Putting Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization …
179
well-being is improved and public welfare is enhanced. In the dialectical relationship
between the duality of labor and the duality of goods in a market economy, lucid
waters and lush mountains stand out with their social value of being the fairest public
good. The dissimilated nature as a result of industrial civilization can be reshaped
to the most valuable social wealth through green development. Xi’s idea affects our
view on the value of natural resources and the environment, and also affects our
understanding and measurement of national wealth.
To better understand the value of a sound environment and find a way to sustainable development, international organizations and academics have been looking for
effective methods to measure the value of natural resources and the environment. The
World Bank and some academics have put forth many such methods. The carrying
capacity of the ecosystem does not remain unchanged. It relies on technological
advancement, people’s preferences, production structure, and consumption pattern.
It is also affected by human factors and ecological interactions. The carrying capacity
of the ecosystem, or ecosystem resilience, of a certain area can be improved by
increasing energy efficiency, fostering a habit of energy conservation, controlling
pollutant discharges, promoting recycling, and restoring the ecological environment.
Human development involves a process of managing and improving the wealth portfolio. Sustainable development means that the per capital comprehensive wealth can
sustain as the population grows and technology advances. According to the calculation of Kenneth Joseph Arrow, a winner of Nobel Prize in Economics, as China
invested constantly in human capital and alternative physical capital, and controlled
environmental damage to a certain degree (development within the carrying capacity
of the environment), the country is absolutely capable of realizing sustainable development, or maintaining a constant increase of per capita comprehensive wealth within
the carrying capacity of the environment. Measuring the value of the ecology is
conducive to judging whether an economy could sustain. At the micro level, calculating the value of natural resources and the environment, or the stock and changes
of ecological assets will help determine the value and price of ecological services
and products. In turn, ecological products or services can be compensated through
direct trading or other indirect ways. The ecosystem has its values. Preserving nature
is increasing the ecological value and assets. It is protecting and developing the
productive forces and deserves to be compensated financially.
“The people’s wish for a happy life is our goal.” Xi said, “To do this, we should
first of all improve the evaluation norms for economic and social development to
include resource consumption, environmental damage, ecological benefits and other
indicators that can be used to assess ecological improvement, and use them to direct
and shape our ecological work.” The new principles regarding natural resources
and wealth developed by Xi as he criticizes the practice of using GDP as the only
indicator to evaluate government performance will lead China to a socialist ecological
civilization via a path that is different from that taken by Western countries towards
industrialization.
Xi pays special attention to institutional building in pursuing green development
and ecological progress. He stressed that institutional building should be the focus
179
well-being is improved and public welfare is enhanced. In the dialectical relationship
between the duality of labor and the duality of goods in a market economy, lucid
waters and lush mountains stand out with their social value of being the fairest public
good. The dissimilated nature as a result of industrial civilization can be reshaped
to the most valuable social wealth through green development. Xi’s idea affects our
view on the value of natural resources and the environment, and also affects our
understanding and measurement of national wealth.
To better understand the value of a sound environment and find a way to sustainable development, international organizations and academics have been looking for
effective methods to measure the value of natural resources and the environment. The
World Bank and some academics have put forth many such methods. The carrying
capacity of the ecosystem does not remain unchanged. It relies on technological
advancement, people’s preferences, production structure, and consumption pattern.
It is also affected by human factors and ecological interactions. The carrying capacity
of the ecosystem, or ecosystem resilience, of a certain area can be improved by
increasing energy efficiency, fostering a habit of energy conservation, controlling
pollutant discharges, promoting recycling, and restoring the ecological environment.
Human development involves a process of managing and improving the wealth portfolio. Sustainable development means that the per capital comprehensive wealth can
sustain as the population grows and technology advances. According to the calculation of Kenneth Joseph Arrow, a winner of Nobel Prize in Economics, as China
invested constantly in human capital and alternative physical capital, and controlled
environmental damage to a certain degree (development within the carrying capacity
of the environment), the country is absolutely capable of realizing sustainable development, or maintaining a constant increase of per capita comprehensive wealth within
the carrying capacity of the environment. Measuring the value of the ecology is
conducive to judging whether an economy could sustain. At the micro level, calculating the value of natural resources and the environment, or the stock and changes
of ecological assets will help determine the value and price of ecological services
and products. In turn, ecological products or services can be compensated through
direct trading or other indirect ways. The ecosystem has its values. Preserving nature
is increasing the ecological value and assets. It is protecting and developing the
productive forces and deserves to be compensated financially.
“The people’s wish for a happy life is our goal.” Xi said, “To do this, we should
first of all improve the evaluation norms for economic and social development to
include resource consumption, environmental damage, ecological benefits and other
indicators that can be used to assess ecological improvement, and use them to direct
and shape our ecological work.” The new principles regarding natural resources
and wealth developed by Xi as he criticizes the practice of using GDP as the only
indicator to evaluate government performance will lead China to a socialist ecological
civilization via a path that is different from that taken by Western countries towards
industrialization.
Xi pays special attention to institutional building in pursuing green development
and ecological progress. He stressed that institutional building should be the focus