History can be viewed from two sides: it can be divided into the history of nature and that of humanity. The two sides, however, are not to be seen as independent entities. As long as humanity has existed, nature and humanity have affected each other. - Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, "The German Ideology."
Karl Marx and Frederick Engels point out the contradictions of capitalism in "The Communist Manifesto," a classic left book where much of the core of Marxist ideology is found. Some demands today for the environment can be very easily justified through that book. He demands the abolition of private property in the book, noting that private property is the root of evil in capitalism. In capitalism, some people own more capital and exploitative power, while most have the inability to complete their basic necessities freely due to their economic position. In the natural world today, as capitalism spreads, it is clear that there is also a spread of private property, private property includes big oil and gas, transportation, mining, and everything harmful done to the earth on a massive scale, as it is capitalists who have built this massive scale for the continuation of profit-making. Workers must work with harmful companies, suffer, and consume products bad for the earth at the whim of capitalists.
It is these workers however, who are suffering the most, and that is not just. How? It is working people, people who live day-to-day, and people rely on their jobs to survive, many working at a wage, who cannot afford to change their lives and help themselves when the environment harms them. For example, the people living in many island nations today are poor, previously imperialized by global powers, and alarmingly helpless in times of need. When a hurricane strikes, they must rely on help to leave the island. They must find somewhere else to live. These are climate refugees. We have not heard that much about this issue in the news, but I suspect that it will become a growing issue in the next decade. There are already climate refugees within nations, even the US. Hurricane Katrina brought widespread devastation. However, there were many who could afford to leave. They could afford thus to live. There were also many who could not afford to leave, and who were actually blocked from leaving! Indeed, the state promotes this social rule of the private property dictatorship to no end. Those who need to feed themselves in times of need cannot!
Climate change must be solved at the root of the issue, which is capitalist relations. We are fortunate to live in a world today with enough resources to keep everyone alive, and to quickly solve climate issues. Whole green economies have already been blueprinted, waiting to be implemented. If workers could democratically control the production of products, if there was a system of democracy for people, for the environment, the climate issues we face today could be improved, and millions of lives, actually billions, would be saved. This is why we need to fight against capitalism! Join the socialists, fighting for a better world, for a world on its own! Visit Socialist Alternative in the US, the Socialist Party in britain, or the numerous other sections of the Committee for Workers International around the world. Join us and commit yourself to saving the planet from capitalist destruction!
