#eco-socialism

[overgrown-ruins]

Forget Eco-Modernism

Recent years have seen renewed debate on climate strategy on the left. Here, Kai Heron responds to the arguments of the proponents of a left ecomodernism, and argues that it risks reactionary political consequences.

Kai Heron 2 April 2024

#verso books #degrowth #eco-socialism #eco-marxism #eco-modernism #solarpunk

[alaskanweeb]

Oh joy, Bobby Pods is bringing on the solar punk guy to do a multi-parter about degrowth, an ideology with famously nuanced people in it.

I say this as someone sympathetic to some of the aims of degrowth: the branding is ass, and the eco-socialist movement as a whole has been shit about pruning its crazies. For example, part of the food crisis in Sri Lanka can be laid at the feet of ecosocialists like Vandana Shiva, who directly advocated to the president for a rapid switch from synthetic to organic fertilizers. Most Sri Lankan farmers were on board with switching, but wanted more time to transition their crops. But instead we now have a situation where a third of the country is good insecure and food prices are soaring.

To be fair, Shiva was not single-handedly responsible for the Sri Lankan government’s choice to ban synthetic fertilizers. A lot of wealthy western countries were eager to sell more expensive fertilizers to Sri Lankan farmers as well. But ecosocialists carried water and provided the branding and provided the ideological reason for the rapid switch. Whether they were corrupt or incompetent, they were complicit. And bringing it back to our starting point, degrowth advocates never seem to loudly call this stuff out until it blows up in their face. If our ideology causes people to starve, those responsible should be, at minimum, expunged from the movement. If you want to keep them around for some vague idea of solidarity, you’re not fighting for a better world. At best, you’re cheerleading.

At worst, you’re in a cult.

#eco-socialism #degrowth #Robert Evans #it could happen here pod #they’re gonna drag my ass for this #good thing I’m some nobody without any reach

[axvoter]

Blatantly Partisan Party Review XXV (federal 2022): Socialist Alliance

Running where: NSW, QLD, VIC, WA

Prior reviews: federal 2016, NSW 2019, federal 2019

What I said before: “This is quintessential ‘people before profit’ stuff: tax corporations, nationalise things, and make policy for the betterment of the population rather than maximising profit for private companies.”

What I think this year: Socialism in Australia has been notoriously fractious, especially in recent decades. In 2019, in an attempt to counter this, Socialist Alliance (SAll) participated in the state-level Victorian Socialists (VS; 2019 review, 2022 review to come) in an attempt to present a united front with other groups. This included Socialist Alternative (SAlt), who had previously eschewed electoral politics and focused heavily on uni campus organising. Unfortunately, in 2020, SAll walked away from from VS.

I have no particular inside line on the rights or wrongs of the SAll/VS split. SAll have set out their perspective here, arguing that “we no longer feel that the Victorian Socialist project is capable of uniting broader layers of socialists”. I am unaware of an official VS statement. The vibe I have got from asking around, and from observing online discussion, is that VS are just as annoyed at SAll for walking away. I suspect this dispute is cross-cut by generational, ideological, and state-based reasons. To me, the most disappointing thing about leftist and particularly socialist politics in Australia over the last few decades is how fragmented it has been, and this is yet another example.

But if I put aside that disappointment, what do they want? Socialist Alliance is the straightforward socialist fare you know and (maybe) love from past elections. They have a strong environmental angle: their 2022 federal election slogan is not simply “for people before profit” but “for people and planet before profit”. They demand system change—i.e. socialism via electoral politics—rather than climate change. To them, covid-19 and climate change are twin crises that expose the Australian government prioritising billionaires. Climate change, yes, you won’t see me disagreeing that our sluggish response is to protect the likes of mining magnates, but on covid-19, Australia frankly has performed very well. SAll has a legitimate criticism that working people have been hardest hit, and other important criticisms can be made, but there was nonetheless a sense of (at least state-based) solidarity that has led to some of the very best health outcomes on the planet. So I dunno, I feel some of this content is a bit “this current crisis is actually all about our core issue” over-reach.

