Opening a New Realm of the Marxist Thought on the Relationship between Humanity and Nature

In his speech at the ceremony marking the bicentenary of the birth of Marx, General Secretary Xi Jinping explicitly demanded that “to study Marx, we must study

在纪念马克思诞辰200周年大会的讲话中，习近平总书记明确要求，“学习马克思，就要学习和实践马克思主义关于人与自然关系的思想”。学习和实践马克思主义关于人与自然关系的思想，既要回到马克思主义的经典文本，在原初语境中把握内含其中的基本观点基本方法，又要系统考察我们党运用这一理论破解新的时代课题所形成的新思想，在坚持源流贯通中领会马克思主义人与自然关系思想的精髓要义，这对于我们更好地推进生态文明建设，不断书写新时代坚持和发展中国特色社会主义的新篇章，无疑具有重要的意义和作用。按照《习近平生态文明思想学习纲要》的提炼概括，习近平生态文明思想理论体系的主要内容集中体现为“十个坚持”，内容广泛涉及根本保证论、生态文明论、生命共同体论、绿色发展论、环境民生论、环境治理论等。限于篇幅，本文依托马克思主义经典作家关于人与自然关系思想的基本观点，着重从人与自然、保护和发展、生态和文明以及环境治理四个维度，遵循自然观、发展观、文明观叙述逻辑递进，最后落在实践创新层面，尝试探究习近平生态文明思想对马克思主义人与自然关系思想的创新与发展。

I. The Theory of a Community of Life: Profoundly Revealing the Organic Connection between Humanity and Nature

一、生命共同体论：深刻揭示人与自然的有机联系

Examining Marxist thought on the relationship between humanity and nature, we believe that one of its outstanding theoretical contributions lies in establishing a practical perspective for examining this relationship, and on this basis systematically elucidating the integrated relationship between the two. In Marx’s view, humanity is a practical being, and practice is an object-oriented activity, so humanity is an “objective, sensuous being.” Marx further points out that “a being which does not have its nature outside itself is not a natural being, and does not participate in the life of nature,” while “man is directly a natural being.” Human survival and development are inseparable from nature. It is in this sense that he states, “nature is man’s inorganic body—insofar as it is not itself the human body,” “man lives from nature,” and “man is a part of nature.” Precisely because the relationship between humanity and nature is understood within the field of practice, Marx completely transcends both “anthropocentrism” and “ecocentrism” regarding this relationship, thereby scientifically revealing the integrated relationship between the two.

考察马克思主义人与自然关系的思想，我们认为其突出的理论贡献之一在于确立了考察人与自然关系的实践视野，并基于这一视野系统阐明了两者之间的一体性关系。在马克思看来，人是一种实践的存在物，而实践是一种对象性活动，从而人是一种“对象性的、感性的存在物”。马克思进而指出，“一个存在物如果在自身之外没有自己的自然界，就不是自然存在物，就不能参加自然界的生活”，而“人直接地是自然存在物”，人的生存和发展须臾离不开自然界，正是在这个意义上，他指出，“自然界，就它自身不是人的身体而言，是人的无机的身体”“人靠自然界生活”“人是自然界的一部分”。正是由于将人与自然的关系置于实践的场域中理解，马克思彻底超越了关于人与自然关系的“人类中心主义”和“自然中心主义”，从而科学揭示了两者之间的一体性关系。

The Communist Party of China has always adhered to the basic Marxist viewpoint on the integrated relationship between humanity and nature, while continuously deepening its understanding of their mutual relationship in accordance with the development of practice and the times. Jiang Zemin proposed to “promote coordination and harmony between humanity and nature.” Hu Jintao pointed out: “Continuously understanding nature in the practice of transforming the objective and subjective worlds, rationally developing nature on the basis of conforming to natural laws, and developing oneself in harmony with nature—this is the eternal theme of human survival and progress.”

中国共产党始终坚持马克思主义关于人与自然一体性关系的基本观点，同时根据实践和时代的发展，不断深化关于人与自然相互关系的认识。江泽民提出，要“促进人和自然的协调与和谐”。胡锦涛指出：“在改造客观世界和主观世界的实践中不断认识自然，在顺应自然规律的基础上合理开发自然，在同自然的和谐相处中发展自己，是人类生存和进步的永恒主题。”

Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has adhered to the basic Marxist viewpoint on the mutual relationship between humanity and nature, deeply summarized and reflected on the experience and lessons of human historical development, and creatively put forward the idea that “humanity and nature are a community of life.” It states: “Ecology is a unified natural system, an organic chain of interdependence and close connection. The lifeline of humanity is in the fields, the lifeline of the fields is in water, the lifeline of water is in mountains, the lifeline of mountains is in soil, and the lifeline of soil is in forests and grass. This community of life is the material foundation for human survival and development.” This thesis innovatively develops the Marxist thought on the integrated relationship between humanity and nature from both factual and value dimensions, profoundly revealing the organic connection between the two.

党的十八大以来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央坚持马克思主义关于人与自然相互关系的基本观点，深入总结和反思人类历史发展的经验教训，创造性提出“人与自然是生命共同体”的思想，指出：“生态是统一的自然系统，是相互依存、紧密联系的有机链条。人的命脉在田，田的命脉在水，水的命脉在山，山的命脉在土，土的命脉在林和草，这个生命共同体是人类生存发展的物质基础。”这一论断从事实和价值两个维度创新发展了马克思主义关于人与自然一体性关系的思想，深刻揭示人与自然的有机联系。

First, from the factual dimension, the “community of life” uses a new discursive expression to clarify the objectivity of the organic connection between humanity and nature. Regarding the essential connotation of the “community of life,” it states that the “living beings” constituting the community inherently possess a symbiotic relationship of flesh-and-blood interconnection. This relationship is centrally embodied in the idea that “nature is the mother of life,” and that “natural objects constitute the natural conditions for human survival. Humans produce, live, and develop in interaction with nature. If humanity treats nature well, nature will also reward humanity, but ‘if man, by dint of his science and inventive genius, has subdued the forces of nature, they have avenged themselves upon him.’” This important exposition not only positively clarifies the symbiotic and coexistent relationship between humanity and nature, but also, by citing Engels’ words, negatively indicates that the interaction between humanity and nature must maintain moderation. Once human exploitation of nature exceeds the tolerance of the natural organic system, it will destroy the organic connection between humanity and nature, and the interaction between the two will evolve into an ecological disaster. From this perspective, the concept of the “community of life” contains an idea of limited development of nature. This “limited development” differs both from ecocentrism, which opposes technology and believes nature possesses an “intrinsic value” independent of humanity, and from anthropocentrism, which treats nature merely as a tool for use. Instead, it advocates a limited subjective agency based on respecting and conforming to the operational laws of the natural system itself. Through this “limited development” based on limited subjective agency, humanity can not only obtain material and spiritual satisfaction from nature but also remain in positive interaction with nature at all times.

