Global Transformation of China’s Ecological Civilization …
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and scale, and natural environment should basically remain stable. In the 1960s,
resource depletion and environmental pollution called widespread attention to the
limits of industrialization and economic growth. In view of this, American economist
Kenneth Boulding proposed the “Spaceship Economy”; Donella Meadows and others
promoted a zero-growth economy in The Limits to Growth; Herman Edward Daly,
an American ecological economist, argued in favor of a “steady state economy” that
entails stabilized population as well as energy and material consumption with limited
fluctuations. That being said, these theories were either too biased or divorced from
reality, or involve methodological dilemmas, which is why they couldn’t be realized.
And it’s more difficult to use them to guide practice. The fundamental contradictions and problems of western industrial civilization are yet to be resolved, with its
theories, methods and practices still causing puzzles and confronting difficulties.
Ecological civilization pursues ecologically neutral economic development,
emphasizing the overall growth of labor value and natural value, so that natural assets
can keep increasing, with less loss, coupled with repair and expansion. The conversion
of natural assets, per capita material consumption, stock of fixed assets, and technical
efficiency have become potential growth factors—among which technical efficiency
offers the most important growth momentum in an ecologically neutral environment. For a long time, we have simply equated (economic) development with GDP
growth, focusing on the production of labor products without realizing that ecological products are also one of the necessities for human survival and advancement.
We also haven’t formed the concept of nature’s value and capital in the ecological
environment. As such, while utilizing the natural environment and resources, we’ve
failed to properly handle the relationship between man and nature as well as restrain
our destructive behavior. Comrade Xi Jinping pointed out, “Throughout the world
history, to protect the environment is to protect productivity, and to improve the environment is to boost productivity.”—a stance that, to a large extent, gives a brand new
dimension to “productivity,” or to be more specific, modern green productivity, that
ecological civilization will reply on for achieving growth. Besides understanding,
changing and utilizing nature, this green productivity must gradually create within
itself capabilities of preserving nature, including ecological balance and restoration,
protection of the original habitats, environmental monitoring, and pollution prevention and control, in order to have “green waters and green mountains surround gold
mountains and silver mountains.” Currently, technologies and intellectual resources
characterized by ecological technology, loop utilization technology, system management science and complex systems engineering, clean energy and environmental
protection industry technology are becoming the internal driving factors of productivity enhancement and economic growth, thus resulting in the rise of ecological
production methods. Moreover, the modern green shift in the industrial structure
has greatly demonstrated, from a practical viewpoint, that Comrade Xi Jinping’s
ecological productivity theory is scientific, accurate and forward-looking.
691
and scale, and natural environment should basically remain stable. In the 1960s,
resource depletion and environmental pollution called widespread attention to the
limits of industrialization and economic growth. In view of this, American economist
Kenneth Boulding proposed the “Spaceship Economy”; Donella Meadows and others
promoted a zero-growth economy in The Limits to Growth; Herman Edward Daly,
an American ecological economist, argued in favor of a “steady state economy” that
entails stabilized population as well as energy and material consumption with limited
fluctuations. That being said, these theories were either too biased or divorced from
reality, or involve methodological dilemmas, which is why they couldn’t be realized.
And it’s more difficult to use them to guide practice. The fundamental contradictions and problems of western industrial civilization are yet to be resolved, with its
theories, methods and practices still causing puzzles and confronting difficulties.
Ecological civilization pursues ecologically neutral economic development,
emphasizing the overall growth of labor value and natural value, so that natural assets
can keep increasing, with less loss, coupled with repair and expansion. The conversion
of natural assets, per capita material consumption, stock of fixed assets, and technical
efficiency have become potential growth factors—among which technical efficiency
offers the most important growth momentum in an ecologically neutral environment. For a long time, we have simply equated (economic) development with GDP
growth, focusing on the production of labor products without realizing that ecological products are also one of the necessities for human survival and advancement.
We also haven’t formed the concept of nature’s value and capital in the ecological
environment. As such, while utilizing the natural environment and resources, we’ve
failed to properly handle the relationship between man and nature as well as restrain
our destructive behavior. Comrade Xi Jinping pointed out, “Throughout the world
history, to protect the environment is to protect productivity, and to improve the environment is to boost productivity.”—a stance that, to a large extent, gives a brand new
dimension to “productivity,” or to be more specific, modern green productivity, that
ecological civilization will reply on for achieving growth. Besides understanding,
changing and utilizing nature, this green productivity must gradually create within
itself capabilities of preserving nature, including ecological balance and restoration,
protection of the original habitats, environmental monitoring, and pollution prevention and control, in order to have “green waters and green mountains surround gold
mountains and silver mountains.” Currently, technologies and intellectual resources
characterized by ecological technology, loop utilization technology, system management science and complex systems engineering, clean energy and environmental
protection industry technology are becoming the internal driving factors of productivity enhancement and economic growth, thus resulting in the rise of ecological
production methods. Moreover, the modern green shift in the industrial structure
has greatly demonstrated, from a practical viewpoint, that Comrade Xi Jinping’s
ecological productivity theory is scientific, accurate and forward-looking.