Senior 20: Initial Research

In the last handful of weeks a few days were put aside to be devoted to research and develop my topic of Ecosocialism with more depth. Initially I did some background research just to lay down the foundation for what ecosocialism actually is and who some of the major figures in shaping it were. Some of the names I was already familiar with. Karl Marx, Vladamir Lenin, Mikhail Bakunin, and Eugene Debs, were among them. I also stumbled across some new names, however, such as William Morris, Aleksander Bogdanov, and most importantly John Bellamy Foster. This step helped me to move on to some of the major ideas that ecosocialists propose.

A major component in understanding ecosocialism is understanding the ecological crisis that we all are faced with right now. The evidence of climate change has mounted overwhelmingly in recent years, and the figures we receive only look more and more grim with each report. Climate change, or global warming, can and will have apocalyptic repercussions if something is not done soon about the mode of production which perpetuates said destruction. The epiphenomena of climate change will take many forms. Rising sea levels, increasingly inclement weather, ocean acidification, and desertification are among these, just to name a few.

Ecosocialists agree that the global system of neoliberal capitalism is largely responsible for the aforementioned crisis and misuse of much of the planet's natural capital. The most basic reason for this is that overproduction is intrinsic of the free market. In capitalism, no matter how "green" or "progressive," the amount of goods produced is according to demand, rather than legitimate need. This why even today we burn fossil fuels which are known to emit green house gases (GHGs) into the atmosphere, exacerbating its already dire condition. What we all need to understand is that nothing can be made from nothing. In some way, shape or form, all production requires natural resources, and so when corporations produce commodities en mass, they are not all consumed. Meanwhile nature suffers the same consequences. This is how we have entered the global environmental crisis.

So what is to be done in order counter the ecological crisis? "Liberals," "progressives," and "green capitalists," will tell you that by simply buying a canvas tote bag at the super market and recycling your cans and bottles, you are doing your part for the environment. While these are absolutely positive behaviors that you can and should practice, they unfortunately are not going to turn this crisis around any time soon. This is the result of a general refusal to look at the larger picture. The truth of the matter is that capitalism, the mode of production is responsible for the mass overproduction which requires constant overuse of natural capital. The coal that is burned, the fuels emitted from automobiles, the tilling of old growth forests, and the oil spilled into our waters are all just examples of irresponsible uses of capital.

That is why ecosocialists propose that the means of production (capital) are redistributed in a horizontal manner. This would mean that instead of executives holding control over capital, the workers, organized, would have this control because they have nothing to gain from overproduction. Obviously, the few people at the very top in control of capital, would not so easily hand over their operation to the proletariat. It is also important to understand that the ruling class hold the support of the state. That is why ecosocialists usually propose nonviolent insurgency as a vehicle for socialist revolution. This would mean non-violent, but yet subversive and not necessarily legal strategies in order to depose capitalism regimes and the state and replace it with a biocentric, socialist one.