首先，从事实层面来看，“生命共同体”以全新的话语表达阐明了人与自然的有机联系的客观性。就“生命共同体”的本质内涵而言，它言明的是构成共同体的“生命体”在客观上就内在具有血肉相连的共生关系，这种关系集中体现在“自然是生命之母”，“自然物构成人类生存的自然条件，人类在同自然的互动中生产、生活、发展，人类善待自然，自然也会馈赠人类，但‘如果说人靠科学和创造性天才征服了自然力，那么自然力也对人进行报复’”。这一重要论述不仅从正面阐明了人与自然的共生共存关系，而且通过援引恩格斯的话语从反面表明，人类与自然的互动必须保持适度。人类对自然的开发一旦超过自然有机系统承受的程度，就会破坏人与自然的有机联系，从而人与自然的互动就会演变成生态灾难。从这个视角来看，“生命共同体”概念蕴含的乃是一种有限开发自然的思想，这种“有限开发”既与反对技术、认为自然存在着不依赖于人的“内在价值”的生态中心主义不同，也与仅仅将自然作为利用工具的人类中心主义有别，而是倡导一种尊重和顺应自然系统自身运行规律基础上的有限主体能动性。基于这种有限主体能动性的“有限开发”，人类不仅能够从自然中获得物质和精神生活的满足，而且始终与自然处于良性互动之中。

Second, from the value dimension, the idea that “humanity and nature are a community of life” provides normative guidance for rebuilding the integrated relationship between humanity and nature. As mentioned earlier, Marx revealed the integrated relationship between humanity and nature by examining them within the field of practice. Moreover, based on a critical examination of capitalist relations of production, Marx profoundly discerned the inevitable destruction of nature caused by the operation of capital. However, Marx’s era was still an era of humanity’s full-scale advance on nature, and the ecological crisis caused by industrial development had not yet fully erupted. Therefore, Marx’s rational construction of the relationship between humanity and nature was mainly examined from the perspective of social change and transformation. That is, with the development of productive forces and the advent of communist society, “the associated producers, rationally regulating their material interchange with nature, bringing it under their common control instead of allowing it to rule them as a blind force; accomplishing it with the least expenditure of energy and under conditions most worthy of and most suitable for their human nature.” Or, as Engels stated, production in the new historical stage would be “social production according to a predetermined plan.” Today, after more than a century of development, the destruction of nature caused by the industrial revolution has been fully exposed. In this historical context, “humanity and nature are a community of life” acquires a value implication of reflection and construction. It requires transcending the current “real relationship” between humanity and nature, advocating that nature and the ecological environment must be protected like our own eyes, and emphasizing that “nature has nurtured and raised humanity; humanity should take nature as its root, respect nature, conform to nature, and protect nature.” In this way, the reconstruction of the community relationship between humanity and nature at a new and higher level is realized, thereby expanding the Marxist perspective on the rational construction of the community relationship between humanity and nature in a completely new era context.

其次，从价值层面来看，“人与自然是生命共同体”的思想为重建人与自然的一体性关系提供了规范性指引。正如前文所说，马克思通过将人与自然置于实践场域中考察，揭示了人与自然的一体性关系，不仅如此，马克思还基于对资本主义生产关系的批判性考察，深刻洞察到资本运作对自然的无可避免的破坏。但是，马克思的时代还是人类向着自然全面进军的时代，工业发展所造成的生态危机还没有全面爆发出来，所以，马克思对人与自然关系的合理化建构，主要还是从社会变革和转型的视角予以考察的，即伴随着生产力的发展和共产主义社会的到来，“社会化的人，联合起来的生产者，将合理地调节他们和自然之间的物质变换，把它置于他们的共同控制之下，而不让它作为一种盲目的力量来统治自己；靠消耗最小的力量，在最无愧于和最适合于他们的人类本性的条件下来进行这种物质变换”，或者如恩格斯所说的，进入新的历史阶段的生产将是“按照预定计划进行的社会生产”。而在今天，经过一个多世纪的发展，工业革命对自然所造成的破坏已经充分暴露出来，在这种历史语境下，“人与自然是生命共同体”就有了反思和建构的价值意蕴，它要求超越当下人与自然的“现实关系”，倡导必须像保护眼睛一样保护自然和生态环境，强调“大自然孕育抚养了人类，人类应该以自然为根，尊重自然、顺应自然、保护自然”，以此实现人与自然共同体关系在新的更高层次上的重构，从而在全新的时代语境中拓展了马克思主义关于人与自然共同体关系合理化建构的视角。

II. The Theory of Green Development: Scientifically Clarifying the Dialectical Relationship between Protection and Development

二、绿色发展论：科学阐明保护与发展的辩证关系

In the course of his critique of capital, Marx revealed at a principled height the dialectical relationship between the protection of nature and economic development. In Marx’s view, material production is the activity through which humanity transforms nature, and it constitutes the foundation of human survival and development. However, Marx is by no means, as many people believe, an anthropocentrist or anti-ecologist who adopts a “Promethean” attitude toward nature, according to which nature is merely a tool for human use and can therefore be exploited and utilized at will. For instance, Donald Worster argues that in Marx “one can find little concern for the protection of any ancient view of nature, or any attention to environmental protection.” On the contrary, it was precisely Marx who, in the era of burgeoning industrial economy, revealed the ecological destruction wrought by the operation of capital and acutely perceived the importance of protecting nature for long-term development. In Marx’s view, achieving the unlimited growth of capital is an iron law of the development of capitalist society; without continuous changes in productive forces, without the constant expansion of markets, without the sustained growth of resource consumption, capitalism cannot exist. Therefore, the unrestricted exploitation of nature is an inevitable product of the logic of capital. On this point, Moishe Postone summarizes: “Capital produces material wealth as a means of valorization. Hence it consumes material nature not only as the raw material of material wealth, but also as a means of driving the self-expansion of capital—that is, as a means of extracting and absorbing as much surplus labor time as possible from the working population. Even when it does not bring about a corresponding increase in the social form of surplus wealth (surplus value), an ever-growing quantity of raw materials must be consumed. The relationship between humanity and nature mediated by labor becomes a one-way process of consumption, rather than a cyclical interaction.”

