Marx in the Anthropocene: Towards the Idea of Degrowth Communism

This is a piece that attempts to be a re-interpretation of late Marx, and his move away from eurocentrism and productivism. However, it is much more than that. It brings together the most relevant discussions in the environmental left, and forgotten 20th century authors in order to create a clear storyline that shows a few things:

1. Marx and Engels were not always in agreement, and the rift grew as they grew older.

2. Although the dualist view of nature and society have been criticised by authors such as Moore, for falling into Cartesian understandings of the world, Saito makes the point for a methodological dualism where we can explore nature and society interactions in a more clear way, while still recognising our mutual dependence and inseparability ontologically.In this way, the idea of metabolic rift is recovered and put at the center of the debate.

3. A whole chapter is dedicated to techno-centrism among the left, and Saito concludes that “the ideology of technology is one of the reasons for the poverty of imagination that pervades contemporary capitalism”.

4. In his late work, Marx explores non-western texts and recognises that capitalism is not a necessary step to a communal life. Saito understands that a revoltion may not be inevitable, and that certain forms of organisations, with some improvements, can fit in with our current socio-ecological needs.

5. Towards the end, Saito concludes that the late Marx was advocating for a sort of degrowth socialism, that will communalise goods and services, and will lead to a steady state economy.

6. While some scholars position degrowth as an alternative to capitalism and communism, degrowth has been recently labelled as anti-capitalist, while the door for alliances with socialists is left open.

7. The last chapter reads a bit like a manifesto, where Saito argues for communism as a better option to repair the metabolic rift. He argues: a) the aim of social production shifts from profit to use-value; b) reduction of the working day and the elimination of bullshit jobs will allow for a steady state economy without reducing welfare; c) workers will become more autonomous when we abolish the excessive division of labor; d) the abolition of market competition for profits will slow down the economy.

Saito calls for better dialogue and understanding of the links between the emerging degrowth movement, and the Marxism(s) of the 21st century.

A very good read.