TED BENTON: Is capitalism sustainable?

Seminar review by Warren Pearce, School of Sociology & Social Policy,

University of Nottingham.

Professor Ted Benton gave a well attended seminar for the University of
Nottingham’s Centre for the Study of Social and Global Justice this week,
around 50 students crowding into a room in the Hallward Library. Prof. Benton
has a rich academic history, but is perhaps best known for his contributions to
the ecological reworking of Marxism and the outstanding textbook “Philosophy
of Social Science” (co-written with the late Ian Craib). While my current
research doesn’t share his ‘red-green’ approach, I went along to hear his take
on the links between capitalism and the environment.

Prof. Benton presented an argument that while climate change is highly

publicised, it is just one aspect of a broader and more threatening crisis in the
relationship between human society and its natural conditions of existence.
Dwindling water supplies, shrinking biodiversity and food shortages are
amongst the other manifestations of the crisis which, while relatively
unpublicised in the UK, form the new realities in many developing countries.

Globalised capital accumulation under neo-liberal ideology and institutions is

the main driver for this crisis. These circumstances produce a regulatory
framework which promotes socio-economic degradation while obstructing the
formation and implementation of policies designed to ameliorate it. For
example, the policy of promoting first-generation biofuels has been found to
exacerbate the environmental problems, increasing greenhouse gas emissions
and increasing pressure on water supplies. Emphasis on quantitative
measurement is another of capitalism's facets entrenching the crisis; patterns
of investment are driven by cost-benefit analyses which are insensitive to
qualitative measurements of social need and environmental impact.

James O'Connor develops Marxist theory to frame these problems as symptoms

of a second contradiction of capitalism. As well as the conflict between capital
and labour there is a contradiction between the relations and conditions of
production; nature, infrastructure and labour power are all treated as
commodities by capitalism but cannot reproduced as commodities. This drives
civil society to apply pressure for policies ameliorating these problems. At
national level these can be effective, but as globalisation and de-regulation
escalates, the state's legitimacy in tackling the problems is eroded. Ecological
issues, which do not respect national boundaries, become increasingly difficult
to legislate on, particularly when trying to gain international agreement
through organisations such as the United Nations.

As the cause of the crisis hinders possible solutions, prospects for society
within the current structural constraints are bleak. Following from this, three
broad categories of 'possible futures' can be identified. Firstly, there may be a
trend towards increased militarisation, conflict and authoritanianism as natural
resources become scarcer and environmental impacts become more serious.
Secondly, there could be a course of ecological modernisation with civil society
exerting pressure for policies designed to reduce capitalism's environmental
impact. While this may be the most politically acceptable course in the short
term, it is likely to prove unsustainable in the longer term due to the structural
constraints of neo-liberalism. The third option represents the most acceptable
response to the crisis, a turn towards a society similar to that invoked by Kate
Soper's concept of 'alternative hedonism', where humans become aware of the
futility of trying to become happier through ever-increasing consumption and
instead finding contentment through working and consuming less.

Questions in the discussion session focused on these possible futures. Benton

was unwilling to make many predictions about how a transition to the
'convivial' future outlined by Soper might take place, agreeing with some
questioners that both the catalyst for change and the characteristics of a non-
capitalist society remain highly uncertain. What is expected is that the
transition will take place at some point, whether through a 'managed retreat' or
through a more sudden shock to the capitalist and/or natural systems. Prof.
Benton also revealed that he is currently working on a book chapter which will
discuss how this society might look, and gave a nod to the Transition Town
movement as an example of how things may change from the bottom up. My
own argument would be that the eco-Marxist analysis focuses too much on
structural forces to discover how the practices of individuals could change in
response to the environmental crisis.

The seminar provided a useful snapshot of what can broadly be described as

the 'eco-Marxist' position, linking the structural forces which maintain
capitalism to a relentless squeezing of the environmental systems on which we
ultimately rely for life. Benton was an engaging, friendly speaker who, in semi-
retirement, is still driven by his academic and personal interests to think deeply
about the changes humans need to make to avert environmental collapse.

Further reading:
Barry, J. (1999). Marxism and ecology. In A. Gamble, D. Marsh & T. Tant (eds.),
Marxism and Social Science (pp.259-279). Basingstoke: Macmillan.

Benton, T. (1996). Introduction. In T. Benton (ed.), The Greening of Marxism,

(pp.1-3). New York: Guildford.