马克思在资本批判的过程中对自然保护和经济发展的辩证关系作出了具有原则高度的揭示。在马克思看来，物质生产活动是人类改造自然的活动，它构成了人类生存和发展的基础。但是，马克思绝非如很多人所认为的那样，是一个人类中心主义者或反生态主义者，他对自然采取了一种“普罗米修斯主义”的态度，根据这种态度，自然只是人类利用的工具，从而可以随意开掘和利用。比如，唐纳德·沃斯特（Donald Worster）认为，在马克思身上“无法找到多少对保护任何古老的自然观的关心以及对环境保护的任何关注”。恰恰相反，正是马克思在工业经济勃兴的年代揭示了资本运作对生态的破坏，并敏锐洞察到保护自然对长远发展的重要性。在马克思看来，实现资本的无限增长是资本主义社会发展的一个铁律，没有生产力的持续变革，没有市场的持续扩张，没有资源消费的持续增长，资本主义就无法存在，因此，无限制开发自然是资本逻辑的必然产物，对此，莫伊舍·普殊同（Moishe Postone）进行了概括：“资本将物质财富作为价值形成手段而进行生产。因此，它不仅将物质自然作为物质财富的原料加以消耗，也将其作为推动资本的自我扩张的手段而加以消耗——也就是说，将其作为尽可能多地从劳动人口身上抽取、吸收剩余劳动时间的手段。即使不能带来剩余财富的社会形式（剩余价值）的相应增长，也必须消耗不断增长的原料量。由劳动所中介的人与自然的关系，成为单向的消耗过程，而非一种循环互动。”

In this regard, when many scholars—for example, representatives of the Western steady-state/anti-growth school such as Herman Daly, Tim Jackson, and Serge Latouche—attribute ecological problems to the unbridled development of the capitalist economy and propose to alleviate and eliminate the intensifying ecological crisis through “limiting growth” or even “stopping growth,” they are clearly building on a misinterpretation of the historical essence of capitalist production, and their proposals are therefore bound to be impractical. In Marx’s view, capital can maintain its existence only through continuous growth; development that follows the logic of capital will inevitably exhaust the natural foundation of development, and the result will be that development is hindered in turn. On this point, Marx took capitalist agriculture as an explicit example, stating: “All progress in capitalist agriculture is a progress in the art, not only of robbing the worker, but of robbing the soil; all progress in increasing the fertility of the soil for a given time is a progress towards ruining the long-lasting sources of that fertility.” From the perspective of the critique of capital, Marx revealed the dialectic between the rational use and exploitation of nature and sustainable development, providing guidance for our correct handling of the relationship between protecting nature and promoting development.

就此而言，当很多学者——例如西方以戴利（Herman Daly）、杰克逊（Tim Jackson）、拉图什（Serge Latouche）以及稳态/反增长学派的代表——将生态问题归咎于资本主义经济的无节制发展，并提出通过“限制增长”甚至是“停止增长”来缓解和消除日益加剧的生态危机，显然是建立在对资本生产历史性本质误读的基础上的，因而也必定是不切实际的。在马克思看来，资本只有在不断增长中才能保持自己的存在，从而是遵循资本逻辑的发展，而这必定会耗尽发展的自然基础，其结果则是反过来阻碍发展。对此，马克思以资本主义农业为例作了明确说明，即“资本主义农业的任何进步，都不仅是掠夺劳动者的技巧的进步，而且是掠夺土地的技巧的进步，在一定时期内提高土地肥力的任何进步，同时也是破坏土地肥力持久源泉的进步”。马克思以资本批判的视角表明了合理利用和开发自然与可持续发展之间的辩证法，为我们正确处理保护自然和推进发展的关系提供了指引。

Our Party has always adhered to the basic Marxist viewpoint on the dialectical unity of the rational use of nature and sustainable development to guide practice, and has continuously enriched and developed its understanding of this viewpoint. Jiang Zemin emphasized: “Environmental protection work is the foundation for achieving sustainable economic and social development.” Hu Jintao pointed out: “Strengthening ecological and environmental protection is not only an inevitable requirement for transforming the mode of economic development, but also a key focus of this transformation, and an important pathway for expanding domestic demand and driving economic growth.” Entering the New Era, General Secretary Xi Jinping, deeply reflecting on the harm that the capitalist development model has caused to the ecological environment since the beginning of the 21st century and the constraints that increasingly serious ecological problems impose on development, profoundly summarizing the experiences and lessons of our country’s handling of the relationship between ecological protection and economic development since reform and opening up, and accurately grasping the historical changes in the people’s needs for a better life, creatively put forward the “Two Mountains Theory,”[1]1 The “Two Mountains Theory” (两山理论) refers to Xi Jinping’s formulation that “clear waters and green mountains are as valuable as gold and silver mountains,” encapsulating the idea that ecological protection and economic development are not contradictory but mutually reinforcing. emphasizing: “We want both clear waters and green mountains, and we want gold and silver mountains too. We would rather have clear waters and green mountains than gold and silver mountains, and clear waters and green mountains are themselves gold and silver mountains.” This scientifically elucidates the dialectical relationship between environmental protection and economic development.

我们党始终坚持用马克思主义关于合理利用自然与实现可持续发展辩证统一的基本观点指导实践，并不断丰富和发展对这一观点的认识。江泽民强调：“环境保护工作，是实现经济社会可持续发展的基础。”胡锦涛指出：“加强生态环境保护，既是转变经济发展方式的必然要求，也是转变经济发展方式的重要着力点，还是扩大内需、拉动经济增长的重要途径。”进入新时代，习近平总书记深入思考进入21世纪以来资本主义发展模式对生态环境带来的危害以及日益严重的生态问题对发展的制约，深刻总结我国改革开放以来在处理生态保护和经济发展关系上的经验教训，准确把握人民对美好生活需要的历史性变化，创造性地提出“两山理论”，强调“我们既要绿水青山，也要金山银山。宁要绿水青山，不要金山银山，而且绿水青山就是金山银山”，科学阐明了环境保护和经济发展的辩证关系。

