Kamran Nayeri on " Ecological Socialism "

Ecological socialism [ The Cuban people lack some essentials of life in part due to the inhumane US blockade. They must have such necessities of life. However, the Cuban working people as well as billions of others worldwide must choose between (1) the illusory capitalist consumerist culture as “progress” even though it is unsustainable and impossible to replicate for 7 billion people on the planet or (2) a society based on values of love for humanity and nature with adequate material comforts that can provide the basis for cultural and human development. Ernesto Che Guevara chose the latter course although he was not aware of the environmental and ecological crisis that were unfolding even then. Today we know that crisis of society and crisis of nature are actually one crisis. It is a crisis of Our Way of Life–the anthropocentric capitalist culture enforced by the capitalist world economy. Progress will require overcoming this crisis by transcending not only capitalism but also anthropocentrism that is much older and more ingrained in human culture. This transition will require a cultural revolution as well as a social revolution to embrace ecocentrism as well as communalism. We can call this new society ecological socialism that will ensure a minimum level of comfort for every human to ensure complete fulfillment and human development. Humanity so reconstituted will live with a love for one another and love for Mother Nature and all its species. —– *Kamran Nayeri Political economist emeritus, Survey Research Center, University of California, Berkeley Editor: Our Place in the World: A Journal of Ecosocialism ]