On the Historical Position of Ecological Civilization^*

* Originally edited by Lin Hong and revised and by Sally Borthwick in China.

^†

† The work of Zhang Yunfei on Ecology and Marxism spans by now about four decades. This is an attempt to acquaint readers with this important Marxist figure, whose work has been largely overlooked in Anglophone Marxism. What follows below is a substantively revised version of an article published in 2016 in the Chinese periodical Studies on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics. Zhang Yunfei’s intervention exemplifies the level of contestation over the meaning of Ecological Civilisation (and its underlying political platform). It is essentially a position paper that challenges the notion of Ecological Civilisation as articulated by other Marxist scholars in China and as mainly represented in the Anglophone world.—Saed.

ABSTRACT

Ecological civilization is not a new form of civilization that will replace the current industrial civilization, but a basic structure or factor running through all forms of civilization (from hunting and fishing society to agricultural, industrial, and then information civilizations). Information civilization is a new form of civilization following industrial civilization. Only after a new ecological civilization has been achieved will it be possible to sustain an information society.

KEYWORDS:

• social formation
• civilization formation
• civilization structure
• industrial civilization
• information civilization
• ecological civilization

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

* Originally edited by Lin Hong and revised and by Sally Borthwick in China.

† The work of Zhang Yunfei on Ecology and Marxism spans by now about four decades. This is an attempt to acquaint readers with this important Marxist figure, whose work has been largely overlooked in Anglophone Marxism. What follows below is a substantively revised version of an article published in 2016 in the Chinese periodical Studies on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics. Zhang Yunfei’s intervention exemplifies the level of contestation over the meaning of Ecological Civilisation (and its underlying political platform). It is essentially a position paper that challenges the notion of Ecological Civilisation as articulated by other Marxist scholars in China and as mainly represented in the Anglophone world.—Saed.