An Analysis Of Marcuse 's Ecological Thoughts

As the main representative figure of Frankfurt school of critical social theory, Marcuse’s explanations on the relationship between man and nature, the alienation of science and technology, consuming alienation, labor and human’s alienation theory have had a significant influence over the Frankfurt school, and even the entire western Marxist scholars.Marcuse’s ecological thoughts is not only a comprehensive and profound introspection, but also a deep criticism of the ecological crisis appeared in capitalist society. He reveals the dark side of capitalist society’s controlling people by material satisfaction and alienated labor, and points out the liberation of the nature should be untied with people’s liberation and capitalism did not respect the natural law of development, not obtaining profits growth of industrial production in harmony with the nature conservation. He proposed lots of solution to the ecological crisis, such as the change to the production mode, maintain of the ecological balance, remission of the ecological c risis with real consumption, natural liberation is precondition of people’s liberation and so on. Marcuse critique of capitalist ecological crisis has its rationality, but he confuses the technology itself and the technical application of capitalism. He emphasizes the subjectivity of the nature and eventually go to revivalism and pessimism. He didn’t realize the ecological crisis was the new form of capitalist social crisis, and believed that social contradiction was the principal contradiction faced by human and social contradiction was replaced by contradiction between human and nature. He couldn’t touch the root of capitalist ecological crisis and covered fundamental contradiction of the capitalist society.This paper consists of 4 parts. The introduction mainly puts forward the background of the research, settles the review of the research on M arcuse’s ecological thoughts, introduces the purpose and practical significance of the research, and explains the main points and framework of the paper. The first part discusses the stem of the Marcuse’s ecological thoughts, including the inheritance and development of Marxism on “men and nature” and absorption of theories about alienated labor, the revolutionary feature of science and technology and the periodical background of capitalist ecological crisis as well. The paper introduces the theory of Marcuse ’s ecological crisis by comparing and ana lyzing and briefly expounds its effect over the later western ecological thoughts of Marxist. The second part is the core of the paper introducing the main points of the Marcuse ’s ecological thoughts. We get the deep reason of the ecological crisis by comparing and analyzing the theory of technological alienation, consuming alienation, alienated labor and human’s alienation. After explaining the points proposed by Marcuse, such as the change of production pattern to maintain ecological balance, alleviation of ecological crisis by real consumption and the saying that natural liberation is the precondition of human’s liberation, we summarize Marcuse ’s theoretical attempts to solve ecological crisis. Part three analyzes the rationality and limitations of Marcuse’s ecological thoughts, and expounds its enlightenment to China’s ecological civilization construction. We first clear up the environment issues caused by ignoring the ecological building in the economic development of C hina, then analyze the theoretical significance and practical value of Marcuse’s ecological thoughts in C hina, and finally come up with some rational practical suggestions to C hinese ecological civilization construction, such as building up institution to secure the ecological civilization construction, advocating the right consumption value and strengthening ecological education etc.