What's Ecosocialism? ESS 2023
Global warming and Earth history
Intro: What is the meaning of global warming?
[Slides 2 and 3: recent global max temperatures]
2023 hottest year on record:
What does global warming mean? Is it an existential threat to humanity? Or to civilization? Can we adapt to a warmer planet? Is Life itself in danger?
Earth: the living planet
[Slide 4: Mars vs Earth]
Earth is in constant transformation, as opposed to Mars or the moon.
Its atmosphere, land surface, and continents are constantly changing.
The conditions created by Life have allowed for a more developed and complex form.
Change and stability
Earth variables have always remained within the limits of habitability.
Global mean temperature has remained above freezing level.
See young sun paradox. [Slide 5]
The cooling of the Earth
[Slide 8 and 9: Earths temperature evolution, CO2 evolution]
Globally temperatures have descended as well as carbon dioxide. Not a linear process. Origin and effects of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Since the K/T event, Cenozoic, global cooling. Rise of mammals and new kinds of ecosystems such as grasslands. Rise of biodiversity.
Quaternary age: ice caps. We are still in and Ice age. [Slide 8]
Optimality of Quaternary climate? [Slide 9]
Rise of hominids in this period (primates since first Cenozoic warming event). Evolutive step for the Earth as a whole [Slide 11]
Anthropocene disruption
[Slides 12 and 13]
Anthropocene and Great Acceleration.
Rise in CO2 to pre-Quaternary levels.
Show and comment hockey stick charts.
When did it start? Anthropocene, Capitalocene, Plantationcene.
Humans on Earth
Intro: Anthropocene as a pseudo-geostratigraphic concept.
Beware of “scientific” discourse: we are talking about (our) history and sense making. This also applies to what was previously presented.
Can we reduce the harm on Earth? Can we help the Earth to recover?
Can we relate to “nature” as something else than a source of resources and a sink of waste?
Is humanity “a cancer” for the planet?
Ecosystem stewardship by indigenous peoples
See example: Antropogenic Amazonian terra preta. Not a ‘virgin’ territory.
But also: megafauna extinction by hunter gatherers?
Question concepts such as man and nature: criticise colonial vision by Hobbes and Rousseau (which both suppose a state of pre-cultural “nature” in humanity)
We are not “good” or “bad” by nature. However our social practices can be better or worse for the ecosystem(s) in which we live.
Of course the same applies to social injustice, exploitation, etc.
Evolution of modern humans
Hierarchy in the forest by Christopher Boehm.
Egalitarianism as an evolutive step forward as well as a social, cultural, political construct. The keeping in check of upstarts. Ruling of the weak over the strong.
State-less societies
Sources of knowledge on ”primitive” state-less and egalitarian societies: anthropology and archeology.
Diversity of modes of production: hunter gatherers, but also agrarian modes of production, combinations.
Diversity of social forms.
Commonalities of known stateless societies. [Slide 17]
Division of labour according to sex/gender but necessarily leading to a difference of status. Common ownership of the land. Reciprocity in relation among families.
Egalitarian societies, rank societies, and stratified societies. [Slide 18]
The apropiation of excedents.
Class societies and the origins of the State.
Class society, Origins of the State and “civilization”: the Pyramids. [Slide 19]
Origins of gender oppression.
Civilizations have risen and fallen. Often their fall was accompanied by climatic events.
Socialism and ecology
Intro: What is ecosocialism?
Based on the previous points, we can define ecosocialism in two ways.
A way of existing on the planet that not only doesn’t damage the Earth but contributes to its well-being, in order to ensure well-being and sustainability of human societies.
A class-less society. Thus the struggle for socialism is not only to overcome capitalism, but a civilizational change to overcome class societies.
Is ecosocialism a deep change for the socialist movement? Is it a synthesis between two different movements?
Early ecosocial struggles and conscience.
Resistance of capitalism from below has for long time have incorporated the struggle for environment. (examples?)
This is also clear even in the early works of Marx and Engels. [Slide 21]
Marx: La loi sur les vols de bois. Resistance of communities against expropiation of the commons. The protests about the appropriation, mishandling and destruction of forests by the rich is pervasive in the pre and early history of capitalism development.
Engels - The condition of the working class in England. Pollution and public health.
Beware: Knowledge of the destruction of the environment by capitalism has always existed, only it has been suppressed by the ideologues of capitalist development.
Reject the positivist idea of ecology or Earth science as a recent realization, before which we were oblivious to the consequences of our acts.
Was Marx an ecological thinker?
John B. Foster Marx’s Ecology vs Marism as productivism. Both readings can be convincing as they quote Marx’s work.
Better to understand his thought in tension and evolution. (Timothée Haug, Kohei Sato?)
Metabolism in capitalism society (Grundrisse) vs Human-Nature metabolism.
Productivist socialism
Quotes of Trotsky: humanity will move mountains and rivers to its will.
Understanding socialism as the “Free development of the productive forces” (several readings of this concept are possible)
Ecological destruction by existing socialism. Chernobyl, etc.
Degrowth as a criticism of socialism.
Convergence between degrowth and ecosocialism.
Egalitarianism is a requisite to reduce the negative impact on Earth.
See scientific discussions: “A good life for all within planetary boundaries” [Slide]
Question of a good life poses the topic of needs without directly referring to the increase in the production of material goods. Concept brought by the indigenous movement.
Discussions in the Fourth International
2010 World Congress. FI declares itself ecosocialist.
2018 WC text
Discussions on ecosocialist manifesto, degrowth, transitional demands for 2025 World Congress.
17th World Congress - 2018. The capitalist destruction of the environment and the ecosocialist alternative [1]