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This anthology has as its purpose to "stimulate a social ecology that can unite and enrich both `reds' and `greens'" (x).  This may be a valid goal for European politics; I don't know.  I have my doubts about its efficacy in the American context.
In Europe there is already a mainstream green left movement, if by mainstream one understands parties with parliamentary representation. In that context, the purpose of this antology seems to be to promote ecosocialism as the dominant ideological strand to the left of the Social Democrats.
Maybe an American introduction to ecosocialism (Joel Kovel's The Enemy of Nature comes to mind, only not so academic or expensive) would address itself to a general audience.  Perhaps an ecosocialist movement would develop more readily from the ranks of the uncommitted public rather than by starting with those who have adopted a political position in the American context. It would then be free of the stultifying "orthodox Marxism" of the far left in this country, as well as of the "green capitalism" of the Green Party's orthodoxy.
We have seen where the "stultifying orthodox Marxism" has taken the Italian and Spanish left. In my opinion in Spain the only hope of the "United Left" is to complete its transformation into a "Green Left", a process spearheaded in Catalonia where the explicitly ecosocialist ICV holds one of the two seats in the national parliament in the United Left group.

The fact that in the US ecosocialism is completely out of the mainstream and would have to appeal to the "uncommitted public" is, I think, a reflection of how far to the right the political discourse is.

When the capital development of a country becomes a by-product of the activities of a casino, the job is likely to be ill-done. — John M. Keynes

by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed May 7th, 2008 at 07:51:25 AM EST
There's no longer much of a narrative of conscious and deliberate sharing of resources. We're living in Calvin and Hobbes world, where everyone is supposed to be a econo-puritan, working every hour because the devil makes work for idle shareholders, and it's every man and woman for themselves.

Fuzzy hopes for a more ecological future won't work unless they can tap into a sense of direct personal participation. Capitalism is amazingly good at this - it makes politics personal. When you shop, it's personal ('Because you're special...') When you work, it's personal. When you buy a new home, it's personal.

Eco-socialists don't have anything like the same level of participation to offer. It's assumed that everyone will be happy living in straw bale housing with a vegetable plot and a couple of windmills. But in reality that kind of lifestyle only appeals to those who are already converted.

You don't get from A to B by telling people this is how they should live - not even if the alternative is death. People are going to need more than that before they're willing to make the change.

by ThatBritGuy (thatbritguy (at) googlemail.com) on Wed May 7th, 2008 at 08:04:58 AM EST
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