The Self-Managing Environment

by Alan Roberts

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Genres: Environment

189 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1980

Reviews

[Dan Sharber · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book is pretty interesting in that it was some 'early' writing on the environmental crisis (1979 basically) yet still make some pretty good contributions. the idea of the self managed environment is a pretty deep concept that furthers our understanding of what a future socialist society must be. and it clearly requires workers control in the work place. the concept comes out of an understanding that the environmental crisis is based on a 'consumerist' society - not consumerist in the same way that liberal elites use the term. but rather consumerist in that our needs are fulfilled and, more importantly, our alienation is combatted vai commodities. this is not about needs and wants and there is no disdain heaped on those who buy things to feel 'good' but rather it is an understanding or explanation of a basic fact. the rumination on technology as a specifically political phenomenon was very enlightening as well. there is a real argument that, like the state, we can not simply lay hold of the ready made machinery of production and wield it in a future socialist/self managed society. this may seem self evident to a lot of people but the idea is that technology and increased 'efficiency' are concepts predicated on a specific form of exploitation - i.e. wage labor - and could not and would not function in a self managed environment. or rather, we become slaves of machinery not only because of the larger capitalist system generally but also because of specific attributes of 'machines' which are built into them for those exact reasons. it's a very interesting concept and seems completely true. this book shares a lot with Labor and Monopoly Capital: The Degradation of Work in the Twentieth Century which i loved. that book illustrated that socialism is not simply about controlling the work place but that there needs to be a total re-imagining of what 'work' is and the division of labor must be overcome to be truly liberated. similarly, roberts points out that workers power does not necessarily overcome the ecological crisis unless it is a self-managed power that overcomes alienation and commodity fetishism (so really a true socialism from below). there is also a whole chapter devoted to taking apart the tragedy of the commons essay which i appreciated quite a bit (i will never tire of take-downs or refutations of that essay - which i view as a particularly insidious piece of ideology masquerading as 'common sense'). if you are into eco-socialism or really into environmental politics then you would enjoy this book. if you are just looking for something that is current check out Ecology and Socialism: Solutions to Capitalist Ecological Crisis or The Enemy of Nature: The End of Capitalism or the End of the World? both of which are very current and thorough.