Slow Down

October 1, 2023
A Japanese author argues that combatting climate change requires an alternative to capitalism. In this English translation of a popular Japanese title, Saito, a professor of philosophy at the University of Tokyo, warns that capitalist strategies for addressing the ever-escalating climate crisis are fundamentally flawed. Whether it's the Paris Agreement, the Green New Deal (which the author calls "Green Keynesianism," or Nobel laureate William Nordhaus' economic models, our approaches to climate change make the dire mistake of prioritizing economic growth over ecological repair. "To determine which direction is right, we must trace the current climate crisis to its root cause," writes Saito. "The root cause is capitalism, and understanding this is key. The enormous increase in carbon dioxide emissions began...with the Industrial Revolution...when capitalism first began to truly operate in the world." The author advocates for "degrowth," the benefits of which were evident during the pandemic: When the global economy slowed down, worldwide ecological indicators improved. To achieve degrowth, Saito argues for a new economic system based on Marx's approach to communism, which avoids authoritarianism while democratizing the means of production. Indeed, the author begins the book with a clear rejection of what he calls "Soviet" communism. In contrast, writes Saito, we must turn to a Marxist model. "We must all manage the earth together," he writes, "as the ultimate commons." While many readers may find the idea of communism off-putting--something the author acknowledges in the book's introduction--his alternative to capitalist consumption is surprisingly practical. Saito's clarity of thought, plethora of evidence, and conversational, gentle, yet urgent tone--even when describing the most alarming aspects of the climate crisis--are sure to win over open-minded readers who understand the dire nature of our global situation and that "green capitalism is a myth." A cogently structured anti-capitalist approach to the climate crisis.

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Starred review from October 16, 2023
Saito (Marx in the Anthropocene), a philosopher at the University of Tokyo, warns in this well-reasoned and eye-opening treatise that capitalism is pushing the planet past its breaking point, and calls for drastic action. In addition to imminent climate change, Saito points to the inequalities that undergird the global economy, detailing how the industrialized Global North (which is also the driver of capitalism and the biggest contributor to carbon emissions) plunders the natural resources and exploits the labor power of the Global South. Saito argues that these extractive systems are intensifying, and that nation-states’ attempts to foster sustainability while maintaining economic growth, including the “Green Keynesian” of plans proposed by social democracies (such as the Green New Deal) and even traditional Marxism (which assumes production is not intrinsically destructive), are insufficient. Drawing on Marx’s later works and unpublished writings, Saito proposes a system of “degrowth communism,” which he describes as “a transition from quantity... to quality.” This degrowth society would be characterized by “an economy focused on local production for local consumption” and decarbonization through shorter working hours, in an echo of the shorter workday called for by the original labor movement at the turn of the 20th century. Saito concludes with a call for local, city-led initiatives (pointing to Barcelona as a model) to do what they can to pull their municipalities back from the emissions-spewing global economy. It’s a provocative and visionary proposal.