First, the “Two Mountains Theory” profoundly reveals the supporting role of environmental protection for economic development. The Marxist theory of productive forces holds that productive forces are humanity’s capacity to transform nature, mainly comprising laborers, means of labor, and objects of labor. Among these, objects of labor include both naturally existing natural objects and objects of labor that have been “filtered through labor,” i.e., “raw materials.” When Marx described the level of development of productive forces, he mainly measured it from the perspective of the labor subject, the means of labor, and their relationship, while nature as the “object of labor” was positioned as the foundation for the development of productive forces. The higher the quality of the labor subject and the more developed the means of labor, the more effective the labor subject’s transformation of the object of labor using the means of labor, and the greater the material wealth and value wealth obtained. The major breakthrough of the “Two Mountains Theory” lies first in “planning development from the height of harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature,” explicitly putting forward the major thesis that “protecting the ecological environment is protecting productive forces, and improving the ecological environment is developing productive forces,” and emphasizing: “Through high-level environmental protection, we will continuously shape new drivers and new advantages for development, strive to build a green, low-carbon, circular economic system, effectively reduce the resource and environmental costs of development, and continuously enhance the potential and staying power of development.” These important discussions directly incorporate the ecological environment into the system of productive forces, containing the important view that ecology itself is a productive force, thereby expanding the internal dimensions of productive forces and achieving the innovation and development of the Marxist theory of productive forces in a new historical context.

首先，“两山理论”深刻揭示了环境保护对于经济发展的支撑作用。马克思主义生产力理论认为，生产力是人类改造自然的能力，主要包括劳动者、劳动资料和劳动对象。其中，劳动对象既包括天然存在的自然对象，也包括经由劳动所“滤过的劳动对象”，也就是“原料”。马克思在描述生产力发展水平时，主要是从劳动主体、劳动资料及其关系的角度来展开测度的，作为“劳动对象”的自然界则作为生产力发展的基础而获得定位。劳动主体的素质越高，劳动资料越发达，劳动主体利用劳动资料对劳动对象的改造就越有效，由此获得的物质财富和价值财富就越多。而“两山理论”的重大突破首先在于“站在人与自然和谐共生的高度谋划发展”，明确提出“保护生态环境就是保护生产力、改善生态环境就是发展生产力”的重大论断，强调：“通过高水平环境保护，不断塑造发展的新动能、新优势，着力构建绿色低碳循环经济体系，有效降低发展的资源环境代价，持续增强发展的潜力和后劲。”这些重要论述将生态环境直接纳入生产力系统之中，蕴含着生态本身就是生产力的重要观点，从而拓展了生产力的内在维度，并在新的历史语境中实现了马克思主义生产力理论的创新和发展。

Looking further, in a general sense, the development of productive forces will inevitably bring about an increase in material wealth and value wealth, which is particularly prominent in capitalist society. However, the development of the capitalist economy shows that the development of productive forces lacking an ecological dimension, while certainly bringing about a sharp increase in material wealth and value wealth, exhibits a fundamental defect of unsustainability because this increase in wealth is supported by the consumption of resources. While endowing productive forces with an ecological dimension, the “Two Mountains Theory” also endows material wealth and value wealth with a completely new ecological connotation, profoundly elucidating that ecological resources are an important source of wealth, thereby achieving a new expansion of the Marxist view of wealth. As General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “Clear waters and green mountains are not only natural wealth and ecological wealth, but also social wealth and economic wealth. Protecting the ecological environment means protecting natural value and increasing natural capital, means protecting the potential and staying power of economic and social development, so that clear waters and green mountains can continuously exert ecological benefits and economic and social benefits.” “A good ecological environment is not only natural wealth but also economic wealth, and it concerns the potential and staying power of economic and social development.”

进一步来看，从一般意义而言，生产力的发展必定会带来物质财富和价值财富的增加，这在资本主义社会表现得尤其突出。然而，资本主义经济的发展表明，缺失了生态维度的生产力发展固然带来了物质财富和价值财富的急剧增加，但由于这种财富的增加以资源的耗费为支撑，因而表现出难以持续的根本缺陷。而“两山理论”在赋予生产力以生态维度的同时，还赋予物质财富和价值财富以全新的生态内涵，深刻阐明了生态资源是重要的财富之源，从而实现了马克思主义财富观的新拓展。正如习近平总书记所指出的，“绿水青山既是自然财富、生态财富，又是社会财富、经济财富。保护生态环境就是保护自然价值和增值自然资本，就是保护经济社会发展潜力和后劲，使绿水青山持续发挥生态效益和经济社会效益”，“良好生态环境既是自然财富，也是经济财富，关系经济社会发展潜力和后劲”。

Second, the “Two Mountains Theory”[n] profoundly reveals the decisive role of the mode of development and the mode of life in environmental protection. Historical materialism holds that the relationship between humanity and nature and the relationship between human beings interact with and constrain each other. On this point, Marx clearly states: “In production, men not only act on nature but also on one another. They produce only by cooperating in a certain way and mutually exchanging their activities. In order to produce, they enter into definite connections and relations with one another, and only within these social connections and relations does their action on nature, does production, take place.” “All production is appropriation of nature on the part of an individual within and through a definite form of society.” These important expositions indicate that, within a specific social formation, what kind of relationship humanity establishes with nature, and thus what attitude humanity adopts toward nature within that relationship, is ultimately determined by the dominant relations of production in that social formation.

其次，“两山理论”深刻揭示了发展方式和生活方式对于环境保护的决定性作用。历史唯物主义认为，人和自然的关系与人和人的关系是交互作用、相互制约的。对此，马克思明确指出，“人们在生产中不仅仅影响自然界，而且也互相影响。他们只有以一定的方式共同活动和互相交换其活动，才能进行生产。为了进行生产，人们相互之间便发生一定的联系和关系；只有在这些社会联系和社会关系的范围内，才会有他们对自然界的影响，才会有生产”，“一切生产都是个人在一定社会形式中并借这种社会形式而进行的对自然的占有”。这些重要论述表明，在特定的社会形态中，人与自然建立起何种关系，进而在这种关系中人以何种态度对待自然，归根到底是由该社会形态中占据主导地位的生产关系决定的。

It is precisely on the basis of this understanding that Marx profoundly reveals the internal mechanism by which capitalist relations of production inevitably produce ecological crises, and puts forward a scientific conception of correctly grasping and handling the relationship between humanity and nature under the premise of socialist relations of production. With the completion of the Three Great Transformations[n] after the founding of New China, China established the basic system of socialism, thereby fundamentally eradicating the old relations of production that had caused ecological crises. However, as General Secretary Xi Jinping points out: “Since reform and opening up, China’s economic and social development has achieved historic accomplishments, which is a source of pride and confidence for us. At the same time, in the course of rapid development, we have also accumulated a large number of ecological and environmental problems, which have become a clear shortcoming and a prominent issue of strong concern to the people.” At present, “China’s economic and social development has entered a stage of high-quality development that accelerates greening and low-carbon transition, and the construction of an ecological civilization is still in a critical period of superimposed pressures and arduous progress.” Then, under the premise that socialist relations of production occupy the dominant position, why do ecological problems still arise?

