• DOI:10.1177/1086026611402010
• Corpus ID: 154749910

Solving the Ecological Problems of Capitalism: Capitalist and Socialist Possibilities

@article{Jones2011SolvingTE,
  title={Solving the Ecological Problems of Capitalism: Capitalist and Socialist Possibilities},
  author={Andrew W. Jones},
  journal={Organization \& Environment},
  year={2011},
  volume={24},
  pages={54 - 73}
}

• Andrew W. Jones
• Published 1 March 2011
• Economics
• Organization & Environment

In this article, the author identifies three ecological problems of capitalism—growth, technology, and consumption—that must be solved to develop a sustainable society. Consistent with previous work, especially in the Marxist ecology tradition, the author argues that overcoming the growth problem requires an alternative to capitalism. This is necessary, though not sufficient: ecological sustainability also depends on overcoming the problems of technology and consumption, which requires an ongoing reform but of a sort only minimally attainable under capitalism. Yet, as the historical record demonstrates, there are no guarantees that socialist alternatives to capitalism will be ecologically sustainable. For socialism to be ecologically sustainable, it must (a) represent a revolutionary break from capitalist approaches toward growth and (b) involve the ongoing reform of technology and consumption, beyond what is possible in capitalism. Examples from the Soviet Union and Cuba illustrate the argument.