Anyway, enough of me criticising their election pitch, because if I am honest with you, I am a stereotypical watermelon: green on the outside, red on the inside. And SAll offer pretty watermelon policies. They are strong on climate, demanding drastically increased taxation on wealthy elites to fund an emergency transition to renewable energy, a sustainable economy, and a prominent role for Indigenous peoples in restoring and caring for Country. As you might expect, they are keen on nationalising things, a large welfare state, removing anti-union laws, accepting refugees, a guaranteed livable income, gender equality, free tertiary education—you name it. Their First Nations policies appear to echo ideals of the Uluru Statement but it is unclear to me if they specifically support the Statement and its process.

Once you start digging into their policies, you’ll find that if you are sympathetic towards socialism or social democracy, you will broadly agree with the contours. You will also find they have a bit of a grab-bag of ideas, some of which you'll really like and others that leave you much less enthused. For me, they back something I very much want: parliament being reformed to have proportional representation. But they also support a governmental reform I dislike: all governments subject to a recall election if a petition is signed by 10% of the electorate. I think in principle these measures are liable to abuse and instability, and with such a low threshold it definitely is.

All in all, a good, but not great, socialist option.

My recommendation: Give Socialist Alliance a good preference.

(not Socialist Alternative, as I originally wrote, and which one commenter pointed out. SAlt are not on the ballot! They are involved in Victorian Socialists, a review of whom is coming shortly; I confess I have spent my whole life since starting uni writing SAlt's name when I meant SAll and vice versa)

Website: https://socialist-alliance.org/

#auspol #ausvotes #ausvotes22 #ausvotes2022 #Australian election #Australia #Election 2022 #Socialist Alliance #Victorian Socialists #socialism #eco-socialism #watermelons

[intersectionalpraxis]

I am once again at a loss for words. From @/ democracynow [@/ JoshuaPHill on X. 12/22/23.] [Image description: "Satellite imagery shows Israel's razing of Gaza agricultural land." A 'before' picture shows an aerial picture of lush green fields and areas of healthy crops, as well as the location of a greenhouse. An 'after,' photo shows an aerial view of a completely desolate land -there are no crops, no greenhouse, and no greenery.]

#social justice #free palestine #freepalastine🇵🇸 #palestine #free gaza #gaza #gaza strikes #gazaunderattack #gaza strip #climate justice #environment #colonialism #colonial violence #settler colonialism #settler violence #ceasefire now #ceasefire #end the occupation #end the genocide #eco terrorism

[icarusxxrising]

Horrible fact of the day: Chevron just released a new boat fuel that WILL give you cancer.

Not "might", not "could", WILL. It has a cancer ratio of 1.3:1, as in, in a group of 10 people, 10 would contract CANCER.

(Edit: apparently some articles are now saying 1.4:1, and some are saying a little under that. Either way, the consensus seems to be anywhere between a 95-100+% of contracting cancer, with some expectations of this fuel not even needing a full lifetime of exposure for you to get Cancer.)

The EPA's safety limit is 1:1,000,000 as in 1 in a million people get cancer.

The EPA approved it anyways. I am not joking. The EPA approved a boat fuel that has a near 100% chance of giving someone cancer. It has such a good chance of giving someone cancer that if you DIDN'T get cancer YOU WOULD BE AN OUTLIER.

Fuck the oil industries.

Edit: If you find this (rightfully) horrifying, have you considered industrial sabotage? /hj

This isn't something we can vote away. This isn't something the rich are gonna apologize and make a 10 minute apology video for this. They don't care if you starve or wither in hospitals or get blown up in their wars.

If you don't know where to get started:

If you already know what to do, then it's time to do it. Participate in mutual aid, raise awareness in real life as well as online, participate in or train in self defense and emergency medical training classes.

#anarchy #chevron #fuel #oil #news #health #healthcare #cancer #research #anarchism #leftism #anarchist #leftist #communist #socialism #socialist #eco #green #earth

[jltejo]

September 21, the Arbor Day.

