In Australia and other countries, people are becoming increasingly concerned about the prospect of climate warming and other serious environmental damage. There is good reason for this. If humanity keeps on the same path it will bring disaster. People demand answers that work. The voice for change is so strong now that politicians are compelled to at least pay lip service to it. But to date there is little official action.
This issue of Marxism Today aims to contribute to an explanation of the connection between Marxism and protection of the environment.
Bringing about change is not just a responsibility of individuals. It requires the effort of society as a whole. Because of this, capitalism is incapable of properly dealing with issues such as climate change.
The impressive body of work produced by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels emphasises that human beings and the human mind are themselves part of nature, and subject to its laws. Our dependence on nature to survive is a reality.
But because we are capable of cognition, that is, are able to observe and recreate the world in our mind with what we pick up through our senses, there is also the capability to distort this recreation through a lack of adequate understanding.
The two worlds are sometimes referred to as the objective and subjective. When there is a distortion, the world of the mind and the world outside the mind diverge from each other. The path to full knowledge and comprehension is through bringing perceptions into line with reality.
Humanity’s relationship to nature
In this respect human beings also stand outside nature. This is necessary to have self-awareness and a conscious will. Without them, we would not be able to make decisions and act upon them.
Failure to understand the two-sided nature of humanity can lead to one-sided and wrong views. Accepting only that side of humanity which stands outside of nature, leads to an attitude that our destiny is not tied up with living in harmony with nature. Human beings are external agents and the environment is merely a resource to exploit. Because of this view, human history is filled with cases where human settlement and the exploitation of resources have laid large tracts of land to waste. Today, the situation is much more serious because of the scale of human activity and the potential impact of existing knowledge and technology. Humanity now has the power to effectively destroy the world, or to save it.
An expression of this view is the elevation of the individual needs of human beings and the downgrading of our collective needs. From pre-history, humanity has depended on working together to survive. Out of this, social relations and societies developed. In this way, humans could take care of individual and collective needs. Exaggerating the individual aspect of human beings harms the capacity to work together.
Accepting only the side where humanity is part of and dependent on nature, is also one-sided and wrong, for it denies humanity’s capability to act independently to change the situation.
An expression of this outlook is that technology and science are the problem. Another is that humanity must return to agricultural and cottage industry economies. Still another is to suggest that developing countries should forego further economic development.
In order to successfully tackle environmental degradation and ensure sustainable development, it is necessary to take a balanced approach. We depend on nature for our wellbeing and ultimate survival and at the same time have the capacity to employ our talents to organise, use existing knowledge and learn more to apply techniques that will make a huge difference. Science and technology are not malignant forces. The way in which human beings use these tools is can be either good or bad.
Capitalism is destructive
Everyone wants a liveable world, and to maintain ecological diversity. The dilemma is that although most want change, society has proved to be incapable of acting on it decisively. The finger has to be pointed at the capitalist world that bends all human activity to amassing riches for a small minority, instead of the collective interests of the great majority.
The global economy and most national economies are dominated by a handful of multinationals. The focus of their owners is on a quick return for themselves. It is the main reason why destruction of the environment has escalated so much in our time.
Capitalism depends on promoting an ideology that exaggerates the individual nature of human beings and belittles our social nature, to a degree that has never been achieved before. It denies our dependency on nature. Collective action to achieve our potential is the antithesis of capitalism, and must be denied if the capitalist system is going to continue to operate more or less smoothly.
Capitalist economic prosperity is dependent on the addiction to excessive commodity consumption. If too much is done to provide sustainable alternatives, sales would fall and profits collapse.
The interests of the minority will always get in the way of fixing the environmental damage that has already been done, and producing a society that is in harmony with nature.
Deep-seated changes are needed
People don’t just want talk. They want concrete and effective solutions. This requires a mix of cooperative action and planning on the basis of society as a whole. For this a different kind of economy and political system is required.
In the first place, this means social control of key industries and resources. Some industries will have to be closed down and be replaced by others on the basis of balanced and sustainable development. Large scale re-allocation of resources, including capital, is required. Extensive infrastructure will have to be provided. Research into new technologies will have to be much more extensive than it is now.
Leaving all this to the whims of the market alone will result in failure. These tasks have to be coordinated. Only through centralised planning and widespread participation will this be possible.
A political structure that is adequate for the task is also needed. The one that exists at present is controlled by the same minority, who therefore constitute the ruling class. It is their system and it serves their needs of today. Change requires the overthrow of their rule, and its replacement with a different kind of political power and a political structure that represents the majority, is exercised through broadly based grass roots participation and determines and implements policy.
This does not mean that people should sit on their hands till the great day arrives. Action is needed now. If the fire burning under the ruling class is hot enough, it may force some compromises. These victories will have their limits. At the same time they are important, as they can serve to lessen the impact of the impending crisis and help further build the movement for change.
Nor does the need to putting an end to capitalism preclude demanding that capitalists and their governments take action. Proper planning should be insisted on. A small step for Australia would be to sign the Kyoto Protocol. Another would be to take decisive action at home to curtail carbon emissions by resolute action against the corporate polluters, and forcing the production of much more efficient motor vehicles.
Demands could also revolve on decisive action to put an end to our dependence on coal fuelled energy production and to use more suitable alternatives. People can insist on a massive extension of the public transport system. These are just some examples. Either there will be a positive response from our business leaders and politicians or the people will come to the conclusion that there is no other way but to take matters into their own hands. |
Home | Editorial | Local News | Features | Marxism Today | International News | Archive | Search the Site