[WSMDiscuss] New article on REDWeb: Marx and Political Ecology

Ashish Kothari chikikothari at gmail.com
Sat Dec 29 15:44:22 CET 2018


Since Omar's response to Dunu (and perhaps Dunu's comment also?) on his 
article on Marx and Political Ecology may not have reached all the 
lists, I am forwarding it here.
ashish

On 29/12/18 7:56 PM, Omar h Dahbour wrote:
> Dear Ashish and others,
>
> Well, I would make 2 quick points about the comment on my piece. 
> Overall, it is not a question, I think, of whether Marx predicted this 
> or that which didn't come to pass. It is more a question of his 
> underlying philosophical commitments (both about methods, & about 
> goals), & whether they are ones which, over a century later, we should 
> still endorse.
>
> So, first, I am all for "dialectical analysis," but this did not start 
> w/Marx, nor did it end w/him. The history of critical theory in the 
> 20th century resulted in some crucial developments that cannot be 
> ignored (I would cite, above all, the contributions of Lukacs, & esp, 
> in an environmental context, Adorno), & that take dialectics far 
> beyond Marx's contributions. For instance, the importance of 
> consciousness, or the ways in which negation works, are matters that 
> Max barely touched on, & that receive central attention by the figures 
> just mentioned (& others) after him. This is esp important once we 
> turn to the human-nature relation, & how to understand that 
> dialectically--something that Marx thought was more or less subsumed 
> w/in an account of labor (see ch 7 of Capital). But this is only a 
> piece of the puzzle....
>
> Second, in terms of goals, it is important to remember that Marx saw 
> industrial society, not as a problem, but as a solution to problems 
> (of meeting human needs, which were infinitely expandable, on his 
> view). How could that possibly be the case for us today? In my view, 
> our most important task is to de-industrialize, whatever system of 
> ownership we have (which, of course, is not unconnected, though it is 
> still a somewhat separate matter). The point about the USSR is that it 
> is entirely possible to dispossess private capital of its holdings 
> w/out de-industrializing. In fact, the Bolsheviks argued the opposite 
> (w/some support from Marx): private ownership was a barrier to more 
> completely industrializing society (ie through "development").
>
> I hope this clarifies my views a bit. I welcome further responses.
>
> best,
>
> Omar
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *From:* Ashish Kothari [chikikothari at gmail.com]
> *Sent:* Saturday, December 29, 2018 4:14 AM
> *To:* Dunu Roy
> *Cc:* WSM; ACKNOWL-EJ list; Beyond Development (global); KV Full; 
> Coalition for EJ in India; Pallav Das; Omar h Dahbour
> *Subject:* Re: New article on REDWeb: Marx and Political Ecology
>
> Precisely why instead of a simple cryptic one-liner, Dunu, your 
> original mail itself could have elaborated the point you're making. 
> that way not only the author but others too know or can understand 
> what you're talking about. I for one had no idea what you were 
> implying in that one line, and admittedly I'm rather ignorant about 
> these things, but there may be a few others, so it would be nice if 
> you humour us by sending more explanatory comments.
>
> Omar, pl. see if you'd like to respond to Dunu's point?
>
> thanks,
>
> ashish
>
>
> NEW!’Alternative Futures: India Unshackled’,https://www.amazon.in/dp/B077S479W4
> and
> www.radicalecologicaldemocracy.org  
>
> Ashish Kothari
> Kalpavriksh
> Apt 5 Shree Datta Krupa
> 908 Deccan Gymkhana
> Pune 411004, India
> Tel: 91-20-25654239; 91-20-25675450
> http://kalpavriksh.org
> www.vikalpsangam.org  
> www.iccaconsortium.org
> www.acknowlej.org
> http://ashishkothari51.blogspot.in/  
> Twitter: @chikikothari
>
> On 28/12/18 11:23 AM, Dunu Roy wrote:
>> It's not so much about a response article as it is about a reader's 
>> perception about whether one should keep treating Marx as a prophet 
