Stepping Out of the Misconceptions of Western Ecological Thought

At the National Conference on Ecological and Environmental Protection, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that to continue advancing the construction of an ecological civilization, we must be guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization for Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and correctly handle the major relationships between high-quality development and high-level protection, between focused breakthroughs and coordinated governance, between natural restoration and artificial restoration, between external constraints and internal driving forces, and between the “dual carbon” commitments and independent action. This is a theoretical innovation in adapting the Marxist ecological outlook to the Chinese context and the needs of the times. In contrast, Western ecological thought advocates placing the ecological environment above economic and social development, one-sidedly emphasizing ecological protection, and thus has certain practical limitations. We must view it dialectically with a critical eye, focus on implementing the new development concept under the new conditions of the era, and establish a scientific outlook on ecological civilization to guide practice in the New Era.

在全国生态环境保护大会上，习近平总书记指出，继续推进生态文明建设，必须以新时代中国特色社会主义生态文明思想为指导，正确处理高质量发展和高水平保护的关系、重点攻坚和协同治理的关系、自然恢复和人工修复的关系、外部约束和内生动力的关系、“双碳”承诺和自主行动的关系等重大关系。这是马克思主义生态观中国化时代化的理论创新。而西方生态主义思潮主张将生态环境放在经济社会发展之上，片面强调生态保护，存在一定的现实局限性。我们要以批判的眼光辩证地看待，着眼新的时代条件贯彻新发展理念，树立科学的生态文明观指导新时代实践。

The Main Views of Western Ecological Thought

西方生态主义思潮的主要观点

The evolution of ecological thought is a long process, with its history traceable back to the environmental protection movement of the late 19th century. By the 1960s and 1970s, due to the intensification of problems such as population growth, resource consumption, and environmental pollution, ecological thought began to rise in the West. By the end of the 20th century, as global environmental issues became increasingly prominent, it gradually spread to countries around the world and exerted influence. Ecological thought first manifested as conservationism and environmentalism, later developing into theoretical forms such as animal liberation and rights theory, biocentrism, ecocentrism, and ecological postmodernism.

生态主义思潮发展演变是个长期过程，其历史可以追溯到19世纪末环境保护运动，到20世纪60年代和70年代，由于人口增长、资源消耗、环境污染等问题日益加剧，生态主义思潮开始在西方兴起。20世纪末期，随着全球环境问题的日益突出，其逐渐扩散到世界各国并产生影响。生态主义思潮最先表现为保护主义和环境主义，后发展出动物解放及权利论、生物中心主义、生态中心主义、生态后现代主义等理论形态。

Conservationism and environmentalism were first proposed by Americans against the backdrop of the continuous advancement of modern civilization. In the 19th century, thinkers such as Emerson and Thoreau began to emphasize the relationship between humans and nature, advocating for the protection and respect of nature. The founding of the Sierra Club and the establishment of U.S. national parks were important milestones in the development of conservationism. In the 20th century, Gifford Pinchot and Aldo Leopold were pioneers of modern environmentalism, and Rachel Carson’s 1962 book *Silent Spring* is considered the symbol of the birth of modern environmentalism.

保护主义和环境主义是在现代文明不断推进的背景下由美国人率先提出。19世纪爱默生、梭罗等思想家开始强调人与自然的关系，提出对自然予以保护和尊重，塞拉俱乐部成立以及美国国家公园建立是保护主义发展的重要里程碑。20世纪吉福德•平肖、奥尔多•利奥波德等人是现代环境主义的先驱，蕾切尔•卡逊1962年出版的《寂静的春天》，被认为是现代环境主义诞生的标志。

The representative figure of animal liberation and rights theory is the Australian philosopher Peter Singer, whose book *Animal Liberation* sparked the animal rights movement in the West. This theory seeks to extend the principles of freedom, equality, and fraternity to the lives of non-human animals, burying the concept of animal slavery in the grave of history.

动物解放及权利论代表人物是澳大利亚哲学家彼得•辛格，其《动物解放》一书在西方掀起了动物权利运动。这种理论致力于把自由、平等和博爱的原则扩展应用到人之外的动物的生活中，把动物奴隶的观念埋葬在历史的坟墓中。

Biocentrism holds that not only animals but all living beings should be objects of human moral concern. All living beings possess their own interests, and the interests of each living being deserve to be safeguarded and promoted.

