Greetings:
Below is the Introduction to my review of Joel Kovel's book The Enemy
of Nature. The full review is available on our web site at
http://home.ca.inter.net/~greenweb/Ecological_Marxism.html and is
about 3400 words. I hope some of you will read the full review.
Best and for the Earth, David
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Ecological Marxism, Intrinsic Value and Human-Centeredness
By David Orton
_The Enemy of Nature: The End of Capitalism or the End of the
World?_, by Joel Kovel, Fernwood Publishing Ltd, Nova Scotia, 2002,
273 pages, paperback, ISBN: 1-55266-069-9.
"Marxism needs, therefore, to become more fully ecological in
realizing its potential
to speak for nature as well as humanity. In practice, this means
replacing capitalist
with ecologically sound/socialist production through a
restoration of use-values
open to nature's intrinsic value." pp.10-11
"'Nature', as we employ the concept, is a social construction
before it is anything else."
p.172
Introduction
Joel Kovel, who is a professor of social studies in the U.S., has run
for the Green Party in that country and is also the editor-in-chief
of the Marxist magazine, _Capitalism Nature Socialism: A Journal of
Socialist Ecology_. I would argue, based on this book, that he is
intellectually quite influenced by social ecology, which he describes
as "intrinsically radical" in contrast to bioregionalism, deep
ecology and essentialist ecofeminism (p. 177). He is therefore
perhaps best classified theoretically as a hybrid between Marxist and
social ecologist, although he sees his book as within the tradition
of Marxism. Kovel is also someone who takes the ecological crisis
very seriously and his passion is felt by the reader. He is truly an
ecologized member of the Left and this is something shared by this reviewer.
After_The Enemy of Nature_ came out in 2002, there was quite a
spirited discussion about its merits on some internet lists that I am
on. I borrowed it from the local library to see whether or not I
should purchase a copy. I first read Kovel's comments on deep ecology
for an introductory flavour but found the author totally
"out_to_lunch" in his erroneous views on this philosophy. This raised
for me serious questions about what this book was attempting to do,
and therefore the accuracy of other positions given in the text. Deep
ecology, although originating in Norway through the work of the
philosopher Arne Naess, has greatly influenced radical
environmentalism, such as Earth First!, and green philosophical,
ethical and political thinking in North America, Australia and England.
While there is a real deeper critique of the attempted green
electoral road, in Canada for example, the provincial Green Party in
Ontario endorses deep ecology and gives the eight-point Deep Ecology
Platform as part of its First Principles. The federal Green Party,
which in 2004 polled over four percent of the popular vote, has
declared its support for deep ecology in its electoral platform. The
Canadian federal party even has a "shadow cabinet" spokesperson
(myself), to represent a deep ecological viewpoint in party
discussions. Kovel, however, tells us that:
- Deep ecology is a "flaccid doctrine" (p. 171);
- "In the USA, very few people influenced by deep ecology bother to
read Naess ..." (p. 171);
- "The deep ecology ecophilosophy is far too loose to form itself
into a coherent movement, and almost by definition excludes the
formation of parties or any organized assertion of power." (p.171); and
- "Deep ecology comes home as the strategy of advanced capitalist
elites, for whom nature is what looks good on calendars." (p. 172)
After reading the above, I decided against reading this book.
Subsequently, several people whose opinions carried some weight with
me urged that I read it, primarily because they said Kovel is also on
an ecocentric path and, moreover, uses some deep ecology-inspired
concepts or language - for example, "intrinsic value", "ecocentrism",
"individual self-realization", and he attests to the "affirmation of
freedom for all creatures." Hence this review.
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http://home.ca.inter.net/~greenweb/
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