The Politics of Ecosocialism in an Age of Climate Emergency: Towards A Utopian Realist Approach

Dr. Michael J. Albert

Abstract As evidence accumulates that the pursuit of endless capital accumulation is incompatible with climate and earth system stabilization, the need to explore alternative political-economic trajectories becomes more urgent. The concept of “ecosocialism” has become increasingly prominent among anti-capitalist movements as an umbrella term for describing such alternatives, which is based on three core aims: 1) to redesign economies in order to satisfy use-values rather than accumulate exchange-value in a manner that does not transgress planetary boundaries; 2) to create new forms of democratic planning that shape and constrain (without fully abolishing) local and global markets; and 3) to pursue “contraction and convergence” between the per capita consumption levels of the global north and south. Ecological Marxists, social ecologists, degrowth scholars, and post-growth economists have been at the forefront of developing the ecological critique of capitalism and formulating the theoretical principles of eco-socialist alternatives. However, the affirmative (rather than merely critical) project of envisioning alternatives remains under-developed and beset by an “idealist” or utopian approach that fails to ground its solutions in existing material realities and trends. I will argue that while idealism is inescapable and necessary, this must be balanced by a “utopian realist” approach that conceives global ecosocialism as a messy and geographically uneven process involving conflict, trade-offs, and negotiation with the realities of power politics.

Bio: Michael J. Albert is a lecturer in International Relations working at the intersection of International Relations, Political Theory, and Sustainability Studies. His dissertation, which will soon be formulated into a book project, develops a theoretical framework drawing from complex systems theory and Marxist political economy to map the converging crises of the 21st century – in particular the crises of global capitalism, energy, and the earth system – and illuminate possibilities for world system transformation in the coming decades. His future work will investigate counter-hegemonic movements – including degrowth, ecosocialism, transition towns, solidarity economies, and peasant-based agroecology movements – and consider their potential for creating alternative political economies as the crises of global capitalism and the earth system intensify.

Contact email: rz2@soas.ac.uk