Grünen Kapitalismus - Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung

private to the public sphere, where it can be held more directly accountable.
The great opportunity – and political challenge – for the Left is suggested
by the observation that underlies all such possible steps: the ecological
dimension of any human activity ultimately coincides with the
social or collective dimension, in that the ecosphere is what sustains all
life and in that, by virtue of this fact, it does not recognize proprietary or
political boundaries. Thus, while the environmental concern is so universal
that all sectors claim to embrace it, it by the same token reflects
an objective configuration – the oneness/interconnectedness of the natural
world – which overrides all divisions arising from processes of domination
and conquest. It therefore implicitly resists any institution that
participates (via proprietary claims, particularistic demands, etc.) in those
processes.
It has long been a central assertion of the Left – going back to Marx –
that the working class, in fighting for its own interests, is advancing the
cause of humanity as a whole. The ecological crisis reinforces and amplifies
this convergence. What was already a struggle – against the capitalist
class – for universal dignity is now also a struggle for universal survival.
And the same dominant sectors that resisted the former are still
resisting the latter, deploying for this purpose a vast arsenal of distractions
and repression.
Repression has not been our focus here; it will become more prominent
as the insufficiency of the green capitalist approach becomes more evident.
It is already clear that ecological transition is not progressing at a
pace that comes close to matching that of the ongoing destruction. It is
moreover unlikely that the measures planned by the Obama administration
will significantly alter this picture. To accelerate the remedial process
– and the requisite public awareness – mass action, including action
that directly defies current environmentally harmful practices, is becoming
increasingly necessary. A powerful example is the periodic organized
takeover of city streets by cyclists – the movement known in the
US as Critical Mass. This puts official claims of green commitment to a
true test. One can only wonder what is portended by the July 2008 attack
on a Critical Mass cyclist by a New York City police officer. 209 Other in-
209 For report and video of this incident, see www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/28/critical-mass-bicyclist-a_n_115390.html
On the other hand, recently announced plans to
turn the city’s entertainment district into a pedestrian area inject a note of hope into
the panorama.
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