Feature Page: The Movement for Sustainability

by Carl Sack

Recently, in some areas of the country, an increasingly vocal movement for environmental “Sustainability” has been gaining steam. This movement includes such aspects as the growing demand for organically-produced food, the desire for increased use of solar and wind power over fossil fuels, and a renewed general interest in personal actions that reduce waste and natural resource use. But what are this movement’s real long-term implications for the future? On this point Marxists may differ a bit from many of the movement’s proponenets.

Though its roots go as far back as the Industrial Revolution, the modern environmental movement largely began with the radicalization of many American political sectors that occurred during the 1960’s and early 1970’s. The growth of the movement echoed the growth of the civil rights and anti-war movements of that time. Though largely rooted in the student population, the cries of concern over the disasterous worldwide environmental effects of industrial capitalism were quickly taken up by some of the more foresighted among the capitalist class themselves. Early struggles agianst pollution, habitat destruction and general overconsumption (itself a prerequisite of a healthy capitalist economy) were mainstreamed into the first “Earth Day” celebration. The theme of Earth Day was and continues to be more personal than political – the idea that individuals can make a lasting difference by planting trees, turning off unused lights, and selectively purchasing more expensive “green” items.

In 1992, The United Nations’ Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro brought the term “Sustainable Development” into widespread use. This phrase recognizes that many of the current structures of modern capitalist society are inherently self-destructive (a point which Marxists have been making since the 1800’s). But as a response, it seeks to save the capitalist system from itself by finding ways of promoting “economic development” that are less environmentally damaging and socially unpopular. The Rio conference came up with Agenda 21, which laid out a plan to implement Sustainable Development worldwide. While Agenda 21 certainly contains many progressive points, it fails to indict the system that is at the core responsible for the damage that has been done to working people, native peoples, women and the environment.

The Sustainability movement as it exists today follows the line of Agenda 21. It is primarily a movement of small businesses and agriculturalists who have found a niche market in the organics trend. While it challenges the neoconservative status quo to “do better,” it provides ample opportunities for “good” corporations to buy their way into the movement through token environmental initiatives. More importantly, however, the philosophy of this movement is not one that challenges the system that creates most or all of the problems it attempts to address. Like other utopian movements of the past, it suggests that the solution is to set an example for the masses by living one’s own life “more sustainably,” even to the point of isolating oneself from the system to avoid negatively impacting the land.

While Marxists support efforts at personal sustainability and the protection of natural resources and ecosystems, we do not see these efforts as leading to a permanent improvement in society. It is imperitive to keep in mind that millions of working class people in urban areas do not have the luxury of choosing to buy the more expensive “green” product or moving out to the countryside to live off the land. Even if they did, these actions would not put an end to a system which demands ever-increasing exploitation of the land and oppressed human communities in the name of economic growth. That is why we say that the solution must come through organizing the working class and its allies worldwide to come together, at the community, national and international level, and defeat the bloody scourge of capitalism through mass action. Environmental movements that incorporate the power of the working class, such as the recent anti-capitalist globalization protests, point the way forward. While the movement for Sustainability is valuable for some short-term social improvements, only systemic change can lead to permanent protection of the environment.