Ecosocialism

Derek Wall discusses Marx’s contribution to ecological thought, where current socialist governments are acting regarding the environment, and how EcoMarxists interact with electoral politics.

Sonny Melencio - Greta Thunberg, a well-known Swedish climate activist, criticized the global summit as a forum of “greenwashing” that is not really meant to change the whole system but encourages only paltry changes. Thunberg’s statement highlights the position taken by a growing number of Left activists in the Philippines who are coming together soon to launch a movement called ecosocialism. 

Daniel Tanuro - Global warming, extreme severity of drought in Europe, heat waves, snowball effect (or cascading reactions) among all these crisis factors... Risk of sudden changes in ocean circulation with incalculable consequences... This article addresses three points: the explanation of this incontestable observation, the possible evolution, and the policies to be implemented.

João Pedro Stedile - Today, humanity is at risk because of senseless social inequality, attacks on the environment, and an unsustainable consumption pattern in rich countries that is imposed on us by capitalism and its profit-seeking mentality.

David Camfield - As catastrophic floods in Pakistan and drought in Europe and China highlight the ecological crisis of fossil capital, a debate between Matt Huber and Kai Heron raises important issues for anyone concerned with understanding and responding politically to our times.

Simon Pirani - A look at the economic war being waged alongside the military conflict, the resulting disruption of energy markets, and their place in the broader social and ecological crises shaking capital.

Green Left - In this document, we trace the development of a Green Socialist New Deal (GSND) from its origins in the ‘New Deal’ of the 1930s, to the more recent Green New Deal.

Various authors - Those who now tolerate a Russian victory also tolerate a victory for both global and “domestic” fossil and commodity-based capital, which is closely intertwined with the Russian fossil and extractive sectors. Therefore, a new anti-militarist movement must uphold solidarity with the civil as well as armed resistance of the Ukrainian people, and with the Ukrainian, Belarusian and Russian leftists who oppose the Putin regime’s war.

Marxism’s contributions to ecological literature and struggles is a rich and contradictory field of discussion. Marxism in diverse ways has fed into environmental struggles and broader ecological politics. Broadly, I would argue that there has been a deepening appreciation of the ecological themes in the work of Marx and Engels in recent decades. Most significantly, and recently, there has been a shift towards debates around Eco-Leninism, with several different attempts to read the climate crisis through the insights of Lenin. However, specifically Green Party politics, in some states, has seen a movement of former Marxist-Leninists towards a revisionist understanding of politics, with revolutionary objectives being discarded.