To share something academic on my blog is something that I have always wanted to do.
So, I'm doing it now :)
This complicated topic was actually assigned to us by Dr Ellisha Nasruddin for our group project for Sustainability Concept and Issues (SCI) course. Pursuing Master of Business Administration with a focus on Sustainable Development, SCI is one of our specialization courses. Although SCI is undoubtedly a tough course, I love it so much as it has brought me to explore on exciting issues that I have never thought of concerning us, the economy and most importantly, the environment we are living in.
Actually, post-capitalist ecological economy or also known as ecological socialist economic democracy is an economic system proposed by the transformist environmental lovers to replace current economic system. Capitalism in current economy is viewed as a threat to the environment sustainability. The world should therefore be prepared to embrace on this new green economic system.. ‘a practical, workable post capitalist
ecological economy, an economy by the people, for the people, that is geared to
production for need, not for profit’.
Interested to learn more about this new economic system? Do enjoy reading below explanation that I have taken from the group termpaper submitted at the end of last semester entitle:
"THE THREAT OF POVERTY IN ECO-SOCIALIST ECONOMIC DEMOCRACY" (Alia, Darab, Farah, & Felicia, 2012)
What is Capitalist Economy?
Today,
the world largely operates under a global economic system based on the
capitalist mode of production (Conklin, 1991).
Being the most efficient and profitable economy, production in
capitalist economy is carried out to maximize corporations’ profit. In capitalist economy, decisions regarding
investment and the use of the means of production are determined by competing
business owners in the marketplace.
Therefore, production takes place within the process of capital
accumulation. Being a strong supporter
of socialism, Karl Marx, has heavily critiqued capitalism as “dictatorship of
the bourgeoisie” with the belief that this economy is run by the wealthy class
purely for their own benefit (Peavler, 2012).
Why is Capitalist
Economy a Threat to Ecological Sustainability?
In his study, Smith (2010) argues that
irresistible and relentless pressures for growth are needed for day-to-day
requirements of capitalist reproduction in a competitive market. Growth is an iron law of capitalist
development and it can only exist with constant revolutionizing of productive
forces, with constantly expanding markets, and with ever-growing consumption of
resources. In ensuring ecological sustainability,
socialism and eco-socialists generally believe that capitalist economy system
is irrelevant due to its bad impacts.
Capitalist economy violates the law of
sustainability in which it enriches the economy and a small part of the society
(the wealthy group) while deteriorating the environment and bottom billion’s
wellbeing. Besides, capitalist is the cause of social
exclusion, inequality (Kovel
& Lowy, 2001).
Thus, Herman Daly proposed for a steady state
economy in order to replace current system.
A steady state capitalist economy is an economy of relatively stable
size. It features stable population and stable consumption that remain at or
below carrying capacity. However, Smith (2010) argues that steady
state economy is based on weak assumption, as it assumes that growth is
optional rather than built-into capitalism. He concludes that capitalist growth cannot be stopped, or even slowed and
market-driven growth is driving us towards collapse. Therefore, ecological economist should
abandon the fantasy of a steady-state capitalism and work on post-capitalist
economic democracy.
What is Ecosystem Resilience All About?
The amazing characteristic of ecosystem is it
has the natural ability to recover or return to its original stage after being
disturbed. However, due to human
activities, most of them involving extensive natural resources usage and
environmental pollution to serve the capitalist needs of production, this
ability have declined globally in the last half century (Chapin, 2009). Chapin (2009) has also reviewed that in the
collapse of many advanced human societies, including Babylon, the Roman Empire,
and the Mayan Civilization was contributed by environmental degradation. Therefore, it is of vital importance that
human play their role in ecosystem management starting by establishing
resilience-based ecosystem stewardship. Nevertheless,
by considering ecosystem interest in the heart of every activity, capitalist
economy may not be able to function at its best.
Is Socialist Economy Good?
Socialist
economy is defined as an economic system based on state an economic system
based on state ownership of capital. It
is a system in which the means of production, such as money and other form of
capital, are owned by the state or public (Peavler, 2012). Everyone works for wealth that will be
distributed to everyone under socialist system which is contradicting with
capitalist system. Also, in socialist
economy, the government will decide how wealth would be distributed among the
people. Socialist oriented economy focuses more on qualitative
development instead of quantitative development.
Karl
Marx, a strong supporter of socialism, argued that society would be governed by
the working class or workers’ democracy.
Eventually, socialism would be replaced by stateless, classless society
called communism. However, socialism as an ideology or as a political
concept has been in declined for a number of years and it is now replaced with liberal
‘democracy’ and market economics (Sarkar, 2000).
Achieving Ecological Socialist Economic Democracy and Its Issues
Sarkar (2000) in his book argues that the
socialist project is not dead but to flourish, it must be incorporated with the
lessons of ecology. The incorporation
would be able to offer a fresh, exciting and relevant vision of an ecologically
sustainable and socially just way of living.
