitalism is addicted to oil and coal
‘Fossil Capital: The Rise of Steam Power and the Roots of Global Warming.’ A brilliant Marxist critique of capitalism and the origins of the fossil fuel economy
Harry Magdoff on the environment capitalism makes
Before the word ‘ecosocialism’ existed, the co-editor of Monthly Review was discussing ecosocialist ideas.
‘Buen vivir’ and the dilemmas of the Latin American left
Atilio Boron: “What has emerged in Latin American politics is more than a debate over development, growth or the environment; it is a profound controversy over the course of civilization itself.”
Ecosocialist Bookshelf, July 2015
The socialist imperative … Debriefing Elsipitog … The Mayan forest garden … Lifeblood … Endgame … Waking the giant … We have never been neoliberal
Ecological crisis and the tragedy of the commodity
Forget the ‘tragedy of the commons.’ The real cause of environmental crises is a system that commodifies nature and values profit above life itself
Karl Marx: The first ecological sociologist?
Participants in this graduate seminar “were united in expressing surprise at just how prescient Marx’s observations regarding human-environment relations were.”
Ecosocialist resources, May 2015
Ecosocialist Resources, published monthly in Climate & Capitalism, links to articles, reports, talks and videos that are relevant to our mission.
Marx and Nature: A Red and Green Perspective
Essential reading for ecosocialists. Paul Burkett shows that humanity’s relationship to nature is central to Marx’s critique of capitalism and vision of socialism.
Following up on Luxemburg and ‘Socialism or Barbarism’
My explanation of the origin of an important revolutionary slogan has been widely accepted.
The origin of Rosa Luxemburg’s slogan ‘socialism or barbarism’
Historians have offered various explanations, none of which really work. Ian Angus traces an important socialist slogan to its unexpected source.
E.P. Thompson on human nature and socialism
A 1960 passage that is even more relevant today …
21st century socialism requires a new culture on the left
Marta Harnecker: We need a pluralist and tolerant culture that puts first what unites us and leaves as secondary what divides us; that promotes a unity based on solidarity, humanism, respect for differences, defense of nature, and rejection of profit and the market.
Responding to capitalist disaster, in 1914 and today
World War I began 100 years ago. Today’s ecosocialist movement has much to learn from the revolutionaries who campaigned to stop that catastrophe.
The contradictions and limits of localism
Can co-ops and transition towns transform the world? The author of No Local explains why local counter-institutions won’t lead to revolutionary change.
Mystifying Marx
Chris Harman: Revolutionary Marxism has completely different aims from the academic version. Don’t confuse one with the other.
Marxism as if the planet matters
If Marxism is to live up to its own maxim as a theory to not merely interpret the world but to change it, then it must include strong ecological theory and practice.