Red-Green Revolution: The Politics and Technology of Ecosocialism

by Victor Wallis

This book confronts the planetary emergency produced by the accelerated ecological devastation of the last half-century. The human species is in a race against time to salvage and restore what it can of the environmental conditions that make a healthy existence possible. This task requires us to reconsider not only the type of energy that we use, but also the institutions, the technology, and the social relationships that determine what is produced, in what quantities, by what methods, and to what ends. 

The core political question raised is the relationship of the ecological order to capitalism and socialism. I argue that sound ecological policy requires a socialist framework, based on democratic participation and drawing on the historical lessons of earlier efforts. I discuss how the project of building such a framework may evolve through the convergence of popular struggles – against all forms of oppression – as these have emerged under conditions of crisis.

Genres: Politics, Environment, Economics, Climate Change, Nonfiction

207 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 19, 2018

About the author

Victor Wallis is a professor of Liberal Arts at the Berklee College of Music. He was for twenty years the managing editor of Socialism and Democracy and has been writing on ecological issues since the early 1990s. His writings have appeared in journals such as Monthly Review and New Political Science, and have been translated into thirteen languages.

Reviews

[Jason Schulman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential book. It should be accessible for anyone unfamiliar with ecosocialist (here, explicitly eco-Marxist) thought.

Caveat: some might be dissatisfied with the discussion of ecosocialist "degrowth" (though that term isn't used) and if the necessary movement of Global North resources to the Global South is feasible without such a decrease in GN working-class consumption that the project becomes politically impossible. It's a tough question.

That aside, Wallis has written a great book deserving of the widest possible readership.

[Public Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

What is the Red-Green Revolution? Combine Marxist theory (red) with environmentalism (green) et voila you have a very Christmas-y new flag to wave in the coming revolution.

I heard Victor Wallis interviewed on the Whowhatwhy podcast and was really impressed. Here is a man, I thought, who believes a lot of the things I believe and knows a lot of things I would like to know.

So I purchased this book with high hopes. I do not wish to denigrate his achievement. Wallis has created a book with mammoth ambition and scope. My hat is off to him.

But something was lost for me in the execution. I am not what you would call conversant with the intricacies of Marxist theories. On the other hand, I certainly possess more familiarity with these concepts than the layman. But Wallis's discussions often left me in the dust. I frequently struggled to maintain focus as I soldiered through this book. This probably says a lot more about me than it does about Wallis's writing.

I am most intrigued by the thesis of this book. Clearly capitalism is not up to the task of addressing the earth's growing climate crisis. Market incentives to clean the environment or reduce carbon emissions are not working. Wallis argues that socialism is a natural fit for advancing a more sustainable path because cooperation and human needs are fundamentally what socialism is all about. I agree that the author is on to something.

There are sections in this book that got me very excited. Wallis's critique of the codependency between militarism and capitalism really resonated with me. But, as I mentioned before, I felt lost for long sections. This book, however, is very much worth reading for its ambition and the boldness of its vision alone.

[Martin Empson · Rating 4 out of 5]

All in all I found Red-Green Revolution a deeply stimulating read, that tackled important issues without simply regurgitating tired old formulae - the chapter on intersectionality and class was particularly good in this respect. I'd recommend Victor Wallis' book both to environmental activists who want to better understand revolutionary socialist ideas and other, longer standing socialists who want to think through how to engage with the growing ecological movements.

Full review on the blog: https://resolutereader.blogspot.com/2...

[Joseph Spuckler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Red-Green Revolution The Politics and Technology of Ecosocialism by Victor Wallis is an examination of the pairing of socialism and environmentalism. Wallis teaches in the Liberal Arts department at the Berklee College of Music and lives in the Boston area. For twenty years, he was the managing editor of Socialism and Democracy and has been writing on ecological issues since the early 1990s. His writings encompass an array of other topics as well, including political strategies, the U.S. Left, U.S. labor songs, and Latin American revolutionary film.

Environmentalism, climate change, CO2 levels, and socialism have all been recent hot-button issues in America. Environmentalism became a popular force and has been used to sell everything as green or environmentally friendly. That, however, is part of the problem. It is not the greening but the selling. Capitalism is about growth, consumption, and accumulation. Environmentalism is about protecting our habitat. The two are not compatible in practice, but in advertising and propaganda, the two seemed made for each other. Clean Coal, for example, does remove sulfur and particulates but does not remove CO2 which is responsible for climate change. Many things are not implemented simply because there is no profit to be made. Thinking green capitalism is not going to change much of anything.

Not to take Marx's words as gospel, Wallis does believe that Marx needs to be updated. There have been many works done in the name of socialism that do not reflect Marx's ideas or socialism. Stalin is the most notorious for creating a dictatorship and creating a system of production that had little to do with a classless society or not exploiting man or nature. Chinese Communism is in turn top-down capitalism. China's economic colonization of Africa and Latin America might be a kinder colonialism but it is done for raw materials and economic advantage much like capitalism.

Wallis' main thesis is that capitalism cannot become green.  Growth and accumulation are at odds with our long-term survival.  To put it in Ayn Rand's terms capitalism is selfishness and selfishness is good. Socialism isn't about making everyone equally miserable but ending selfishness (particularly the 1%).  Cuba, a poor country, with a life expectancy on par with the US spends 90% less on individual health care than the US.  Cuba's literacy rate is also higher than the US.  It also sends medical, educational, and disaster relief volunteers around the world. In turn, the US (and now China) use their military and political power to exploit resources. There is an interesting case to be made about the collective good over the individual's good.  It is an attitude on life and the environment that supports it.  Although not having all the answers, Wallis shows that there may be a better way to save the environment and man.  Jimmy Carter seems to sum it up well: “Human identity is no longer defined by what one does but rather by what one owns.”

[Joe Reinhart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting ideas are presented in this well thought out and well-cited book. I do wish a more simple writing style had been chosen for the book, however, the style of writing used makes the reading more challenging than necessary and probably limits the audience of the book.

[Spencer Johnston · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dense theory. It’s well articulated but some of the nuance could be mistaken as class reductionism. This is a good read if you’re interested in one potential post-capitalist ecologically conscious societal structure.