正是基于这一认识，马克思深刻揭示了资本主义生产关系必然造成生态危机的内在机理，并对社会主义生产关系前提下正确把握和处理人与自然关系作出了科学设想。而随着新中国成立以后三大改造的完成，我国建立起了社会主义的基本制度，从而在根本上铲除了造成生态危机的旧的生产关系根源。但是，正如习近平总书记所指出的：“改革开放以来，我国经济社会发展取得历史性成就，这是值得我们自豪和骄傲的。同时，我们在快速发展中也积累了大量生态环境问题，成为明显的短板，成为人民群众反映强烈的突出问题。”当前，“我国经济社会发展已进入加快绿色化、低碳化的高质量发展阶段，生态文明建设仍处于压力叠加、负重前行的关键期”。那么，在社会主义生产关系占据主导地位的前提下，为何还会出现生态问题呢？

In response to this new topic, General Secretary Xi Jinping, applying the basic Marxist viewpoint on the relationship between humanity and nature to analyze the course of development since reform and opening up, profoundly states that “ecological and environmental problems are, in the final analysis, problems of the mode of development and the mode of life,” and emphasizes that “the success or failure of ecological and environmental protection ultimately depends on the economic structure and the mode of economic development.” This tells us that the root cause of ecological problems in China since reform and opening up is by no means development itself, but rather deviations in the mode of development and the mode of life. This not only scientifically reveals the root cause of China’s ecological and environmental problems, but also points the way toward achieving environmental protection through transforming the mode of development and promoting high-quality development, thereby expanding the Marxist path toward rationalizing the relationship between humanity and nature in a new historical context.

对于这个新课题，习近平总书记运用马克思主义关于人与自然关系的基本观点分析改革开放以来的发展历程，深刻指出“生态环境问题归根结底是发展方式和生活方式问题”，强调“生态环境保护的成败归根到底取决于经济结构和经济发展方式”。这就告诉我们，我国改革开放以来的生态问题的根源绝不是发展本身，而是发展方式和生活方式出现偏差造成的，这不仅科学揭示了我国生态环境问题的根源，而且为通过转变发展方式、推动高质量发展来实现环境保护指明了方向，从而在新的历史语境中拓展了马克思主义关于实现人与自然关系合理化的路径。

III. The Theory of Ecological Civilization: Scientifically Demonstrating the Internal Connection between Ecology and Civilization

三、生态文明论：科学论证生态与文明的内在联系

After the process of human civilization development entered the stage of industrial civilization, humanity, with the aid of increasingly advanced technological means, extensively and deeply transformed nature while also encountering unprecedented challenges of ecological problems. This has triggered reflections on the relationship between ecology and civilization. Marx lived in an era of rapid industrial civilization development. Although the ecological crisis had not yet fully erupted at that time, Marx, based on a dialectical analysis of capital civilization, scientifically elucidated the harmonious integration of ecology and civilization. The industrial civilization of modern times is a civilization dominated by capital. Regarding the civilizing role of capital, Marx gave it a high evaluation from the perspective of the development process of human civilization, holding that “one of the civilizing aspects of capital is that it extorts this surplus labor in a manner and under conditions which are more advantageous to the development of productive forces, to the development of social relations, and to the creation of the elements for a new and higher form than was the case under the earlier forms of slavery, serfdom, etc.” At the same time, it was precisely Marx, who gave a high evaluation of the civilizing role of capital, who subjected capitalist civilization to a comprehensive and profound critique. One important dimension is that Marx, based on a scientific analysis of the logic of capital, reveals the anti-ecological dimension of capitalist civilization. As Marx reveals, the logic of capital pursues two major principles: one is the “principle of utility,” and the other is the “principle of valorization.” The former is embodied in capital “subordinating nature to human needs,” that is, nature becomes a mere tool for the development of capital civilization; the latter is embodied in the fact that the movement of capital is essentially “the restless movement of profit-making.” The two principles reinforce each other, making the logic of capital the root cause of the increasingly serious ecological problems in modern times.

人类文明发展进程进入工业文明阶段之后，人类借助于日益发达的技术手段在对自然进入广泛而深入的改造的同时，也遭遇了前所未有的生态问题的挑战。这引发了人们对生态和文明关系的思考。马克思身处工业文明快速发展的时代，虽然此时生态危机尚未全面爆发，但马克思却基于对资本文明的辩证分析，科学阐明了生态和文明的珠联璧合关系。近代以来的工业文明是资本主导的文明，对于资本的文明化作用，马克思从人类文明发展进程的角度给予了高度评价，认为“资本的文明面之一是，它榨取这种剩余劳动的方式和条件，同以前的奴隶制、农奴制等形式相比，都更有利于生产力的发展，有利于社会关系的发展，有利于更高级的新形态的各种要素的创造”。与此同时，正是给予资本文明化作用以高度评价的马克思，给予了资本主义文明以全面而深入的批判。其中一个重要的维度就是，马克思基于对资本逻辑的科学分析，揭示了资本主义文明的反生态维度。正如马克思所揭示的，资本逻辑奉行两大原则，一个是“效用原则”，另一个是“增殖原则”。前者体现为资本“使自然界服从于人的需要”，即自然界成为资本文明发展的单纯的工具，后者体现为资本的运动本质上是“谋取利润的无休止的运动”，两种原则相互强化，使得资本逻辑成为近代以来日益严重的生态问题的根源。

In Marx’s view, the anti-ecological dimension of capitalist civilization is by no means an inevitable result of the development of civilization, but rather is caused by the special logic of capitalist civilization development, namely, the logic of capital. It is precisely this historical perspective of analyzing capitalist civilization that enables Marx to completely transcend both the view, typified by Rousseau, of a natural and inherent conflict between nature and civilization—according to which the development of civilization inevitably breaks the harmony between humanity and nature, advocating a return to a “primitive natural state”—and the view, typified by bourgeois thinkers, of a natural harmony between ecology and civilization—according to which the development of civilization is a process of humanity mastering and exploiting nature, and although this process leads to ecological destruction, as humanity’s power to conquer nature grows, the ecological crisis will ultimately be resolved naturally. In Marx’s view, the destruction of ecology by the logic of capital reflects the inherent defects of capitalist civilization, indicates the historical limitations and boundaries of capitalist civilization, and foreshadows that capitalist civilization will inevitably be replaced by a new form of civilization. And this new form of civilization is communist civilization.

