Research On Eco-socialism In Joel Kovel’s The Enemy Of Nature

Joel Kovel is one of the representatives of the eco-socialism in USA, once was a Green Party presidential candidate in2000, whose theory and practice has a significant impact in contemporary American green movement. In his masterpiece The Enemy of Nature, Kovel adopt Marxist world outlook and methodology to analyze and solve the problem of reality on ecological crisis. He fully inherited the critical spirit of Marxism, not only profoundly criticized the reformist ideas embodied in capital and capitalist ecological movement, but also criticized the former Soviet Union as the representative of "first generation" of socialist countries, and on those bases put forward his idea of building an eco-socialist society. He adopts Marxist theory of exchange value and use value to convey that capital has an anti-ecological nature, it’s the culprit of the ecological crisis. In capitalism it put exchange value in the first place, inherently requires expansion, which resulting in alienation in capitalist production and consumption, thus the degradation of natural systems which beyond nature’s buffering capacity, ultimately led to the global ecological crisis. Former capitalist ecological movement and ideas can only temporarily ease the contradiction between nature and the capital, its ultimate aim is to maintain the normal accumulation of capital, which can not overturn the anti-ecological nature of the capital, thus become an reformist thinking. Kovel analyzed objective and subjective reasons for the "first generation" socialist state failed into practice. They objectively weak in economic base and had hostile forces inside capitalist class society, subjectively lack of democratic ideas and institutions, it is said that the "first generation" of socialist countries did not completely overthrow of capitalism. To solve the problem of ecological crisis, we must overcome the capital to overthrow capitalist system, establish an eco-socialist society. On the implementation of ecological socialism, Kovel indicated that we need to activate and unite ecological ensemble, which called for achieving the liberation of labor and use value through eco-centric production, thus made way for nature’s intrinsic value and integrity. He admitted that eco-socialism had a long way to go and cannot be achieved overnight. Kovel employed Marxist viewpoints and methods to analyze and solve real problems, he criticized capital from an eco-centric view, which is a reflection of the enduring vitality of Marxism. Although the analysis of the reason for the collapse the "first generation" socialist countries is not deep enough, the way to eco-socialism is not specific enough, thus made his eco-socialism an Utopian fantasy, it will deepen our understanding of the ecological crisis, capitalism and advanced foreign eco-socialist ideas. To a large extent, it will provide useful lessons for China’s establishment of ecological civilization.