Marx in the Anthropocene: Towards the Idea of Degrowth Communism

Abstract

In this his latest tour de force, Kohei Saito offers a twin invitation: to Marxists to re-think Marx as a “degrowth communist,” and to liberal degrowthers to understand that their antagonist is not growth but capitalism. Much of his case for degrowth is familiar, but Saito’s differs from the usual degrowth accounts in a key respect. For him, the systemic goal of capitalism is not growth but accumulation. The inexorable increase in global energy and resource throughout and environmental despoliation is not the result of states aspiring to higher GDP, but of businesses driven to expand turnover, develop new products, and increase profits. [...]