生物中心主义主张，不仅动物，所有生物都应是人类道德关怀的对象。所有生物都拥有自己的利益，每一个生物的利益都值得维护和促进。

Ecocentrism advocates a holistic environmental ethic, arguing that the natural environment is embedded with an inherent “intrinsic value” that exists independently of human evaluation. Human moral concern should extend from individual living beings to the entire ecosystem, pursuing the overall health of the ecosystem.

生态中心主义倡导整体主义环境伦理，认为自然环境内嵌着固有的、不依赖人类评价而存在的“天赋价值”，人类的道德关怀应该从生命个体扩展到整个生态系统，追求生态系统的整体健康。

Ecological postmodernism, proposed by the American ecofeminist Charlene Spretnak, argues that ecological environmental problems are merely one manifestation of the crisis of modern civilization. To eradicate the ecological environmental crisis, it is necessary to break through modern civilization.

生态后现代主义由美国生态女权主义者查伦•斯普瑞特奈克提出，认为生态环境问题只是现代文明危机的一种表现，要根除生态环境危机，就必须突破现代文明。

Theoretical Deficiencies of Western Ecological Thought

西方生态主义思潮的理论缺陷

Ecologism is a revision of traditional anthropocentrism, redefining the relationship between humans and nature, and playing a positive role in addressing the ecological environmental problems commonly faced by humanity. However, ecological thought is heterogeneous and one-sided, and it must be subjected to critical reflection to avoid falling into the rut of metaphysics.

生态主义是对传统人类中心主义的修正，对人与自然的关系进行了重新界定，在应对人类共同面临的生态环境问题上发挥着积极作用。但是，生态主义思潮具有庞杂性、片面性，须对其进行批判性思考，避免陷入形而上学的窠臼。

First, it overemphasizes the opposition and contradiction between nature and humanity. Ecologists believe that humans are just one species on Earth, that other living beings are equal in status to humans, and that human survival and development inevitably cause damage to the natural environment. This view ignores the interactions and interdependent relationships between humans and nature, as well as with other living beings. This perspective, which divorces itself from human subjectivity and creativity and merely discusses ecological environmental protection at an abstract level, is one-sided.

首先，过于强调自然和人类之间的对立和矛盾。生态主义者认为人类是地球上的一个物种，其他生物与人类地位平等，人类的生存和发展必然会对自然环境造成破坏。这种观点忽视了人类与自然及其他生物之间的相互作用和依存关系。这种脱离人类主体性、创造性，仅在抽象层面探讨生态环境保护问题的观点是片面的。

Second, it has a certain degree of misunderstanding of economic development. Ecologists believe that economic growth and environmental protection are contradictory. They argue that economic growth leads to environmental pollution and resource depletion, and therefore advocate policies to restrict economic growth in order to protect the environment and resources. This view ignores the protective role of economic growth for the environment, attempting to exchange economic stagnation for ecological environmental improvement. Not only does this fail to achieve the intended goals, but it is also counterproductive.

其次，对经济发展存在一定程度的误解。生态主义者认为，经济增长和环境保护是矛盾的。他们认为经济增长会导致环境污染和资源枯竭，因此主张采取限制经济增长的政策，以保护环境和资源。这种观点忽略了经济增长对环境的保护作用，试图以经济停滞换取生态环境改善，不仅不能达到预期目标，反而会适得其反。

Third, it adopts a one-sidedly negative attitude toward science, technology, and modern civilization. Within ecological thought, some people believe that science, technology, and modern civilization are the main causes of environmental problems, advocating a return to traditional lifestyles and restricting the development of science, technology, and modern civilization. This view incorrectly attributes the causes of ecological environmental problems and fails to recognize that the capitalist system is the most fundamental root of these problems.

