Ecology and the Transition from Capitalism to Socialism

“Ecology and the Transition from Capitalism to Socialism“, Monthly Review vol. 60, no. 6 (November 2008), pp.1-12. DOI: 10.14452/MR-060-06-2008-10_1

The transition from capitalism to socialism is the most difficult problem of socialist theory and practice. To add to this the question of ecology might therefore be seen as unnecessarily complicating an already intractable issue. I shall argue here, however, that the human relation to nature lies at the heart of the transition to socialism. An ecological perspective is pivotal to our understanding of capitalism’s limits, the failures of the early socialist experiments, and the overall struggle for egalitarian and sustainable human development.

Reprints:

• Reprinted in abridged form, Briarpatch magazine, 2009.

Translations:

• Portuguese translation by Ângelo Novo published for International Seminar Ten Years Later: Challenges and Proposals for Another Possible World, May 27, 2010, http://seminario10anosdepois.wordpress.com/tag/john-bellamy-foster/.