在马克思看来，资本主义文明的反生态维度绝不是文明发展的必然结果，而是资本主义文明发展的特殊逻辑即资本逻辑所造成的。正是这种分析资本主义文明的历史性视野，使得马克思彻底超越了以卢梭为典型代表的自然和文明天然冲突的观点，按照这种观点，文明的发展必然打破人与自然的和谐，并倡导恢复“原始的自然状态”；也超越了以资产阶级思想家们为典型代表的生态和文明天然和谐的观点，按照这种观点，文明的发展就是人类驾驭和开发自然的过程，这个过程虽然导致了生态的破坏，但随着人类征服自然的力量不断增长，生态危机最终会自然而然地得到化解。在马克思看来，资本逻辑对生态的破坏，体现了资本主义文明的内在缺陷，表明了资本主义文明的历史限制和界限，预示着资本主义文明必然会被新形态的文明所取代。而这个新形态的文明就是共产主义文明。

In communist society, public ownership of the means of production completely replaces private ownership, and people become masters of society, thereby being able to “rationally regulate their material interchange with nature.” In this regard, Marx’s scientific conception of communist civilization itself contains an ecological dimension, and thereby demonstrates the integrated relationship between ecology and civilization. As Fromm points out, in Marx’s view, throughout the whole of human history, human evolution has been characterized by the struggle of humanity against nature: “At a certain point in history (in Marx’s view, in the near future), man will have developed the natural means of production to such a degree that the antagonism between man and nature can be finally resolved. Then the ‘prehistory of mankind’ will come to an end, and truly human history will begin.”

在共产主义社会中，生产资料公有制彻底取代私有制，人们成为社会的主人，从而能够“合理地调节他们和自然之间的物质变换”。就此而言，马克思对共产主义文明的科学构想本身就内含着生态维度，并以此表明了生态和文明的一体性关系。正如弗洛姆所指出的，按照马克思的观点，在整个人类历史中，人类的进化是以人类与自然的斗争为其特征的，“在历史的某一点上（按照马克思的观点，在不久的将来），人将使自然的生产资料发展到那样的程度，以至人和自然之间的对抗能够得到最终的解决。那时候，‘人类的史前时期’将逐渐结束，而真正的人类历史则将开始”。

Our Party has always emphasized the symbiotic and mutually reinforcing relationship between ecology and civilization. Jiang Zemin emphasized: “Strive to open up a path of civilized development featuring increased production, affluent living, and a sound ecological environment.” Hu Jintao pointed out that “we must cherish nature more consciously, protect the ecology more actively, and strive to move toward a new era of socialist ecological civilization,” thereby positioning ecology as an essential dimension of the socialist form of civilization. Entering the New Era, with a view to achieving the sustainable development of the Chinese nation and leading the new direction of the development of human civilization, General Secretary Xi Jinping has made a series of important expositions on the relationship between ecology and civilization, profoundly elucidating the internal connection between ecology and civilization, and providing important guidance for humanity to embark on a new construction of ecological civilization.

我们党历来强调生态和文明的共生互促关系。江泽民强调：“努力开创生产发展、生活富裕和生态良好的文明发展道路。”胡锦涛则指出，“一定要更加自觉地珍爱自然，更加积极地保护生态，努力走向社会主义生态文明新时代”，从而将生态作为社会主义文明形态的本质维度予以定位。进入新时代，着眼实现中华民族永续发展和引领人类文明发展新方向，习近平总书记围绕生态和文明的关系作出一系列重要论述，深刻阐明生态和文明的内在联系，为人类开启全新的生态文明建设提供了重要指引。

First, it profoundly elucidates the important role of ecology in the development of civilization, deepening the understanding of the laws of civilizational development. From the perspective of the evolution and development of civilization, Marx’s outstanding contribution lies mainly in revealing the status and role of material civilization construction within the overall structure of civilizational development. In Marx’s view, the production and reproduction of the material means of subsistence are the decisive force in the historical development of humanity; as the premise and foundation upon which human history unfolds, they determine the construction and development of political civilization and cultural-ethical progress. However, as the course of human civilizational development shows, the ecological environment exerts a deep-seated constraining effect on the development of civilization. For example, the four great ancient civilizations—ancient Egypt, ancient Babylon, ancient India, and ancient China—all originated in regions with favorable ecological environments, while the decline of the ecological environment directly led to the decline of ancient Egypt and ancient Babylon. General Secretary Xi Jinping, examining the historical process of human civilizational development from a broad historical perspective, deeply reflects on and summarizes the experiences and lessons of human civilizational development, and explicitly puts forward the major thesis that “when the ecology thrives, civilization thrives; when the ecology declines, civilization declines. The ecological environment is the foundation of human survival and development, and changes in the ecological environment directly affect the rise and fall of civilization.” This elevates the ecological environment to the height of the “foundation” of civilizational development, reveals the supporting role of ecology for civilization at the level of the laws of civilizational development, and deepens the understanding of the laws of human historical development.

第一，深刻阐明生态对文明发展的重要作用，深化了对文明发展规律的认识。从文明演进和发展的视角来看，马克思的卓越贡献主要在于揭示了物质文明建设在文明整体发展格局中的地位和作用。在马克思看来，物质生活资料的生产和再生产是人类历史发展进程中的决定性力量，它作为人类历史由以展开的前提和基础，决定着政治文明和精神文明的建设和发展。但是，正如人类文明发展的进程所表明的，生态环境对文明的发展发挥着深层次的制约作用。例如，古代埃及、古代巴比伦、古代印度、古代中国四大文明古国均发源于生态环境良好的地区，而生态环境的衰退则直接导致了古代埃及、古代巴比伦的衰落。习近平总书记以宏阔的历史视野审视人类文明发展的历史进程，深入反思和总结人类文明发展的经验和教训，明确提出“生态兴则文明兴，生态衰则文明衰。生态环境是人类生存和发展的根基，生态环境的变化直接影响文明兴衰演替”的重大论断，从而将生态环境提升到文明发展“根基”的高度，并在文明发展规律的层面揭示了生态对于文明发展的支撑作用，深化了对人类历史发展规律的认识。

Second, it comprehensively elevates the status and role of ecological construction within the structure of civilizational development, innovating the understanding of the path of civilizational development. In a broad sense, civilization is multidimensional, mainly including material civilization, political civilization, cultural-ethical progress, social civilization, and ecological civilization. These different dimensions of civilization interact to form a system of civilizational development. Marx and Engels revealed the intrinsic connection between ecology and civilization at a principled height, scientifically elucidating the status and role of material civilization construction within the civilizational system. The Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core adheres to and applies Marxist ecological thought, incorporating “ecological civilization construction into the overall layout of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics.”

