Ecosocialist activists and writers from around the world have formed a new international association of ecosocialists to exchange ideas and promote socialist solutions to the environmental crisis that humanity is now facing. John Molyneux explains.
The Global Ecosocialist Network’s (GEN) initial aim is to facilitate the development and spread of ecosocialist ideas and relevant information internationally so as to ensure that socialist ideas are heard within the current explosion of ecological debate.
Awareness of the reality of the looming threat of climate catastrophe is mushrooming worldwide. Even reactionary governments are often forced to pay lip service to doing something about it. But what is much less widely understood is that the root of the problem is not individual behaviour but the capitalist system with its relentless drive for profit. It follows, therefore, that solving the crisis involves a global transition to an economic order based on planned production for human need – socialism. This new Network’s goal is to contribute to remedying this state of affairs .
GEN’s founding sponsors are ecosocialist activists from Africa, Australia, Europe, North America and South America. They include such well-known and respected figures as John Bellamy Foster, Ian Angus, Michael Lowy, Susan Price, Tafadzwa Choto, Patrick Bond, Ana Isla and Rehad Desai
The GEN website is packed with interesting articles from many different countries on topics ranging from the current climate catastrophe in Southern Africa to solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en struggle and a report on the massive mobilization to welcome Greta Thunberg in Bristol. The website welcomes contributions and debate on a broad range of ecological issues, especially the question of just transition and the global south within a broad socialist framework. Please check it out and please join.
Membership is open to individual socialists and socialist organizations who support the network’s six key principles:
- There is a generalized environmental crisis of which climate change is the lead element. This crisis is extremely urgent and threatens the future of humanity and countless other species.
- The cause of this crisis is capitalism – an economic and social system based on competitive exploitation and production for profit.
- Solving this crisis and surviving it involves an international break with capitalism and its replacement by socialism – an economic and social system based on collective ownership of the main forces of production and democratic planning.
- To achieve this we need a global mobilization of people power.
- Such mobilization requires a commitment to a just transition i.e. not one based on attacking the jobs and living standards of the mass of working people.
- The united mobilization we need also requires opposition to all racist, sexist, national, homophobic and transphobic oppression.
Membership fees for individuals are only €10 waged/€5 unwaged/ €1 from the Global South. For organisations to affiliate the fee is €150.
At present GEN is working towards participating in the mass mobilization at the COP 26 conference in Glasgow, 9-19 November 2020 where we also intend to organise a public meeting with top speakers and hold a conference of our network.