>> (which he arguably never was, despite his overwhelming beard and 
>> language) who has been (or has to be) proved 'wrong' as history 
>> unfolds, or analyse whether the method of dialectical analysis he put 
>> forward (as a social scientist) has merit even under changed 
>> circumstances. This is something which other readers can also think 
>> about and  comment on rather than remain silent and let things pass. 
>> That is, if you want your site to be one of debate and discussion 
>> rather than mere discourse!
>>
>> On Thu, Dec 27, 2018 at 11:33 PM Ashish Kothari 
>> <chikikothari at gmail.com <mailto:chikikothari at gmail.com>> wrote:
>>
>>     That's hit and run, Dunu. Do a response article, we'll publish it!
>>
>>     ashish
>>
>>     NEW!’Alternative Futures: India Unshackled’,https://www.amazon.in/dp/B077S479W4
>>     and
>>     www.radicalecologicaldemocracy.org
>>     <http://www.radicalecologicaldemocracy.org>  
>>
>>     Ashish Kothari
>>     Kalpavriksh
>>     Apt 5 Shree Datta Krupa
>>     908 Deccan Gymkhana
>>     Pune 411004, India
>>     Tel: 91-20-25654239; 91-20-25675450
>>     http://kalpavriksh.org
>>     www.vikalpsangam.org <http://www.vikalpsangam.org>  
>>     www.iccaconsortium.org <http://www.iccaconsortium.org>
>>     www.acknowlej.org <http://www.acknowlej.org>
>>     http://ashishkothari51.blogspot.in/  
>>     Twitter: @chikikothari
>>
>>     On 27/12/18 10:53 PM, Dunu Roy wrote:
>>>     Isn't Prof. Dahbour missing the forest on fire for the trees ?
>>>
>>>     On Sat, Dec 22, 2018 at 5:13 PM Ashish Kothari
>>>     <chikikothari at gmail.com <mailto:chikikothari at gmail.com>> wrote:
>>>
>>>         This article on Marx and Political Ecology may be of
>>>         interest. The author Omar Dabour is copied here in case
>>>         anyone wants to contact him
>>>
>>>         ashish
>>>
>>>         NEW!’Alternative Futures: India Unshackled’,https://www.amazon.in/dp/B077S479W4
>>>         and
>>>         www.radicalecologicaldemocracy.org
>>>         <http://www.radicalecologicaldemocracy.org>  
>>>
>>>         Ashish Kothari
>>>         Kalpavriksh
>>>         Apt 5 Shree Datta Krupa
>>>         908 Deccan Gymkhana
>>>         Pune 411004, India
>>>         Tel: 91-20-25654239; 91-20-25675450
>>>         http://kalpavriksh.org
>>>         www.vikalpsangam.org <http://www.vikalpsangam.org>  
>>>         www.iccaconsortium.org <http://www.iccaconsortium.org>
>>>         www.acknowlej.org <http://www.acknowlej.org>
>>>         http://ashishkothari51.blogspot.in/  
>>>         Twitter: @chikikothari
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>         -------- Forwarded Message --------
>>>         Subject: 	[REDlistserve] New article on REDWeb
>>>         Date: 	Fri, 21 Dec 2018 12:19:31 -0500
>>>         From: 	Pallav Das <dpallav at gmail.com>
>>>         <mailto:dpallav at gmail.com>
>>>         To: 	RED listserve
>>>         <radical_ecological_democracy at googlegroups.com>
>>>         <mailto:radical_ecological_democracy at googlegroups.com>,
>>>         vikalp-sangam-list at googlegroups.com
>>>         <mailto:vikalp-sangam-list at googlegroups.com>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>         Dear friends,
>>>
>>>         A new article has been uploaded on the RED website. Omar
>>>         Dahbour explains how Marxian theory could influence the
>>>         evolving field of Political Ecology and help us craft
>>>         alternative thinking and practice on addressing current
>>>         environmental challenges. Please take a look and join the
>>>         discussion on the issues raised in this article on the RED
>>>         Discussion forum.
>>>
>>>         https://www.radicalecologicaldemocracy.org/redweb-anniversary-series-marx-and-political-ecology/
>>>
>>>         Best,
>>>
>>>         Pallav
>>>         -- 
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>>
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