Capitalism, with its insatiable pursuit of profit, is responsible for destroying the environment. We need to fight for socialism, in order to rationally plan production in the interests of people and the planet.
Climate change is no longer a threat of the future. Already, hurricanes are becoming more powerful, forests are burning, and people are dying from heat waves, drought, floods, and famine. Such extreme weather events are quickly becoming the rule, not the exception.
The oceans are polluted by plastic and chemical waste, killing off fish and other marine life. Underground water supplies are drained or polluted, leading to a widespread scarcity of this most essential of resources. Every year, species are becoming extinct through the senseless destruction of ecosystems.
Immediate action is needed. A massive reduction in emissions and pollution levels is essential. But the solution does not lie in moralistic ‘lifestyle’ choices about ‘sustainable’ consumption. The capitalists and their political representatives are completely incapable of carrying out the radical changes that are required. The working class must seize the assets and wealth of the big conglomerates and monopolies (who are also the biggest polluters), and place their resources under democratic management.
Under a socialist society, we would be able to democratically and sustainably manage production, so we can improve the living conditions of working people in harmony with the planet. The fight against climate change and the fight for socialism are ultimately one and the same.
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Socialist Appeal
Millions of young people have organised to demand action against climate change, a result of capitalism's insatiable need for profit. The labour movement must give support.
Moses Levi
The Extinction Rebellion protests have shown the passion that exists amongst activists to avert a climate catastrophe. But what is the best way forward from here for the environmental movement?
ADAM BOOTH
Some claim that people have lifestyles that are too extravagant. But this ‘consumerism’ is mainly the habit of a wealthy minority and should not be blamed on the average low-waged worker.
ADAM BOOTH AND CHRIS BURROWS
What would a transitional programme look like for the environment? What set of demands should socialists make regarding the climate change?
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International Marxist Tendency
Only a socialist transformation of society can end the threat of climate change. This document by the IMT explains our revolutionary programme for dealing with the climate crisis.
HELENA NICHOLSON
Across the world, a new generation of activists is demanding urgent and radical action to stop climate change. But is the demand for a Green New Deal the solution to capitalism's climate crisis?
Adam Booth
It is increasingly clear that the task of abating climate change is not a scientific or technical question, but an economic and political one.
Ben Curry
As temperatures rise, the capitalists can do nothing but look on impotently. At the end of the day, it is their system that is responsible for this destruction.
Audio & video
Adam Booth
Adam Booth discusses issues such as carbon trading, green economic stimulus, and the role of individual actions in averting climate change, and in contrast presents a socialist solution to the environmental and ecological problems facing society and the planet.
Helena Nicholson
In this talk from Revolution Festival 2019, Helena Nicholson of the LSE Marxist society discusses the climate catastrophe facing the planet, and the need for a revolutionary alternative. Urgent action is required; and yet world leaders have proven that they are incapable of taking any serious steps to address this existential environmental crisis.
Olivia Rickson
Many environmentalists still argue that economic growth, industrialisation, ‘consumerism’, high living standards and overpopulation are the primary cause of ecological destruction. All of these ideas, ultimately, reflect a form of neo-Malthusianism: a reactionary perspective that points the finger at ordinary people for the problems facing our planet.
The European Union throws up a number of questions for Marxists, not just in terms of our perspectives for the class struggle in Europe, but also theoretical questions on the nature of the EU and the attitude of Marxists to the idea of European integration.
