Alternative Worlds III: Eco-socialism, Degrowth, and South America’s Buen Vivir

Eco-socialist vision
Diagnosis
Aims
Ideology
Logic of capitalism
The case for utopian thinking
Critique of eco-socialism
Degrowth and doughnut economics
Buen vivir (living well)
Ecuador and the Andes
Roots in environmentalism of poor

Aims of eco-socialism
Collective ownership of means of production and distribution of goods and services
Cooperation and communalism over competition. Harmony with environment
Rejects authoritarian state and command economies of socialism’s past
The scale of governance differs: local producer and consumer cooperatives, bio-regionalism. Centralized coordinating body? A different globalization
End of imperialism and warfare driven by capitalism
End of subjugation of nature
Freedom under socialism is two-pronged
Freedom over labor
Freedom as socialized wealth

Eco-socialist vision
Diagnosis
Aims
Ideology
Logic of capitalism
The case for utopian thinking
Critique of eco-socialism
Degrowth and doughnut economics
Buen vivir (living well)
Ecuador and the Andes
Roots in environmentalism of poor

Ideological and Political Underpinnings
Marxist intellectual tradition
The rise of ecological thinking
Environmental Justice movements
Conviction that environmental crisis is inevitable under capitalism
Some say this will happen even if there is a transition to
renewable energy

Critique
Capitalism won and socialism failed. It can’t work
Socialism leads to laziness and lack of innovation

Eco-socialist vision
Diagnosis
Aims
Ideology
Logic of capitalism
The case for utopian thinking
Critique of eco-socialism
Degrowth and doughnut economics
Buen vivir (living well)
Ecuador and the Andes
Roots in environmentalism of poor

Eco-socialist vision
Diagnosis
Aims
Ideology
Logic of capitalism
The case for utopian thinking
Critique of eco-socialism
Degrowth and doughnut economics
Buen vivir (living well)
Ecuador and the Andes
Roots in environmentalism of poor

Ecuador’s new constitution:
“We hereby decide to build a new form of public coexistence,
in diversity and harmony with nature, to achieve the good
way of living”