Karl Marxa (Tm)S Ecosocialism: Capital, Nature, and the Unfinished Critique of Political Economy

Offering an ecosocialist reading of Marx, this scholarly study examines Marx’s better-known writings, such as Capital, as well as his less-known writings, such as his scientific notebooks, in order to divine Marx’s views on the connection between capitalism and environmental problems. There is special focus on the ecological questions addressed in Marx’s unfinished “Critique of Political Economy.” The study also looks at Marx’s sources and his research process. Part 1 outlines Marx’s ideas on ecology and economy. Part 2 analyzes Marx’s ecology and the Marx-Engels-Gesamtausgabe. Annotation ©2017 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)
Reveals the ideal of a sustainable ecosocialist world in Marx’s writings Karl Marx, author of what is perhaps the world’s most resounding and significant critique of bourgeois political economy, has frequently been described as a “Promethean.” According to critics, Marx held an inherent belief in the necessity of humans to dominate the natural world, in order to end material want and create a new world of fulfillment and abundance—a world where nature is mastered, not by anarchic capitalism, but by a planned socialist economy. Understandably, this perspective has come under sharp attack, not only from mainstream environmentalists but also from ecosocialists, many of whom reject Marx outright.  Kohei Saito’s Karl Marx’s Ecosocialism lays waste to accusations of Marx’s ecological shortcomings. Delving into Karl Marx’s central works, as well as his natural scientific notebooks—published only recently and still being translated—Saito also builds on the works of scholars such as John Bellamy Foster and Paul Burkett, to argue that Karl Marx actually saw the environmental crisis embedded in capitalism. “It is not possible to comprehend the full scope of (Marx’s] critique of political economy,” Saito writes, “if one ignores its ecological dimension.”  Saito’s book is crucial today, as we face unprecedented ecological catastrophes—crises that cannot be adequately addressed without a sound theoretical framework. Karl Marx’s Ecosocialism shows us that Marx has given us more than we once thought, that we can now come closer to finishing Marx’s critique, and to building a sustainable ecosocialist world.