The Ecological Implication Of Historical Materialism

As the core representative of British anthropocentric ecological Marxism,David pepper’s thought of ecological socialism has extremely important theoretical value in the development history of ecological Marxism,especially in Europe.Peper’s core idea of ecological socialism is: whether it is the green environment movement at the realistic level or the strategic practice of ecological modernization;Neither ecological philosophy nor environmental ethics at the theoretical level can help mankind out of the global and century ecological dilemma.Because they can not play a real role in solving the real ecological crisis in terms of philosophical premise,value position,theoretical presupposition,path assumption and so on.In peper’s view,human beings must first remove the fog of eco centrism at the philosophical level,construct a "weak" Anthropocentrism that can reflect the real relationship between man and nature based on the methods of historical materialism and the basic principles of historical materialism,so as to help human beings deal with the contradictory and unified relationship between man and nature more scientifically.Secondly,both the existing capitalist system and the traditional socialist system represented by the Soviet model have been proved to be detrimental to the establishment of an ecological society in peper’s view;However,this does not mean that Marxism and socialism are anti ecological in institutional logic.Judging from the current situation,we cannot abandon Marxism and socialism;On the contrary,in the actual movement,we must also adhere to the guidance of Marxism and the basic principles of socialism.Because at least in theory,they serve the interests of most people,meet the development requirements of ecological society to the greatest extent,and are scientific theories with the realization of social justice as the value appeal.Therefore,the future ecological society must be constructed according to the basic principles of socialism under the guidance of Marxism,that is,the ecological socialist society he conceived.Under the background of the decline of the western green environment movement and the stagnation of ecological Marxism theory,peper proposed that we must promote the "green" ecological movement to "red" Marxism,and finally lead to ecological socialism with an ecological political strategy of "red green alliance".In this way,it can not only promote the real green environment movement out of the practical dilemma,especially under the social background of insufficient number of movement subjects and revolutionary forces;At the same time,it can promote the ecological Marxism of "from red to green" to a new development stage of "from green to red".The key reason why peper pays so much attention to promoting the development of ecological Marxism from green to red is the prominent emphasis on "social justice" in his ecological socialism theory.In his view,the ecological problem is not only the rupture of the relationship between man and nature,but also the opposition between man and man at a deep level.Ecological crisis is essentially a social crisis caused by the imbalance of global ecological resource distribution under the control of capitalist political and economic system.It only realizes the ingenious cover up of the original crisis form of capitalist society in a "neutral" crisis way.Therefore,the primary premise of solving ecological problems is the construction of reasonable and equal communication relationship between people,that is,the realization of "social justice";After the realization of "social justice","ecological justice" will naturally be realized,and the ecological crisis will be solved.In this sense,the primary concern of ecological Marxism and ecological socialism should be the realization of social justice,rather than promoting Marxism to "green".Moreover,in peper’s view,Marxism itself is "green".Its views on the capitalist system and mode of production,the dialectics of "society nature",the discussion on the topic of "population environment",the discussion on the dual liberation of man and nature,and so on have important theoretical guiding significance for us to deal with ecological problems at present.Because of this,peper advocates that the primary premise of ecological socialism is to realize "social justice",so as to move towards "green ecology";This is also the fundamental reason why peper emphasizes and tries to promote the development of ecological Marxism and ecological socialism from "green to red" to "red to green".Understanding this point will clarify the fundamental theoretical logic of the development of peper’s ecological socialism thought.Therefore,to sum up,the philosophical premise of peper’s ecological socialism theory is "Anthropocentrism",the guiding theory is "Marxism",the primary principle is "social justice",the practice path is "red and green alliance",and the practice form is "ecological socialism".It should be said that theory takes care of reality and theory serves reality is not only the essential feature of Marxism,but also the fundamental reason why Marxism always maintains strong vitality.The formation of peper’s thought of ecological socialism is the true theoretical portrayal of Marxism keeping pace with the times and constantly responding to the problems of the times.Although David pepper’s thought of ecological socialism has some theoretical defects,such as "eclectic theoretical attitude towards Marxism","idealistic Utopian color" and "excessively highlighting the decisive significance of ’ecology’ in economic and social development".However,as a real Marxist,we can not ignore the theoretical contribution of David pepper’s thought of ecological socialism,and try to tap the beneficial practical enlightenment to social development from the positive aspects of his theory.From his theoretical contribution,David pepper’s thought of ecological socialism not only defended the basic principles of historical materialism,but also inherited and developed Marx’s ecological thought;And more importantly,it has cleared the theoretical fog of ecocentrism and reshaped the dominant position of anthropocentrism.From its practical enlightenment to the construction of China’s ecological civilization,peper’s thought of ecological socialism is conducive to cultivating ecological values with "real" anthropocentrism;It is conducive to resolving the contradiction between economic development and environmental protection with a correct view of science and technology;It is conducive to promoting the construction of global ecological civilization based on the principle of "global justice".