第二，全面提升生态建设在文明发展格局中的地位和作用，创新了对文明发展道路的认识。从广义上来看，文明是多维的，主要包括物质文明、政治文明、精神文明、社会文明、生态文明等，这些不同维度的文明交互作用，构成了文明发展的体系。马克思恩格斯对生态和文明的内在联系进行了具有原则高度的揭示，科学阐明了物质文明建设在文明体系中的地位和作用。以习近平同志为核心的党中央坚持和运用马克思主义生态思想，将“生态文明建设纳入中国特色社会主义事业总体布局”。

However, this “incorporation” is by no means a simple addition of a dimension of social construction; rather, it requires “placing ecological civilization construction in a prominent position, integrating it into all aspects and the entire process of economic construction, political construction, cultural construction, social construction, and ecological civilization construction itself.” In economic construction, emphasis is placed on vigorously promoting green development, circular development, and low-carbon development, treating ecological construction itself as “an important fulcrum for driving the economy,” making “promoting the greening and low-carbon transformation of economic and social development” a “key link in achieving high-quality development,” and “supporting high-quality development with a high-quality ecological environment.” In political construction, building a Beautiful China is taken as “an important goal of comprehensively building a modern socialist country,” ensuring “securing the bottom line of safety for building a Beautiful China,” launching a series of fundamental, pioneering, and long-term efforts from the perspectives of ideology, law, institutions, organization, and work style, and strengthening ecological and environmental protection comprehensively, across all regions, and throughout the entire process. In cultural construction, “accelerating the establishment and improvement of an ecological culture system based on ecological values.” In social construction, “providing more high-quality ecological products to continuously meet the people’s growing needs for a beautiful ecological environment,” “actively exploring mechanisms for realizing the value of ecological products, improving ecological protection compensation mechanisms, and raising the level of modernization of ecological environment governance.” Integrating ecological civilization construction into all aspects and fields of economic and social development is intended to give full play to the important leading role of ecological civilization construction in the construction and development of the entire civilizational system, thereby comprehensively elevating the status and role of ecological civilization construction within the overall structure of the civilizational system. This reflects our Party’s deepening understanding of the laws of civilizational development and achieves a major innovation in the theory of the path of civilizational development.

但是，这种“纳入”绝不是简单地增加一个社会建设的维度，而是要求“把生态文明建设放在突出位置，融入经济建设、政治建设、文化建设、社会建设各方面和全过程”。在经济建设方面，强调着力推进绿色发展、循环发展、低碳发展，将生态建设本身作为“拉动经济的重要支点”，将“推动经济社会发展绿色化、低碳化”作为“实现高质量发展的关键环节”，“以高品质生态环境支撑高质量发展”；在政治建设方面，将建设美丽中国作为“全面建设社会主义现代化国家的重要目标”，确保“守牢美丽中国建设安全底线”，从思想、法律、体制、组织、作风上全面发力，开展一系列根本性、开创性、长远性工作，全方面、全地域、全过程加强生态环境保护；在文化建设方面，“加快建立健全以生态价值观念为准则的生态文化体系”；在社会建设方面，“提供更多优质生态产品，不断满足人民日益增长的优美生态环境需要”，“积极探索生态产品价值实现机制，完善生态保护补偿机制，提升生态环境治理现代化水平”。将生态文明建设融入经济社会发展各方面、各领域，就是要发挥生态文明建设对整个文明体系建设和发展的重要牵引作用，从而全面提升了生态文明建设在整个文明体系格局中的地位和作用，体现了我们党对文明发展规律认识的深化，实现了对文明发展道路理论的重大创新。

Third, it scientifically grasps the historical trend of human civilizational development and leads a new era of human ecological civilization construction. As discussed earlier, Marx profoundly revealed the internal mechanism by which the logic of capital causes ecological crises, and incorporated an ecological dimension into his scientific conception of future communist civilization, demonstrating a keen insight into the historical trend of human civilizational development. In the present era, with the continuous development of industrial civilization, Marx’s prophecy that the expansion of capital would inevitably lead to ecological crises has come true, and a global ecological crisis can be said to have erupted comprehensively. As General Secretary Xi Jinping has revealed, “Since humanity entered the era of industrial civilization, while creating enormous material wealth, it has also accelerated the plundering of natural resources, disrupted the balance of the Earth’s ecosystem, and the deep-seated contradiction between humanity and nature has become increasingly apparent.” The epochal question of where human civilization should go has thus been placed before humanity.

第三，科学把握人类文明发展的历史趋势，引领人类生态文明建设新时代。正如前文所述，马克思深刻揭示了资本逻辑造成生态危机的内在机理，并在未来共产主义文明的科学构想中注入了生态维度，体现了对人类文明发展历史趋势的敏锐洞察。现时代，伴随着工业文明的不断发展，马克思所揭示的资本扩张必然带来生态危机的预言成真，全球生态危机可谓是全面爆发。正如习近平总书记所揭示的，“人类进入工业文明时代以来，在创造巨大物质财富的同时，也加速了对自然资源的攫取，打破了地球生态系统平衡，人与自然的深层次矛盾日益显现”。人类文明该往何处去的时代课题由此摆在了人类面前。

Regarding this major epochal question, General Secretary Xi Jinping, adhering to the basic viewpoints of Marxist thought on the relationship between humanity and nature, reflects on the ecological defects of modern industrial civilization from a broad historical perspective, looks ahead to the future direction of human civilizational development, grasps the general trend of human civilizational development, and explicitly puts forward that “ecological civilization is a major achievement of human social progress. Humanity has experienced primitive civilization, agricultural civilization, and industrial civilization. Ecological civilization is a product of industrial civilization reaching a certain stage and is a new requirement for achieving harmonious development between humanity and nature.” This incorporates ecological civilization into the lineage of human civilizational development, comprehensively expands the ecological dimension of future civilization endowed by Marx, and provides important guidance for the development of human civilization.

