Beyond Fossil Capitalism and Ecological Imperialism

The contemporary poly-crisis has been shaped historically by fossil capitalism as it has globalized via ecological imperialism. In the global North, alternatives to the hegemonic regime have gravitated around Green New Deals and Degrowth. A third alternative, emanating from Indigenous lifeways in the global South, is Buen Vivir – ‘living well’ – which presents a deep critique of imperialism and extractivist capitalism. This paper contends that these movement-driven initiatives need to be braided into a wider transformative project that addresses the relations that reproduce capitalism as a way of life. Eco-socialism provides such a synthesis. It offers a just, viable economic alternative to capitalism, capable of addressing the climate emergency. It provides an alternative hegemonic project capable of unifying a post-capitalist historical bloc. It challenges the geopolitical economy of ecological imperialism and opens toward a world order organized for cooperation, solidarity and peace. These gains stem from three important analytical elements in eco-socialist thought. First, a comprehension of the dialectical relation between forces and relations of production as central to socio-ecological transformation. Second, an emphasis on the imperative to replace the anarchy of the market, capital’s governing mechanism, with democratic planning. Third, identification of the social forces that can be brought together in a movement of movements to form an historical bloc capable of leading the transformation. Our current trajectory is perilous, but there is still time to correct course.