Comparison Between O’connor And Pepper’s Ecological Marxism

The development of modern industrial civilization has created and accumulated ahuge material wealth, thus human has received a great satisfaction on material. But atthe same time the excessive occupation of material resources is out of the capacity ofnature in the process of human industrialization and modernization, which has caused aseries of ecological problems and ecological crisis. Ecology of Marxism is produced inthis background, and makes widespread influence in the world. It has become a hotresearch topic in the research of Contemporary Western Marx doctrine. It mainlyfocuses on the re-interpretation of nature, the reconstruction of historical materialism,the critique of capitalism production mode, and puts forward the ideal system--theecological socialism.O’Conner and Pepper are important representatives of the ecology of the Marxdoctrine. Based on common standpoint, principle, method and main problems ofEcology of Marxism, O’Conner’s Ecology of Marxism thinks: the reconstruction ofhistorical materialism, the critique of ecology and the construction of ideal politicalblueprint of ecological socialism. Pepper’s Ecology of Marxism advocates that:reshaping human’s subject status and putting forward the profit thoughts of capitalism isthe root causing of ecological crisis, and it outlines the future ideal system of ecologicalsocialism. Specifically, in the theoretical premise, the reconstruction of the ecologicaldimension of historical materialism theory is one of O’Conner’s main theories, whilepepper takes historical materialism as the theoretical basis to construct ideal ecologicalsocialism. On the comparison of source of capitalist ecological crisis, O’Conner putsforward the second theory of contradiction root, it says the contradiction among thecapitalist relations of production, productivity and production conditions is the root ofecological crisis of capitalist society produces, while Pepper thinks that the productionmode that capitalism takes profits as the purpose of production is the root of ecologicalcrisis, namely it is profit-based root theory. In the ideal political blueprint to constructthe ecological socialism, O’Conner advocates the pursuit of productive justice, whilePepper advocates to reform the capitalist system, so as to achieve ecological socialism.On the one hand, O’Conner and Pepper’s Ecology of Marxism has limitations, itmeans it emphasizes on the social effects of ecological crisis and the political role ofalienation consumption too much, weakens the basic contradiction of capitalist society,exaggerates the contradiction between man and nature. On the other hand, O’Connerand Pepper’s Ecology of Marxism exposes the essence of capitalist ecological crisis infront of the public, criticizes the capitalist system, provides a blueprint for promotingthe realization of social justice and the harmony of human and nature, which has a veryimportant theoretical and practical significance on the construction of ecologicalcivilization and the achievement of beautiful China.