Ecology and Historical Materialism (Studies in Marxism and Social Theory)

This book challenges the widely-held view that Marxism is unable to deal adequately with environmental problems. Jonathan Hughes considers the nature of environmental problems, and the evaluative perspectives that may be brought to bear on them. He examines Marx's critique of Malthus, his method, and his materialism, interpreting the latter as a recognition of human dependence on nature. Central to the book's argument is an interpretation of the 'development of the productive forces' which takes account of the differing ecological impacts of different productive technologies while remaining consistent with the normative and explanatory roles that this concept plays within Marx's theory. Turning finally to Marx's vision of a society founded on the communist principle 'to each according to his needs', the author concludes that the underlying notion of human need is one whose satisfaction presupposes only a modest and ecologically feasible expansion of productive output. Cover......Page 1 Dedication......Page 9 Contents......Page 11 Acknowledgements......Page 12 Introduction......Page 13 1 Ecological problems: definition and evaluation......Page 19 1.1 What are ecological problems?......Page 20 1.2 Categories of environmental problem......Page 25 1.3 Values and the environment......Page 28 1.3.1 Flourishing and moral considerability......Page 32 1.3.2 Objections and responses......Page 34 1.3.3 Deep Ecology......Page 40 1.3.4 Broad anthropocentrism and the domination of nature......Page 42 1.4 Conclusion......Page 46 2 Marxism and the green Malthusians......Page 48 2.1 Population and resources: Malthus’s mathematical model......Page 49 2.2.1 Malthusianism on a global scale......Page 52 2.2.2 Malthus broadened: ‘The Limits to Growth’......Page 54 2.2.3 Malthus softened: emancipatory environmentalism......Page 57 2.3 Marx and Engels on Malthus......Page 60 2.3.1 Malthus’s ideological agenda......Page 61 2.3.2 The critique of Malthus on population......Page 62 2.3.3 The critique of Malthus on subsistence......Page 64 2.4 Marx, Malthus and contemporary environmental problems......Page 69 2.5 Conclusion......Page 73 3 Marxism and the ecological method......Page 76 3.1 Metaphysical ecology......Page 77 3.2 Reductionism......Page 80 3.3 Marxism and method......Page 85 3.4 Conclusion......Page 95 4.1 Ecology and human dependence upon nature......Page 98 4.2 Marx’s materialism and human dependence upon nature......Page 102 4.3 Early and late Marx: an ecological break?......Page 109 4.4 Developing the active side: idealist interpretations of historical materialism......Page 112 4.5 Productivism and the labour process: Benton’s critique......Page 116 4.6 Productivism and historical materialism: Blackburn’s critique......Page 122 4.7 Narrow and broad historical materialism......Page 126 4.8 Conclusion......Page 131 5 Development of the productive forces......Page 133 5.1 Development of the productive forces and development of technology......Page 134 5.2 Technological development and ecological problems: an inevitable correlation?......Page 139 5.3 Criteria for technological development......Page 143 5.4 Productive development in Marx: the Revolutionary Effect......Page 147 5.4.1 The Undermining Effect......Page 151 5.4.2 The Enabling Effect......Page 158 5.5 Explaining productive development: an autonomous tendency?......Page 161 5.6 Conclusion......Page 170 6 Capitalism, socialism and the satisfaction of needs......Page 173 6.1 The concept of need......Page 175 6.2 Marx on true and false needs......Page 181 6.3 Animal needs, workers’ needs and human needs in the Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts......Page 188 6.4 Alienation and the needs of self-realisation......Page 195 6.5 The free-choice objection......Page 204 6.6 Needs in Marx’s later works......Page 207 6.7 Conclusion......Page 210 Conclusion......Page 213 Works by Marx and Engels......Page 220 Other works cited......Page 221 Index......Page 228 This book challenges the widely held view that Marxism is unable to deal adequately with environmental problems. Jonathan Hughes considers the nature of environmental problems and the evaluative perspectives that may be brought to bear on them. He examines Marx's critique of Malthus, his method, and his materialism, interpreting the latter as a recognition of human dependence on nature. Central to the book's argument is an interpretation of the 'development of the productive forces' which takes account of the differing ecological impacts of different productive technologies while remaining consistent with the normative and explanatory roles that this concept plays within Marx's theory. Turning finally to Marx's vision of a society founded on the communist principle 'to each according to his needs', the author concludes that the underlying notion of human need is one whose satisfaction presupposes only a modest and ecologically feasible expansion of productive output. This work challenges the widely-held view that Marxism is unable to deal adequately with environmental issues. Jonathan Hughes considers the nature of environmental problems, and the choice of evaluative perspective from which to address them. He examines Marx's critique of Malthus, his method, and his materialism, which he construes as a recognition of human dependence upon nature. Central to his argument is an interpretation of the development of the productive forces which takes account of the differing ecological impacts of different productive techniques while remaining consistent with the normative and explanatory roles that the concept plays within Marx's theory. Finally the book investigates the conception of human needs underpinning Marx's assertion of the communist principle to each according to his needs. He concludes that human needs may be satisfied only by a modest and ecologically-feasible expansion of productive output

This book presents a systematic challenge to the widely-held view that Marxism is unable to deal adequately with environmental issues. Jonathan Hughes responds to criticisms of Marx's theory of history from environmental theorists, and offers an interpretation and reconstruction of key Marxian concepts, designed to show that the theory need not have harmful ecological consequences. He argues that the communist principle "to each according to his needs" must rest on a conception of needs that may be satisfied by a modest and ecologically-feasible expansion of productive output.

1. Ecological Problems: Definition And Evaluation -- 2. Marxism And The Green Malthusians -- 3. Marxism And The Ecological Method -- 4. Historical Materialism: Locating Society In Nature -- 5. Development Of The Productive Forces -- 6. Capitalism, Socialism And The Satisfaction Of Needs. Jonathan Hughes. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 208-215) And Index. In order that we may investigate the ability of Marxism to deal with ecological problems - the extent to which Marxist explanations and predictions are affected by the existence of such problems and the potential of the theory to explain and offer responses to them - we need to have some idea of what these ecological problems are.