Ecosocialism: Ten essential articles and five essential books

Ecosocialism is not a new theory or brand of socialism — it is socialism with Marx’s important insights on ecology restored, socialism committed to the fight against ecological destruction.
These articles and books provide an introduction to that perspective,  focusing on works that are brief, clear, and readily available.
The authors don’t agree on everything. They don’t even agree on whether “ecosocialism” is an appropriate term. You may call this perspective ecosocialism or ecological Marxism or socialist environmentalism, or just socialism: it’s the ideas, not the labels, that count.

10 essential articles

1. John Bellamy Foster: The four laws of ecology and the four anti-ecological laws of capitalism
2. Ian Angus: How to make an ecosocialist revolution
3. Chris Williams: What would a sustainable society look like?
4. Ian Angus: Ecosocialism: for a society of good ancestors!
5. Ecosocialist International Network: Belem Ecosocialist Declaration
6. Daniel Tanuro: Humanity, society and ecology: Global warming and the ecosocialist alternative
7. Phil Ward: The ecological crisis and its consequences for socialists
8. John Bellamy Foster: Ecology and the transition from capitalism to socialism
9. Joel Kovel: Why ecosocialism today?
10. Ian Angus: The spectre of 21st century barbarism

5 essential books

1. Ian Angus and Simon Butler: Too Many People? Population, Immigration, and the Environmental Crisis
2. Ian Angus (editor): The Global Fight for Climate Justice
3. Fred Magdoff and John Bellamy Foster: What Every Environmentalist Needs to Know About Capitalism
4. Joel Kovel: The Enemy of Nature: The End of Capitalism or the End of the World?
5. Chris Williams: Ecology and Socialism: Solutions to Capitalist Ecological Crisis 

Article courtesy of Climate & Capitalism Blog

October 20th should just be the start

There is an old socialist fable, about a man who has gone into work and noticed the bins had not been emptied and the floor had not been swept. The story continued with the bins not being emptied and the floors not swept the following day. On the third day, once again the bins were overflowing, and by now the floor really needed sweeping. So the man decided to go into the office and ask to see the manager and find out what was happening.

“Oh”, the manager’s secretary replied to the man’s question, “I’m afraid the manager has been away on a cruise for the last two weeks and is not due back for another fortnight. But I did mean to pass the message on that Janice the cleaner has sprained her ankle, and you will have to empty your own bins for a few days”.

The moral of this story is that when the boss is away work continues as normal and nobody notices the difference. However when the cleaner is away, the effect is immediately recognised.

But there is perhaps another moral which is extremely relevant to the weeks ahead and it is something we all need to reflect upon. That moral is the fate of this government is really in our hands, as we are ‘the cleaners’ and when our labour is not there, it certainly will be noticed.

This is why October 20^th is so important. We need this to act as a catalyst for co-ordinated strike action as part of the process to topple this right wing ConDem government. No doubt such action will prove unpopular in the right wing gutter press and other elements within the media which prop up the establishment. But nevertheless we have to seize this opportunity and demand union leaders take such action, and ensure there is solidarity amongst the workers.

There is no doubt economic emotional blackmail will form part of the anti-strike campaign. We will be told strike action will drag the country deeper into recession; it will put more jobs at risk and bring greater hardship upon us. To answer this let’s look at the outcome of not striking? More job losses, more pay cuts or freezes, cutbacks in benefits, financial attacks on the most vulnerable in society, deterioration of the NHS. In other words things which will affect ordinary working people.....the millions and certainly not the millionaires. As for the recession getting worse if we strike, I have not seen the same argument being used by the right wing gutter press when company directors take their businesses overseas to exploit cheaper labour markets. In addition to this, how many jobs could be created through government investment in the ‘million green jobs’ initiative, to help drive this country out of recession? ‘They’ are responsible for the recession and not ‘us’ and to coin a phrase we are definitely not ‘all in this together’.

If we fight this government through strike action, civil disobedience and if necessary other forms of non-violent direct action we have a chance of preserving and protecting jobs and the services ordinary folk rely upon.

