Socialist States and the Environment: Lessons for Eco-Socialist Futures

The critique of state socialism is still used to deny alternatives to capitalism, but Engel-Di Mauro argues that we need to re-evaluate state socialism's environmental practices and policies, as they had more environmentally beneficial than destructive effects. He suggests that we should reclaim state socialism's heritage for contemporary eco-socialist ends.

\n Format: Paperback / softback
\n Length: 288 pages
\n Publication date: 20 July 2021
\n Publisher: Pluto Press
\n

More than three decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the critique of state socialism is still employed to dismiss alternatives to capitalism, regardless of the devastating ecological and social consequences of global capitalism. It appears that there is nothing valuable to be salvaged from the decades of state socialist experiences.

However, as the climate crisis intensifies, Engel-Di Mauro argues that we must reassess the environmental practices and policies of state socialism, particularly as they had more environmentally beneficial than destructive effects. Instead of outright dismissing state socialism's heritage, we should reclaim it for contemporary eco-socialist purposes.

Through a comparative and multi-scaled approach, Engel-Di Mauro highlights diverse and environmentally constructive state socialist experiences. The book takes the reader from the USSR to China and Cuba, providing a fiery and contentious examination of what worked, what didn't, and how we can move towards an eco-socialist future.

This book is a valuable contribution to the ongoing debate about alternative economic and political systems, and it offers a fresh perspective on the potential for state socialism to contribute to a more sustainable and equitable world.

\n Weight: 308g\n
Dimension: 136 x 214 x 26 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9780745340418\n \n