#movimento sem terra #Landless Workers' Movement #ecology #eco-socialism #brazil

[architectureandfilmblog]

Les Étoiles d’Ivry, René​e Gailhoustet and Jean Renaudie, 1975

THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART II (2015)

This site was the second Parisian housing complex to feature in the film, with Ricardo Bofill's Espaces Abraxas playing a larger role. None of the architects responsible would have envisaged their work as it was cast here: as residences for a facist elite. On the contrary, both projects provided social housing, and sought, in their own way, to redefine what that type of building could be architecturally. Bofill hoped to elevate the lives of residents by transplanting a language of perceived grandeur, monumentality and luxury into the arena of low income residences.  And Gailhoustet and Jean Renaudie wanted to break free of the bland monotony of characterless, cookie cutter units which often characterised social housing. Photo (cropped) by Robert Doisneau

#Les Étoiles d’Ivry #René​e Gailhoustet #Jean Renaudie #brutalism #architecture #eco brutalism #the hunger games #paris #social housing

[queerbrownvegan]

None of us are alright and the idea that climate anxiety is a sign of weakness disregards our most basic sense of empathy.

qbv

#queerbrownvegan #sustainability #climate change #environmentalism #social justice #environment #climate crisis #environmental justice #activism #intersectional environmentalism #mental health #climate anxiety #eco anxiety

[haleypukanski]

#poster #design #wip #fat liberation #body liberation #queers for fat liberation #body positivity #fat is beautiful #fat is not a bad word #capitalism #capitalism kills #2023 #eco socialism #marxism #class conciousness #environmentalism #fat acceptance #fat rights #anti diet

[red-scare-sapphic]

#communism #socialism #anti capitalism #leftism #communist #eco brutalism

[lilithism1848]

#leftism #anti capitalism #socialism #communism #anarchy #earth day #ecosystem #eco #rewilding #environment #ecology #ecofriendly #agriculture #infrastructure #ecofashion #waste

[aluminum-angels]

your anger will run out eventually,

after all, your kind can only run so hot.

+ some other doodles/wips i didn't finish

#i've got somewhere to be in like 3 ish hours #i love socializing with people i like #rain world #rain world iterator #rain world ancients #iterator oc #ancient oc #rw iterator #rw ancients #oc: blank slate #oc: whispering waters #oc: icarus #oc: eco #[kai's radical art tag]

[revindicatedbyhistory]

umberto eco is a smart guy but everytime he talks about communism he turns into hnnah arendt its pretty annoying

#he said socialism realism and nazi art were basically the same thing and didnt constitute art for being too propagandistic #but like if we get rid of any art that counts as political propaganda we have to get rid of a good ammount of the cultural canon #eco would probably say oh but works that arent fully propagandistic are fine. ok how do we define whether a work is too propagandistic

[axvoter]

Blatantly Partisan Party Review XIX (Victoria 2022): Socialist Alliance

Prior reviews: federal 2016, NSW 2019, federal 2019, federal 2022

What I said before: “Do I really need to tell you much about this party’s platform? They’re proper eco-socialists whose policies cohere around a belief in workers’ solidarity, hostility to capitalism, and radical action on climate change.” (federal 2019)

What I think this time: Socialist Alliance left the Victorian Socialists electoral alliance two years ago and are standing candidates separately, but they have not yet regained party registration with the VEC. This means that their candidates appear as independents on the ballot.

There are four Socialist Alliance-endorsed independents, all of them in lower house seats: Arie Huybregts (Broadmeadows), Angela Carr (Geelong), Sarah Hathway (Lara), and Sue Bolton (Pascoe Vale). Bolton is already an elected representative at the level of local government: she has won multiple terms as a councillor in the City of Merri-bek (formerly Moreland). In two seats, Socialist Alliance-endorsed independents are going up against Victorian Socialist candidates: one of Huybregts’ opponents in Broadmeadows is VS’s Omar Hassan, while in Pascoe Vale, Bolton’s rivals include VS’s Madaleine Hah.

Socialist Alliance’s state platform covers the same ground to their recent federal platforms, so I’ve not much to add to my 2019 and 2022 entries about the bigger picture. What sticks out to me is that they have made an effort to include policies specifically relevant to where their four candidates are standing. For the Geelong and Lara candidates, there is a commitment to a new public hospital in Geelong’s northern suburbs. For the Pascoe Vale and Broadmeadows candidates, there is a policy to duplicate the Upfield line that passes through these electorates—the lack of double track between Gowrie and the terminus is why it has such appalling frequencies.

