Research On Joel Kovel’s Ecological Socialism Thought

Human beings are born between heaven and earth,and take nature as the source of survival and development.In their interaction with nature,human beings have created and developed human civilization.However,the extensive development of the industrial era has led to the rapid deterioration of the ecological environment,and human survival is facing severe challenges.Resolving the increasingly serious global ecological crisis has become the common aspiration of all mankind.Joel Kovel,a representative figure of ecosocialism in the United States,conformed to the call of the times and put forward a revolutionary ecosocialist idea in combination with the background of the deteriorating ecological environment,the surging green movement,and the awakening of people’s ecological consciousness.Taking the ecological critique of capital as a logical starting point,Kovel reveals the anti-ecological nature of capital through a ruthless critique of capital,capitalism,reformist capitalism,and "first-generation" socialism,explores the root causes of the ecological crisis,and refutes the idea of reformist capitalism.Kovel regarded capital as a natural cancer and asserted that "the capitalist system is crumbling historically." In his view,the reform measures under capitalism can only delay the arrival of the ecological crisis,but cannot eradicate it,and ecosocialism is the best way to completely get rid of it.Only radical social change can uproot the ecological crisis.To this end,Kovel "preconstructed" the prospects of ecosocialism from the triple dimensions of society,ecology and equality based on the principles of use value first,respect for the usufruct rights of the earth and adherence to grassroots democracy,and specifically demonstrated the feasible path for the realization of ecosocialism,that is,from ecological integration to ecological association,and then establish an ecosocialist party,and finally achieve a thorough reform of the social system through the ecosocialist revolution when the time is ripe,and finally realize ecosocialism.Kovel’s Ecological Socialism Thought has unique theoretical value,but there are also obvious theoretical deficiencies.From the perspective of its theoretical value,it enriches Marxist ecological theory to a certain extent.Kovel adheres to the current imbalanced relationship between man and nature from the standpoint of Marxism,and deepens and expands Marxism from the ecological dimension,making a positive attempt to solve the ecological crisis and providing a new perspective for the construction of ecosocialism.Unfortunately,Kovel’s interpretation of Marxism has drifted,which has led to a heavier utopian overtone in his thinking.Scientific grasp of Kovel Ecosocialism Thought,which should deeply enlighten the actual enlightenment of China’s ecological civilization construction,can provide constructive reference and reference for China to establish a harmonious coexistence of life community between man and nature,and has important practical significance for building socialist ecological civilization with Chinese characteristics in the new era.