The Limits to Growth: Ecosocialism

or Barbarism

Alberto Garzón Espinosa

This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of The Limits to Growth. This report warned of the serious ecological consequences for industrial society of maintaining the trajectory of global economic activity. Half a century later, however, the situation has only worsened in terms of environmental pressure and impact, while ideologies and practices built around the fetish of economic growth have continued to expand. The scientific community warns that time is running outand that the only way to avoid an environmental collapse with catastrophic consequences, especially for the most vulnerable social sectors, is to rescale economic activity to a level compatible with the planet's limits. Some international institutions and various national governments are approving programmes and policies to achieve these objectives, with meagre results. The alarm is growing at the possibility of a reactionary and eco-fascist solution to the eco-social crisis. In this article, we assess the state of the question and review how the model of production and consumption is behind the ecological disorders and why the only democratic political solution to the ecosocial crisis is the ecosocialist project.

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