Global Capitalism and Climate Change: The Need for an Alternative System

摘要

It is something of a cliché to quote Karl Marx’s (1845) observation in ElevenTheses on Feuerbach, where he wrote, “The philosophers have only interpretedthe world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it.”A universe of ink has been spilled over the past 177 years, but philosophershave come no closer to changing the world than they did in Marx’sday. The productive powers of capitalism have been exercised to the fullest,yet there is no sign that its replacement by some form of socialism or communismis any closer than in Marx’s day. Hans A. Baer, the author of GlobalCapitalism and Climate Change, argues that only ecosocialism can eliminate thedepredations and destruction of nature and people caused by global capitalismand climate change but, like the philosophers, provides little guidance orinstruction about how this objective might be achieved. Baer is not the firstto offer such solutions without a plan or program for change, and he certainlywill not be the last.