What is needed is to strike a massive blow towards those at the top, one which will be so powerful it will bring this rotten system to an end. Here I may differ from many of those in the Trade Union movement who simply wish to replace one capitalist regime with another in the form of Ed Miliband’s Labour Party. There are still some good people in the Labour Party, but its leadership would simply deliver a form of anesthetised austerity with cutbacks which again will hit ordinary people, whilst the millionaires escape paying their fair share.

If we can bring this right wing coalition tumbling down, this will simply be the first skirmish in what we need to ensure is an ongoing campaign for social, economic and environmental justice. The red flag of peace, equality, fairness and socialism is no longer enough if we do not also grasp the green nettle of ecology and forge an ecosocialist future for our country, one which will act as a beacon to others throughout the world

However we have to begin this process somewhere, and October 20 is an opportunity for us to begin this process. If we are indeed the ‘cleaners’ in the socialist fable, then we need to take this opportunity to sweep this rotten pile of capitalist rubbish from government.

By Rick Heyse

Torbay Green Party  & South West England & Cornwall Green Left

  

Devon Greens support Living Wage Campaign

Green Left members at a meeting of Greens from throughout Devon pushed for the inclusion of the objective of securing the Living Wage demand in the published in the Green Party manifesto for the Devon County Council elections next May.

We are delighted to report enthusiastic support from party members. Green Left supporters will endeavour to ensure that this becomes a key pledge for the upcoming elections !

Torbay Green Party Supports Living Wage Campaign

Yesterday in my guise as Secretary of Torbay Trades Union Council I was delighted to meet with Torbay Green Party members in Paignton to welcome their support for the TUC campaign in support of a 'living wage', which is to be set at 60% of the median UK wage. This is essential in the bay as the area suffers from a low wage low value employment economy, and as Romanyne Phoenix said during the Green Party leadership contest "The economic and environmental crises are two sides of the same coin. Neither struggle exists independently of the other." 

Green Left SW exists to illustrate the need to fight for social and environmental justice and to promote eco-socialist ideas within and without the Green party in Torbay and across the West Country.

Unlike Ed Balls and the Labour party we will not be offering austerity-lite policies. The Green party is the only electoral party with an explicit opposition to the cuts programme of the bigger parties. We are proud to be green trade unionists !

Here is the excellent press report from the website pages of the South Devon newspaper, The Herald Express (14/09/12) :

The Torbay Green Party continues to campaign for real changes in the

lives of so many people who have been marginalised by the establishment parties

1. ​
   Torbay Green Party and the TUC in Paignton this week supporting a ‘Living Wage’ for Torbay

and has given its full support to the 'Living Wage Campaign' being run by

Torbay Trades Union Council (TUC). 

Dr Sam Moss, Chairman of Torbay Green Party said, 'Torbay Trades Council

is highlighting how their members are blighted by an ever-growing wage

inequality which endangers health and has a detrimental impact on family life. A real "living wage" of at least

£7.20 per hour, based on the work carried out for the Living Wage Foundation (LWF)

by Loughborough University, will provide a secure margin so that hard working

families do not fall into poverty and debt when they face the kind of

day-to-day challenges that the better off can take in their stride.'

Barrie Wood, Secretary of Torbay TUC commented, 'I am delighted to hear

that the Green Party locally and nationally are supporting the Living Wage Campaign,

as we seek to build a consensus in favour of justice at work.'

Sam added, 'the current minimum wage falls well short of what's needed –

more than a pound an hour short in fact – from last October the minimum wage

has been just £6.08. This is totally unacceptable. Every study finds the

"poverty threshold wage" to be higher than the minimum wage set by the

coalition government. If the Greens were in power the national minimum wage

would be set at the level of a real living wage equal to 60%

of net national average earnings. The "Living Wage" will rise above £7.20 in

November (approximately 3.5% according to the LWF). We call on Torbay Council

to establish a Living Wage Commission for the borough as soon as possible to

stop poverty wages being paid in Torbay and help reduce inequality.' 

The proportion of people on low pay is steadily increasing and the

economic gap between Torbay and the rest of Devon and the UK has been widening

in recent years. The yearly

average income per person in Torbay is over £3,000 below the national average

and the bay area has pockets of severe deprivation – the consequences of this

will affect us all! The overwhelming evidence shows that more equal societies are healthier, happier and more prosperous.