Sarkar’s view was also supported by Smith (2010) which stated that the
best way to run the economy and maintaining ecological sustainability is by
having ‘a practical, workable post capitalist ecological economy, an economy by
the people, for the people, that is geared to production for need, not for
profit’.
Smith (2010)
also suggested that in order to achieve eco-socialist economic
democracy there are at least seven issues that have to be discussed and
considered. The first issue is to find
way to put the brakes on out-of-control growth, even if it involves drastically
retrenching or shutting down relevant organisations. The second issue is to have radical
production restructuring to enforce sharp limits on the production and to
physically ration the use and consumption of all sorts of natural resources. The third issue is to sharply increase investments in things that
society really need, like renewable energy, organic farming, health,
quality schools for our children, and many other currently underfunded social
and environmental needs.
Forth
issue is discard production that is geared to mindless consumerism and needless
repetitive consumption and the industries that support them. Too many choices
and too short a lifespan for products have socially and environmentally
unbearable costs. The fifth issue is
invent a rational approach to waste which means to minimize all waste, forbid
the disposal of toxics of any sort, eliminate most if not all single-use
products and enforce mandatory and systematic reuse of containers and
packaging. Lastly, Smith if we have to shut down polluting or wasteful
industries then society is going to have to provide equivalent jobs because if
we do not, more problems will emerge.
The
biggest concern about implementing this new macro-economic model is to destroy
the freedom that society currently has through capitalist economic model, to
buy and produce as they wish. The market
would also be very limited. However,
planning and executing this new system is imperative as we are now very
efficiently liquidating every resource on the planet and if we want to save
ourselves and many citizens of the ecology, we have to live without the freedom
of capitalist.
Eco-socialist Efficiency vs. Capitalist Efficiency
The concept of efficiency in eco-socialist economy is
very different from capitalist economy.
There is room for labour and natural resources efficiency in an
ecological economy but in capitalist economy, it is the opposite. Capitalist economy suggests that efficiency
in usage of resources means using the saved resources to produce even more
commodities. In capitalist system, efficiency
happens when the conversion of even more natural resources into the products is
accelerated
(Smith, 2010).
Gains in technological efficiency and economies of scale have observed
increased overall consumption of natural resources rather than saving them.
Contradicting with capitalist economy, eco-socialist
economy does not really have profit as main goal of production. Such gains in efficiency could actually save
these natural resources for the benefit of society and future generation. From a social ecological perspective, it
would be ridiculously inefficient to waste resources by producing unnecessary
products and services. It would be
highly efficient if car and electrical appliances are built to be durable and
long lasting and have them in the way that they can be upgraded and improved
without having the needs to replace them.
As suggested by Smith (2010), it would be far less costly to society and
environment. However, in the capitalist
world that we are living in there would only one business goal, increasing
profit. Thus, corporations would produce
at a large scale, sell products at lower prices to more customers and push
sales and profit higher (Smith, 2010)
In his
article, Smith defines post-capitalist economic democracy as a new
macro-economic model, a practical workable post capitalist ecological economy,
an economy by the people, for the people, that is geared to production for
need, not for profit (Smith, 2010)
On the same
note, Sarkar (2000) argues that the Socialist project is not dead but in order
to flourish, it must be incorporated with lessons of ecology. A fresh, exciting, and relevant mission of
ecological sustainable and socially just way of living could be achieved
through this incorporation.
Reformist and Transformist’s Ideal Economy Model for Sustainable
Development
A reformist
approach sees the current dominant capitalist model and its supporting
political structures, and noting its various forms around the world, as
fundamentally sound and well able to deliver the key reformist sustainability
goal of continued human development or, more commonly, sustainable development.
Transformational
approach sees the current dominant economic, political and institutional system
as the root cause of current unsustainable behavior, and to progress a
sustainable world agenda fundamental transformational change to this system is
needed (Clifton, 2011). The key features of socio-economic system change suggested
by the transformist are:
1. Human
wellbeing as best progressed through consumptive sufficiency and a focus on
wellbeing through life experiences
2. Continued consumptive growth as unsustainable and a primary cause
of ecological problems and poverty
3. Poverty as best resolved through resource allocation not more
global-level resource-through-put growth
4. Quantitative constraints place on natural resource use and waste
discharged into the
earth’s ecosystem
These stated
features also consist in eco-socialist economic democracy. Thus, ecological socialist economic democracy
is seen as the best approach in satisfying not only transformists’ but also
other eco-socialists’ requirement of an ideal economy.
Kindly email me (aliakamal69@gmail.com) for more details and full reference list. Hope you have gained something beneficial by reading our work and please, do not plagiarise!
Nobody can do everything, but everybody can do something for environmental sustainability.
thanks for reading! :)
