Research On Marx And Engels’ Ecological Thought

Humans have been inherently connected to nature since their inception.A healthy ecological environment and harmonious ecological relations are fundamental to human survival.The existence and development of human society are inseparable from nature.However,with long-term growth of human society,the relationship between human society and nature has been getting tense as a consequence of ecological crisis at the expense of industrial civilization.For the purpose of promoting human development or preserving nature,it is an urgent mission as well as an unshirkable duty for human beings to build a harmonious relationship between human and nature,and to seek a balance between human development and conservation of nature at the present stage.Marx and Engels’ thought on ecology is an indispensable part of Marxist theory,and it has been deepening as a fruit of the development of Marx and Engels’ overall thoughts.Marx and Engels have not discussed thinking on ecology,nor did they directly mention the word "ecological civilization",but the two great men’s thinking about delicate relationship among man,nature,and society is reflected in their exploration for finding laws of the development of human society.It is significant to reread the thought,because it is not only an exploration of the way out of the contemporary ecological crisis but also a response to the wrong idea of "anti-ecology".What’s more,it provides guidance to the construction of ecological civilization and lasting prosperity of human society,so it is of important theoretical and practical value.In addition to introduction and conclusion,this paper can be divided into four parts.The first part introduces the historical conditions and ideological origins of the emergence of Marx and Engels’ thought on ecology.As favorable historical conditions has been created by the capitalist society in the 19 th century,the unique thought on ecology was been formed by Marx and Engels after they had referred and sublated natural outlook of ancient simple materialism,the natural outlook of German classical philosophy,British classical political economy and utopian socialist ecological thought.The second part is the introduction of the development of Marx and Engels’ thought on ecology,whose historical process,characteristics,and key points of four stages including germination,formation,maturity,and deepening were analyzed from a generative perspective.The third part shows the main contents of Marx and Engels’ thought on ecology.In this part,philosophical implications of the thought are discussed from the perspectives of ontology,practice and historical materialism,and the thought from the perspective of economic is represented from the views of natural productivity,material transformation,and circular economy.Additionally,political direction of the thought is explained by criticizing the capitalist system,clarifying the historical mission of the proletariat and determining solution to ecological crisis.The fourth part titled "The Manifestation of Value of Marx and Engels’ thought on Ecology" gives an analysis of the theoretical and practical significance of the thought in responding to global ecological crises and guiding the construction of ecological civilization in contemporary China.