再次，对科技和现代文明持片面否定态度。在生态主义思潮中，一些人认为科技和现代文明是造成环境问题的主要原因，主张回归传统生活方式，限制科技和现代文明的发展。这种观点对造成生态环境问题进行了错误的归因，没有认识到资本主义制度才是造成生态环境问题最主要的根源。

The Way to Rectify Western Ecological Thought

西方生态主义思潮的匡正之道

Fundamentally, Western ecological thought is a product of the modern Western ecological crisis and has obvious theoretical deficiencies. The Marxist ecological outlook not only profoundly elucidates the active role of humans in ecological protection but also deeply reveals the dialectical relationship between ecological protection and economic and social development, pointing the way out of the misconceptions of Western ecological thought.

从根本上看，西方生态主义思潮是现代西方生态危机的产物，具有明显的理论缺陷。马克思主义生态观既深刻阐明了人类对生态保护的主体作用，又深刻揭示了生态保护与经济社会发展之间的辩证关系，为走出西方生态主义思潮误区指明了方向。

The Marxist ecological outlook accurately grasps the inner essence of the ecological crisis from its root cause. Capitalist private ownership is the root cause of the ecological crisis; the profit motive and dynamic mechanism of capital inevitably lead to the exploitation of nature. Any attempt to eliminate the ecological crisis without touching the logic of capital and the capitalist system cannot fundamentally solve the problem. Ecological thought, which does not critique the capitalist system but instead pins its hopes for a thorough ecological improvement on changing values and development models, is bound to be futile. To completely eliminate the ecological crisis, it is necessary to transform the social system, eliminate capitalist private ownership, and achieve the harmonious coexistence of humans and nature.

马克思主义生态观从根源上准确把握生态危机内在本质。资本主义私有制是造成生态危机的根源，资本的利润动机、动力机制必然导致对自然界的剥削。在不触动资本逻辑、资本主义制度前提下，任何企图消除生态危机的举措，都不可能从根本上解决问题。生态主义思潮没有对资本主义制度进行批判，而是将生态彻底改善寄希望于转变价值观念和发展方式，必然徒劳无功。要彻底消除生态危机就必须变革社会制度，消除资本主义私有制，实现人与自然和谐共生。

The Marxist ecological outlook embodies dialectical characteristics. Although Western ecological thought emphasizes viewing the relationship between humans and nature, and between development and protection, from an ecological whole, it is essentially still a dualistic mode of thinking, while simultaneously neglecting human developmental demands. In contrast to the approach of Western ecological thought, which demeans humans, the Marxist ecological outlook places human subjectivity and purpose in their proper position. Western ecological thought severs the connection between development and protection, viewing their relationship through the lens of a zero-sum game. The inevitable result is that attending to one thing causes the loss of another, making it unsustainable.

马克思主义生态观体现辩证特质。尽管西方生态主义思潮强调从生态整体看待人与自然、发展与保护之间的关系，但本质上仍是二元论的思维模式，同时忽视人的发展诉求。与西方生态主义思潮对人进行贬低的做法不同，马克思主义生态观把人的主体性和目的性放到了应有的位置。西方生态主义思潮割裂发展与保护之间的联系，以零和博弈的思维看待二者关系，结果必然是顾此失彼，不可持续。

The Marxist ecological outlook has a distinct practical character. The Marxist ecological outlook is not a doctrine confined to the study; it originates from concrete practice and is continuously tested and developed in practice. Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization is an innovative development of the Marxist ecological outlook and provides the fundamental guidance for China’s construction of an ecological civilization. The “Ten Persistences” [n] in the construction of an ecological civilization with Chinese characteristics are the concrete application of the Marxist ecological outlook in practice. Under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, China’s ecological civilization construction has achieved outstanding results, further verifying the scientific nature of the Marxist ecological outlook and becoming the fundamental way to rectify ecological thought.

马克思主义生态观具有鲜明实践性。马克思主义生态观不是书斋学问，而是来源于具体实践，并不断在实践中得到检验和发展。习近平生态文明思想是马克思主义生态观的创新发展成果，为中国开展生态文明建设提供了根本遵循。中国特色社会主义生态文明建设中的“十个坚持”，是马克思主义生态观在实践中的具体运用。在习近平生态文明思想指导下，中国生态文明建设取得了突出成就，进一步验证了马克思主义生态观的科学性，成为匡正生态主义思潮的根本之道。

Online Editor: Zhang Fujun

网络编辑：张福军