Ecological Civilization Is a New Path of Civilization Imbued …
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and low-cost labor force while causing pollution at home, only to find ourselves
being accused of commodity dumping.
The United States has the highest per capita energy consumption in the world—
11-ton standard coal per year. Such high energy consumption and high pollution
is neither absorbed internally nor addressed by reforming its political, economic
or cultural system, but is solved through foreign trade—exporting pollution and
importing energy. The per capita energy consumption in China now is 2-ton standard
coal, part of which comes from pollution exported by western developed countries.
If we look at industrialized production in those countries, their GDP is green and
their air is clean, but those are not the result of them making ecological efforts. It is
the result of a superficial, unsustainable governance mode that benefits themselves
at the expense of others.
3. The Five-Sphere Integrated Plan for ecological civilization proposed at
the 18th National Congress of the CPC points out a way of fundamental
governance entrenched in the eastern dialectics of generation and inhibition
China cannot copy the unsustainable western governance mode. The earth’s bearing
capacity does not allow China to repeat that path of external governance. Against
such a background, the 18th National Congress of the CPC proposed the Five-Sphere
Integrated Plan teeming with eastern wisdom that is of great value and significance
for China and the world. Combining the eastern ecological wisdom of following
nature’s course and Marx’s systematic dialectical philosophy, it is an attempt to seek
a new governance mode and a new civilization path—the Chinese approach presented
at the 19th National Congress of the CPC.
The 18th National Congress of the CPC proposed the “Five-Sphere Integrated
Plan” concept of governance that integrates ecological advances with political,
economic, cultural and social development, which is highly consistent with the
ancient Chinese philosophy of the “five elements.” Ancient Chinese believed in the
generation-inhibition relation among all substances on earth, which is fully reflected
in the “five elements” theory involving metal, wood, water, fire and earth. It is based
on this theory that traditional Chinese medicine practitioners have understood the
generation-inhibition relation among heart, liver, spleen, lung and kidney and established the systematic and dialectical TCM treatment system with Chinese characteristics. The ecological strategy of Five-Sphere Integrated Plan proposed at the 18th
National Congress of the CPC doesn’t focus on the environment alone, but takes the
whole society as a connected life system. The politics, economy, culture, society and
ecology in a country are just like the heart, liver, spleen, lung and kidney in a human
body. To address environmental problems, we have to also address other factors that
generate/inhibit the environment. It is true that environmental governance in China
lags seriously behind and it is an arduous task, but China’s efforts to systematically
address the maladies of industrial civilization by creating a new civilization have
brought new hope for the country and the world.
Western developed countries have indeed done a great job in environmental
governance. They have even realized zero emission per capita successively in the
twenty-first century. However, we have to be aware that this doesn’t mean they
581
and low-cost labor force while causing pollution at home, only to find ourselves
being accused of commodity dumping.
The United States has the highest per capita energy consumption in the world—
11-ton standard coal per year. Such high energy consumption and high pollution
is neither absorbed internally nor addressed by reforming its political, economic
or cultural system, but is solved through foreign trade—exporting pollution and
importing energy. The per capita energy consumption in China now is 2-ton standard
coal, part of which comes from pollution exported by western developed countries.
If we look at industrialized production in those countries, their GDP is green and
their air is clean, but those are not the result of them making ecological efforts. It is
the result of a superficial, unsustainable governance mode that benefits themselves
at the expense of others.
3. The Five-Sphere Integrated Plan for ecological civilization proposed at
the 18th National Congress of the CPC points out a way of fundamental
governance entrenched in the eastern dialectics of generation and inhibition
China cannot copy the unsustainable western governance mode. The earth’s bearing
capacity does not allow China to repeat that path of external governance. Against
such a background, the 18th National Congress of the CPC proposed the Five-Sphere
Integrated Plan teeming with eastern wisdom that is of great value and significance
for China and the world. Combining the eastern ecological wisdom of following
nature’s course and Marx’s systematic dialectical philosophy, it is an attempt to seek
a new governance mode and a new civilization path—the Chinese approach presented
at the 19th National Congress of the CPC.
The 18th National Congress of the CPC proposed the “Five-Sphere Integrated
Plan” concept of governance that integrates ecological advances with political,
economic, cultural and social development, which is highly consistent with the
ancient Chinese philosophy of the “five elements.” Ancient Chinese believed in the
generation-inhibition relation among all substances on earth, which is fully reflected
in the “five elements” theory involving metal, wood, water, fire and earth. It is based
on this theory that traditional Chinese medicine practitioners have understood the
generation-inhibition relation among heart, liver, spleen, lung and kidney and established the systematic and dialectical TCM treatment system with Chinese characteristics. The ecological strategy of Five-Sphere Integrated Plan proposed at the 18th
National Congress of the CPC doesn’t focus on the environment alone, but takes the
whole society as a connected life system. The politics, economy, culture, society and
ecology in a country are just like the heart, liver, spleen, lung and kidney in a human
body. To address environmental problems, we have to also address other factors that
generate/inhibit the environment. It is true that environmental governance in China
lags seriously behind and it is an arduous task, but China’s efforts to systematically
address the maladies of industrial civilization by creating a new civilization have
brought new hope for the country and the world.
Western developed countries have indeed done a great job in environmental
governance. They have even realized zero emission per capita successively in the
twenty-first century. However, we have to be aware that this doesn’t mean they