Another big state-specific positive is that Socialist Alliance want investment in accessible public transport to match the level crossing removal programme in quantity and speed of delivery. A large proportion of Melbourne's public transport network does not meet basic accessibility standards, particularly trams and buses. The network is required to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act, but the timeframe for compliance has been extended to 2032, and who knows if that won’t be pushed back even further. Other parties could really take a hint from Socialist Alliance and make this a priority too.

My recommendation: Give Socialist Alliance-endorsed independents a good preference.

Website: https://socialist-alliance.org/elections/state/2022/election-campaign/community-need-not-corporate-greed-2022-victoria-state

#auspol #springst #vicvotes #vicvotes22 #vicvotes2022 #Victorian election #Victoria #Melbourne #Election 2022 #Socialist Alliance #socialism #socialists #eco-socialism #watermelons #good preference

[intersectionalpraxis]

#feminist #feminism #social justice #free palestine #freepalastine🇵🇸 #palestine #free gaza #free west bank #west bank #american imperialism #western imperialism #end the genocide #end the occupation #imperialism #colonial violence #current events #eco terrorism #settler violence #settler colonialism

[missbaphomet]

Replies won't let me type the full response so here

@thefalse first of all, there's more to meat/dairy consumption than "it tastes good". There are health issues that necessitate eating meat and animal products, and they provide vital vitamins, minerals, and proteins. Your body will specifically even give you cravings for food high in these nutrients when you're in need. Secondly humans are omnivores, our healthiest diets consist of meat AND plant. Livestock also consumes a huge percentage of food waste that humans, including vegans, can't or won't eat. This can be "ugly" food, food too close to expiration, food you can't keep overnight like baked goods. 30% of the diet of that pork chop that I had last Tuesday was food people threw away. Only 36% of food (by calorie) grown globally is eaten by livestock, 55% makes it onto the plate of a human. 9% goes to biofuels.

If you're as worried about resource scarcity as you claim maybe start trying for renewable resources??? The problem isn't "oh wow animals are so bad for the environment", the problem is "companies and corporations are doing bad things for more money and they're only getting worse." You can stop eating milk and honey all you want, but that's not doing literally anything towards what you claim to be advocating for. We can develop new ways to farm that are sustainable and renewable but we can't unfuck the environment with a simple "just don't buy meat lol". It's infinitely more complex than that.

Did you know it's illegal to harvest seeds you got from a tomato at your local Walmart and cultivate them for yourself? That is assuming the plant hasn't been rendered sterile to enforce reliance on whatever company sells the seeds. I personally think that's a bit more fucked up than having a grilled cheese every so often.

Also no one is arguing animal abuse is good, but it's pretty common knowledge that if you abuse your livestock, it reflects negatively in the product. Put simply: animals that are abused then slaughtered for meat make shitty meat. Is there some sketchy shit happening in factory farming? Abso-fucking-lutely. Many livestock animals live on the bare minimum. I absolutely think that livestock should have good lives. Obviously not every cow and pig and chicken can be raised with the same quality of life as a champion show poodle, but they absolutely deserve a nice pasture and good scratch and a warm, comfortable shelter.

You know who provides these things? Local farmers or even just hobbyists. I have several family friends that raise chickens, and we get more eggs than we could ever hope to reasonably eat as a family of four. If you don't eat the egg, toss it back to the chicken! She will happily eat her eggs because they're nutritional and make a damn fine meal. My family also has connections to a family owned cattle farm, and we split a cow up the middle every year, and did for almost 20 years before the owner got cancer and stopped selling beef to focus on his health, and it was damn good beef too. Pigs aren't prominent in my area, but I'm sure I could find one semi-locally. My DM keeps bees and my family went from basically never using honey to buying it by the pint. I think the only thing that my family buys from the store that we couldn't get anywhere else is milk and cheese because pasteurization and cheese making is a huge expensive process that isn't really reasonable to maintain for just a small family.

Ultimately the argument of "but animal abuse" boils down to factory farming, but the solution then becomes just don't buy meat and other products from factory farms.

#baph bleats #i think this is technically eco-socialism? #anti vegan #for the record despite holding beliefs that align with eco-socialism i do not consider myself a socialist #idfk what system is best but i dont believe its capitalism or communism #i think democratic socialism is probably the best bet but it has flaws roo #*too #numbers from NatGeo #and yes i realize popsci mags arent the end-all of sources but its better than most vegans provide (nothing)