In his new self-published e-book, long-time Australian ecoanarchist Ted Trainer argues for a Simpler Way, where people shift from competition to cooperation, individualism to collectivism, and acquisitiveness to gaining life satisfaction from non-material pursuits. Hans A Baer reviews.
Ted Trainer
In arriving at a synthesis between ecosocialism and ecoanarchism, Ted Trainer argues that the kind of socialism he supports avoids domination, hierarchy, authoritarianism, centralisation and top-down power.
Ecosocialists and ecoanarchists share an anti-capitalist stance, both viewing capitalism as the root of numerous social and environmental problems, writes Hans Baer.
It is with respect to means, or transition strategy, that ecosocialism and ecoanarchism differ most, writes Ted Trainer.
Ted Trainer argues that ecoanarchism, not ecosocialism, has the potential to avert catastrophic climate change as the state cannot be relied on as the basic determinant in society.
Ecosocialists and ecoanarchists need to come up with strategies to transcend the problems and avert catastrophic anthropogenic climate change, argues Hans Baer.
In his influential 1985 book Abandon Affluence, radical Australian sociologist Ted Trainer made the argument that the capitalist economies of the rich world, and the wasteful consumer culture they spawned, were unsustainable and the ecological limits of capitalist growth were fast approaching.