Why Greens must be Red and Reds must be Green

Ecosocialists see the problems of ecological justice and social justice, as profoundly linked in our economic system, capitalism, and no amount of tinkering with capitalism will ultimately resolve the ecological and social problems caused by this unfair and destructive system. 

More conventional socialists and greens tend to see these problems as largely unconnected, with greens believing that somehow capitalism can be reformed and made more eco-friendly. Socialists, all too often see ecological politics as an add on issue, at best, which will somehow cease to be a problem when we move to a socialist system. 

This thinking is wrong on both sides of the argument. Socialist governments that we have seen around the world, have often had an even more dismal environmental record than capitalist countries. It is true that these states, the USSR and China, and their satellites, were not truly socialist, but the perception of it as being socialism, has lodged in the general public’s minds. Changing those perceptions, is not easy, but I see little from more traditional socialists in even trying too much. 

A healthy environment is essential to humanity’s well-being, and the effects of climate change, for example, impact much more on poorer people. The rich countries can build defences against the worst effects of volatile changes in the climate, at least for now, but the poor ones cannot. Things like incinerators and toxic dumps, tend to be located in poor neighbourhoods, in the richer countries, as well poor ones.   

The British Labour party, under previous leader, Jeremy Corbyn, did move in a green direction with their plan for a ‘Green Industrial Revolution’ which was the basis for a start on a ‘just transition’ of the economy. It is not yet clear whether this will survive under Labour’s new leader, Keir Starmer, although my bet would be that if it does, it will be watered down, so as not to scare British capital. 

When the pandemic lock-down rules were relaxed over the summer, I took the opportunity to meet up with some old friends. One friend is a traditional socialist, a former member of the Socialist Workers Party, who now accepts that there should be a push for renewable energy (and nuclear power). When I pointed out that finite precious metals are needed for wind and solar generated energy, he suggested that we could ‘mine the moon.’ 

I wasn’t entirely surprised by this suggestion, as my friend is a fan of Leon Trotsky, who notoriously wanted his ‘socialist superman’ to ‘move mountains and divert rivers.’ This kind of thinking is far too prevalent in socialist circles, the idea that man can overcome nature, is surely discredited by the current climate crisis. Socialism as the ultimate techo-fix. Economic growth is an addiction of the left, as well as the right. 

For greens, especially in more recent times, social justice issues have been accepted as part of the changed society that they want to see, but attempt to treat the symptoms caused by our economic system, rather than the root cause itself. How can you make a system ecologically rational, when that system is predicated on exponential growth, on a finite planet? 

Some greens, for example, still see population issues as the main issue affecting ecological destruction, but fail to see that the poverty that is inherent in capitalism, forces poor people to have larger families, to generate income, particularly when the parents become too old to work. On top of which, the ecological footprint of people in developing countries, is tiny compared to that of your average consumer in the richer nations. 

Having been a member of the Green party of England and Wales for almost fifteen years now, I can certainly confirm that greens all too often put individual ‘lifestyle’ actions, such as having a vegan diet or using and promoting renewable energy sources to the fore, whilst believing that our economic system, capitalism, can be made ecologically rational. There is also the rather depressingly vacuous mantra of ‘not left or right but forward’ from some of these greens. They can’t see the wood for the trees, so to speak. 

One of the candidates standing for the leadership of the Green party, voting closes on 31 August, claims to take a ‘pragmatic’ approach to policy making, even apparently being open to consideration of nuclear power as an option for tackling the climate crisis. There are many problems with nuclear power, in terms of danger, cost and nuclear weapons, but it is being supported by this candidate on the basis it is a vote winner. Nuclear power is seen as an easy to sell option it seems, but how can greens support it? 

Clinging on to the same greenwash techno solutions largely put forward by the forces of capital is a dead end, and frankly is a waste of precious time. Why attempt to save our economic system, when it has brought us to this sorry pass?   

The point of ecosocialism, is not to try and make the capitalist system run better, but to smash the system altogether and start afresh with a new system. Indeed, ecology is the system's Achilles heel, since infinite economic growth is irrational, and therefore a threat to the logic of capitalism. Once this concept is grasped, the inevitable conclusion is, that capitalism is unsustainable. It needs to be replaced by ecosocialism.