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C. Huang
social inequality and that the solution to environmental problems lies in getting rid
of the capitalist system. Eco-socialism argues that only socialism can truly solve the
problem of social inequality and thereby eradicating environmental inequality.
Eco-socialism regards socialism as the fundamental solution to environmental
problems because it believes that the essence of socialism is fairness. However, in
reality, China, deeply influenced by capitalist countries, bases its economy largely
on the traditional industrial civilization model, in which humans exploit the natural
world without a limit, and it is difficult to balance between human and nature and
solve problems such as resource shortage, ecological degradation, and environmental
pollution. As Chinese Xi Jinping said, “now the total population of developed countries is less than 1.3 billion. When the modernization of China add 1.3 billion people
to that, the figure will be more than doubled. Using natural resources and exploiting
the natural world in the old way is definitely unsustainable!”
Based on the judgment that threats to the security of human civilization in the
future are likely to come from environmental disasters and energy wars caused within
the industrial civilization that has lasted more than 200 years and given that China’s
industrialization occurred after the industrialization of Western developed countries
had already brought about global energy and environmental crises, if socialist China
wants to resolve the conflicts between man and nature, it must work out a new civilization model that maximizes energy efficiency and is worthy of emulation to avoid
further disasters for human civilization. For now, as China’s economic and social
development enters the new normal, China needs to adopt production, growth and
development models that are fundamentally different from the traditional extensive
industrialization model. As President Xi Jinping pointed out, “if we still adopt the
extensive growth model, even if the goal of doubling GDP is achieved, what kind of
pollution disasters will we face? The environment may not be able to handle them at
all.” As for cultural development in the new normal, China needs to reflect on and
adjust its ethics, moral principles, and behavior in the ecological sphere, and promote
sustainable, healthy, and green consumption patterns and lifestyles. The civilization
thus formed is an ecological civilization, which was mentioned in the report to the
national congress of the Communist Party of China, the largest political party in the
world.
In October 2007, the term “ecological civilization” was mentioned in the report to
the 17th National Congress of the CPC, which was a first, making historical contribution to the advancement of human civilization. Following the emphasis on “material
civilization” and “spiritual civilization” from the 12th to the 15th National Congress
of the CPC, and the “political civilization” added at the 16th National Congress of
the CPC, “ecological civilization” now joined the cohort. The significance of the
ecological civilization theory lies in the fact that the it summarizes and unifies the
dialectical relationship between man and nature. As Karl Marx once wrote, “we
know only a single science, the science of history. One can look at history from two
sides and divide it into the history of nature and the history of men. The two sides
are, however, inseparable; the history of nature and the history of men are dependent on each other so long as men exist.” If history belongs to the past according to
traditional thinking, the ecological civilization reflects the current state of China and
C. Huang
social inequality and that the solution to environmental problems lies in getting rid
of the capitalist system. Eco-socialism argues that only socialism can truly solve the
problem of social inequality and thereby eradicating environmental inequality.
Eco-socialism regards socialism as the fundamental solution to environmental
problems because it believes that the essence of socialism is fairness. However, in
reality, China, deeply influenced by capitalist countries, bases its economy largely
on the traditional industrial civilization model, in which humans exploit the natural
world without a limit, and it is difficult to balance between human and nature and
solve problems such as resource shortage, ecological degradation, and environmental
pollution. As Chinese Xi Jinping said, “now the total population of developed countries is less than 1.3 billion. When the modernization of China add 1.3 billion people
to that, the figure will be more than doubled. Using natural resources and exploiting
the natural world in the old way is definitely unsustainable!”
Based on the judgment that threats to the security of human civilization in the
future are likely to come from environmental disasters and energy wars caused within
the industrial civilization that has lasted more than 200 years and given that China’s
industrialization occurred after the industrialization of Western developed countries
had already brought about global energy and environmental crises, if socialist China
wants to resolve the conflicts between man and nature, it must work out a new civilization model that maximizes energy efficiency and is worthy of emulation to avoid
further disasters for human civilization. For now, as China’s economic and social
development enters the new normal, China needs to adopt production, growth and
development models that are fundamentally different from the traditional extensive
industrialization model. As President Xi Jinping pointed out, “if we still adopt the
extensive growth model, even if the goal of doubling GDP is achieved, what kind of
pollution disasters will we face? The environment may not be able to handle them at
all.” As for cultural development in the new normal, China needs to reflect on and
adjust its ethics, moral principles, and behavior in the ecological sphere, and promote
sustainable, healthy, and green consumption patterns and lifestyles. The civilization
thus formed is an ecological civilization, which was mentioned in the report to the
national congress of the Communist Party of China, the largest political party in the
world.
In October 2007, the term “ecological civilization” was mentioned in the report to
the 17th National Congress of the CPC, which was a first, making historical contribution to the advancement of human civilization. Following the emphasis on “material
civilization” and “spiritual civilization” from the 12th to the 15th National Congress
of the CPC, and the “political civilization” added at the 16th National Congress of
the CPC, “ecological civilization” now joined the cohort. The significance of the
ecological civilization theory lies in the fact that the it summarizes and unifies the
dialectical relationship between man and nature. As Karl Marx once wrote, “we
know only a single science, the science of history. One can look at history from two
sides and divide it into the history of nature and the history of men. The two sides
are, however, inseparable; the history of nature and the history of men are dependent on each other so long as men exist.” If history belongs to the past according to
traditional thinking, the ecological civilization reflects the current state of China and