RESISTANCE!, AUSTRALIA
Why Eco-socialism?
Andrew Rice
30 May 2009
“Climate change has placed all humankind before a great choice: to continue in the ways of capitalism and death, or to start down the path of harmony with nature.”
This is how Bolivia’s President Evo Morales has described the challenge we face in November last year.
For Resistance, the path of “harmony with nature” is the path towards a democratically planned and ecologically sustainable system — socialism.
By socialism we mean a society where production is based on human needs, for people today and for future generations. In a socialist society the main resources and industries would be owned collectively. Today, they are monopolised by the small minority that profits from the exploitation of people and the planet alike.
Capitalism means the rampant consumption of resources and wasteful production at the cheapest rate possible. Under socialism, production would be based on principles of equality, social need and ecological sustainability.
At every level of society, from workplaces to local communities, people would have a say about what is produced and how. Science and technology would not be tied to the profits of big business but would be at the service of humanity.
In this way people will decide the priorities, rather than the capitalist market. Instead of bailing out banks and giving “compensation” to coal companies, a real people’s government would be able to focus society’s resources towards making the transition to a zero-emissions economy as quickly as possible.
Our fight for real solutions to climate change is part of a fight for a just and sustainable system. In our view, socialism is not possible without a safe climate, and a safe climate is not possible without socialism.
