Ecosocialism

[An important article: "I would argue that it's much more likely to come from social protest than from the eventual exhaustion of natural resources."- says Chris Williams - read the full article - Editors]

We are now officially living amid the sixth great extinction, according to scientists, but the global economy has still not shifted to prevent climate change's existential threat to human civilization and much of the biosphere.

[Webpage editor's note: This short article by the author of the blog Life on the Left is part of a discussion in Quebec among socialists and nationalists about the Canadian election. It was submitted to a bulletin associated with the journal Nouveaux Cahiers du Socialisme.]

When Bolivian President Evo Morales announced in May that his government was allowing oil and gas drilling in national parks, mainstream and progressive media outlets alike were quick to condemn his supposed hypocrisy on environmental issues.

Writing for the Associated Press, Frank Bajak argued that although Morales is known internationally for his outspoken campaigning on climate change, at home he faces constant criticism from conservationists “who say he puts extraction ahead of clean water and forests”.

This book review of Green Capitalsm the God that Failed by Richard Smith was first published by the World Economics Association eBooks.

Forget the ‘tragedy of the commons.’  The real cause of environmental crises is a system that commodifies nature and values profit above life itself.

Leftist journalist and broadcaster, Paul Mason, has a new book out at the end of this month. It's called ‘Postcapitalism’.  I don’t have a copy but Mason has written a long article in the British newspaper, The Guardian, outlining his main arguments, http://gu.com/p/4ay9c

On the Climate and Capitalism site (http://climateandcapitalism.com/) Ian Angus wrote on May 8, 2015:

It’s often said that socialists are latecomers to environmentalism, that until the 1990s, Marxists ignored or rejected the concerns raised by environmentalists. There’s some justice to that criticism, but there were important exceptions.

"The call came to protestors assembled at borehole 2 on Burnaby Mountain: 'Kinder Morgan has arrived! Get your asses down here.' I ran to the motorcycle and hurried down to Drummond Walk. A few comrades were just starting to follow KM workers -- 2 hardhats with chain saws, a couple management types and a few security guards. I raged internally as I accompanied them into the forest at the ready, but not knowing what the next step was...