MARCHING FOR LIFE

Extinction Rebellion's protests continue and so do the arrest of the protesters. In London demonstrators targeted Billingsgate fish market and Shell's HQ. Extinction Rebellion supporters marched in what they described as a "funeral procession" on Oxford Street. The demonstration along the major shopping street aimed to highlight the impact of climate change on wildlife and saw some supporters carry coffins and models of skeletons of extinct or threatened animals. A separate demonstration to highlight air pollution involved doctors, nurses and medical students and was described as a "health march for the planet". Dutch police arrested 130 activists in Amsterdam after they blocked a bridge in the centre of the city. In Paris, hundreds of activists blocked a route to the national assembly for several hours. In Brussels, demonstrators occupied the gardens of the royal palace. In Melbourne protesters said they intend to hold a “spring rebellion” of civil disobedience this week including blocking traffic.

A petition calling for non-violent protest to be maintained to ensure action is taken to tackle climate change has been signed by more than 300 scientists and environmentalists. “We have an obligation that extends beyond merely describing and understanding the natural world to taking an active part in helping to protect it,” the petition states. “The scientific community has already tried all conventional methods to draw attention to the crisis. We believe continued governmental inaction over the climate and ecological crisis now justifies peaceful and non-violent protest and direct action, even if this goes beyond the bounds of the current law. We believe it is our moral duty to act now, and we urge other scientists to join us in helping to protect humanity’s only home.”

The climate crisis presents a crossroads for all humanity and also presents an enormous opportunity for profound change. Global warming has become an issue of mass protest and has become one of the top priorities. Despite being ignored or attacked, environmentalism continues to emerge as a major concern in recent years and as an increasingly organised movement. The inability of capitalism to manage the economy sustainably or in the general interest has never been clearer, nor has the relevance and necessity of socialism. 

The Socialist Party is committed to its vision of freedom, a green world and a democratic socialist society. Environmentalist campaigners needs to recognise that capitalism's inherent tendency to turn nature into a source of private profit which places it in a irreconcilable relationship with nature. Eco-activists fail to fully appreciate this logical anti-capitalist conclusion. They fail to challenge the regime of capital — based as it is on the cheapest and fastest exploitation of labour and nature and the endless expansion of exchange value. Tackling global warming is well beyond the scope of one country. Only world socialism can overturn the capitalist mode of production. The climate crisis one of capitalist production. 

The Socialist Party must engage with the climate movement or risk becoming irrelevant. Socialists can contribute to the movement’s development by articulating a coherent counter-arguments to capitalist climate policy and proposing a vision for a large-scale, worldwide transition to solar and wind power and a major reduction in overall energy consumption, managed democratically and in the public interest. Only in a socialist society can the ecological problems capitalism creates be solved.

 Socialists must also continually emphasise the necessity of transcending capitalism and creating a new society based on the common ownership and democratic control of resources and production. The features of capitalism to constantly expand its markets, production for profit rather than social good, the inability to plan, and, ultimately, alienation of humanity from nature make it inherently ecologically destructive. 

Unless socialism is achieved, protesters can expect a lifetime of protesting and demonstration marches.