Requirements of a Social Ecology

Abstract

By setting forth some basic analytical criteria, this chapter establishes the ecological usefulness of Marx’s materialist approach to history, capitalism, and communism. The four requirements of a social ecology provide a structure from which some crucial elements of Marx’s approach can be informally introduced as an overview for the subsequent chapters.¹ Chapters 2 through 4 then provide a more formal synopsis of the natural and social features of Marx’s materialism that play key roles in his analysis of capitalism.