10 Sept 2012: NUT strike vote, combined NASUWT action

Two of the largest teaching unions, NUT and NASUWT, who represent the majority (90%) of school teachers in England, announced plans to begin action short of a strike on 26th September.
 
Both unions had an existing mandate for strike action over pensions, resulting in strikes on June 30 (NUT) and Nov 30 (both alongside over 20 other unions) in 2011, and regional action by NUT in London on March 28th this year. NASUWT already had a vote for action on pay and conditions, while NUTs ballot for both strike action and action short of a strike, regarding pay & conditions, closed last Thursday:

NUT
- 92% in favour of action short of a strike
- 83% in favour of strike action

So far NUT members have not received any information from the union regarding the proposed action short of strike on September 26, and it is not clear form it will take, but the BBC reports that:
'The industrial action will include a work to rule, not attending school meetings and some extra-curricular activities, not filling in forms or covering for absent staff, and refusing to invigilate on public exams including Sats and GCSEs.'
The Guardian quotes Kevin Courtney, the NUT deputy general secretary:

"The action is intended to be pupil, parent and public friendly, whilst resisting government policies which are undermining teachers' ability to work effectively to deliver the highest standards of education."
Apparently it will be targeted at management rather than pupils, with after-school clubs continuing.

The reports adds:
However, teachers will be asked to boycott unscheduled management meetings, refuse to hand in lesson plans to school managers and permit no more than three lesson inspections by headteachers per school year.

Courtney again:
"What we are looking for is actions which don't hit real education but hit at overwork and crazy accountability," said Courtney. A list of work-to-rule actions includes refusing to cover for absent colleagues, declining to supervise pupils during lunchbreaks and writing only one annual report to parents.
 
The dispute "could escalate into a strike if a School Teachers' Review Body report into pay and conditions leads to a crackdown on wages. "If the government does not listen we are intending to move to strike action," said Courtney."

There is as yet no indication regarding strike dates should they happen.
The joint action is a result of the declaration in May from both unions committing to combined action over pay, pensions and conditions.

I'm somewhat positive of the potential but I do worry that this will end up a damp squib like the NASUWT's work-to-rule last year, which was completely unco-ordinated and rarely enforced judging by teacher comments and its impact.
It has real potential if combined with strikes, but with 2000 academies in England secondaries now, it will require a real focused effort to make this action as powerful as possible. 

Thanks to Choccy for this article

Don't sell off our Plasma Resources!

Plasma Petition - keep it public

The government is planning to sell off Plasma Resources UK, the firm responsible for supplying blood plasma products to the NHS, to a private contractor.

1. Blood plasma is essential for the treatment of many conditions, including burns, shock and major trauma; immune disorders and neurological conditions; protecting unborn children from haemolytic diseases. Possibly best known plasma product is Factor VIII used to treat around 3,000 haemophilia patients.

2. The profit impetus may compel any company taking over services to cut corners in order to make return. This could have devastating consequences for patient safety should contaminated, poorly packaged or improperly labelled products reach frontline healthcare services.

Please consider signing the petition at http://you.38degrees.org.uk/p/blood-plasma and stop the sell off of this important public service.

Mr. Lansley has already been party to breaking up the Blood Transfusion Service (NHSBT)  in 2011. 

It is the part that he has separated off that he is looking to sell off. 

That company is Plasma Resources UK (PRUK), the principal supplier of plasma and plasma products to the NHS.

Blood and Plasma are obviously joined at the hip. 

When a donor gives a pint of blood, 55% of that fluid by volume is plasma.

 Much of today's service is about producing blood and plasma products for the treatment of a wide range of patients.

 Treatments using plasma products are no less important than those using blood products. 

You have only to google‚ medical uses of plasma  to find out the wonderful way its products can influence patients lives, such as the treatment folk suffering from burns, shock and major trauma; immune disorders and neurological conditions; protecting unborn children from haemolytic diseases. Possibly best known plasma product is Factor VIII used to treat around 3,000 haemophilia patients.

Will Duckworth, Green Party Deputy Leader, Bristol Conference 2012

Fine speech by Will Duckworth, Green Left member and Deputy Leader of the Green Party at the Party's Autumn Conference in Bristol, September 2012