对于这一重大时代课题，习近平总书记秉持马克思主义人与自然关系思想的基本观点，以宏阔的历史视野反思现代工业文明存在的生态缺陷，前瞻人类文明发展的未来走向，把握人类文明发展大势，明确提出“生态文明是人类社会进步的重大成果。人类经历了原始文明、农业文明、工业文明，生态文明是工业文明发展到一定阶段的产物，是实现人与自然和谐发展的新要求”，从而将生态文明纳入人类文明发展的谱系，全面拓展了马克思所赋予的未来文明的生态维度，为人类文明的发展提供了重要的指引。

IV. Environmental Governance Theory: Systematically Constructing Effective Pathways for Ecological Environment Governance

四、环境治理论：系统构建生态环境治理的有效路径

Capitalist relations of production are the root cause of increasingly serious ecological problems. As long as capitalist relations of production remain the premise upon which material production unfolds and are continuously reproduced in social production, any plan or measure detached from the transformation of relations of production cannot fundamentally solve ecological problems. Marx outlined a fundamental plan to overthrow capitalist relations of production and establish socialist relations of production, emphasizing that only on this premise can a rational relationship between humanity and nature be established. Marx’s plan for achieving a rational relationship between humanity and nature transcends various plans detached from the transformation of relations of production. Whether these plans focus on changing ideas or on limiting growth, they ultimately prove ineffective because they fail to touch the root cause of ecological problems. Engels gave a clear explanation of this. In his view, to properly regulate the relationship between humanity and nature, understanding alone is insufficient; it also requires “a complete transformation of our existing mode of production, and of our entire present social system along with it.”

资本主义生产关系乃是造成日益严重的生态问题的根源，只要资本主义生产关系仍然是物质生产由以展开的前提，并在社会生产中不断地被再生产出来，那么，任何一种游离于生产关系变革之外的方案或举措都不可能从根本上解决生态问题。马克思规划了颠覆资本主义生产关系、建立社会主义生产关系的根本方案，强调只有以此为前提才可能建立起合理的人与自然的关系。马克思关于实现人与自然合理关系的方案超越了种种游离于生产关系变革之外的方案，这些方案无论将着力点放在观念的变革上，还是放在限制增长上，都由于没有触及生态问题的根源，因而最终必定是无效的。对此，恩格斯曾作出明确的说明。在他看来，要调节好人与自然的关系，仅仅有认识是不够的，还“需要对我们的直到目前为止的生产方式，以及同这种生产方式一起对我们的现今的整个社会制度实行完全的变革”。

The basic viewpoint of Marx and Engels on promoting the construction of ecological civilization through the transformation of relations of production or mode of production provides fundamental guidance for our Party in advancing ecological civilization construction. Jiang Zemin emphasized: “We must attach great importance to and effectively solve the problem of transforming the mode of economic growth.” Facing the increasingly prominent contradiction between China’s long-standing traditional mode of economic development, which relies mainly on material input, and resources and the environment, Hu Jintao pointed out that “accelerating the transformation of the mode of economic development is an inevitable requirement for improving the capacity for sustainable development,” and made a series of important expositions on optimizing the spatial pattern of territorial development, comprehensively promoting resource conservation, increasing efforts to protect natural ecosystems and the environment, and strengthening the construction of ecological civilization institutions. Entering the New Era, General Secretary Xi Jinping has delivered a series of important expositions on environmental protection and governance, systematically planning a complete set of ecological environment protection and governance plans, including optimizing the development mode and lifestyle, vigorously cultivating ecological concepts among the entire population, strengthening the construction of ecological civilization institutions, and promoting the building of a community of life on Earth. This has greatly expanded the basic ideas of Marxism on promoting the rationalization of the relationship between humanity and nature.

马克思恩格斯关于通过生产关系或生产方式变革推动生态文明建构的基本观点，为我们党推进生态文明建设提供了根本指引。江泽民强调：“一定要高度重视并切实解决经济增长方式转变的问题。”面对我国长期形成的主要依靠物质投入的传统经济发展方式与资源环境之间日益突出的矛盾，胡锦涛指出，“加快经济发展方式转变是提高可持续发展能力的必然要求”，并从优化国土空间开发格局、全面促进资源集约、加大自然生态系统和环境保护力度、加强生态文明制度建设等方面作出了一系列重要论述。进入新时代，习近平总书记围绕环境保护和治理发表了一系列重要论述，系统规划了优化发展方式和生活方式、大力培塑全民生态观念、加强生态文明制度建设、推动构建地球生命共同体等在内的一整套生态环境保护和治理的方案，大大拓展了马克思主义关于推动人与自然关系合理化路径的基本思想。

First, transforming the mode of development and the mode of life. As Marx revealed, capitalist relations of production inevitably give rise to ecological problems; hence, within the framework of capitalist society, ecological problems cannot be resolved. After the founding of New China, our Party creatively opened up a path of socialist transformation, pushing China from a New Democratic society into a socialist society. The establishment of socialist relations of production laid a solid foundation for the thorough construction of a rational relationship between humanity and nature. Since reform and opening up, with the rapid development of the economy and society, China’s ecological problems have gradually emerged and become increasingly serious. As the report of the 20th National Congress of the CPC pointed out in its analysis of the situation before China entered the New Era, “constraints from resources and the environment have tightened, and problems such as environmental pollution have become prominent.” This indicates that, in the process of socialist construction, if there are deviations in the concept of development, the mode of development, and the mode of life, serious ecological problems can likewise arise.

第一，转变发展方式和生活方式。正如马克思所揭示的，资本主义生产关系必然会引发生态问题，因而，在资本主义社会框架中，生态问题不可能得到解决。新中国成立以后，我们党创造性地开辟了一条社会主义的改造道路，推动中国从新民主主义社会进入社会主义社会。社会主义生产关系的建立为彻底建构人与自然的合理性关系奠定了坚实的基础。改革开放以来，随着经济社会的迅速发展，我国的生态问题逐渐显现并日趋严重，正如党的二十大报告对我国进入新时代之前的形势分析中所指出的，“资源环境约束趋紧、环境污染等问题突出”。这表明，在社会主义建设过程中，如果发展理念、发展方式和生活方式出现偏差，同样会造成严重的生态问题。

In response to this, General Secretary Xi Jinping accurately diagnosed the root causes of China’s ecological problems, emphasizing that “ecological and environmental problems are, in the final analysis, problems of the mode of development and the mode of life. To fundamentally solve ecological and environmental problems, we must implement the concept of innovative, coordinated, green, open, and shared development, accelerate the formation of a spatial pattern, industrial structure, mode of production, and mode of life that conserve resources and protect the environment, confine economic activities and human behavior within the limits that natural resources and the ecological environment can bear, and leave time and space for the natural ecology to recuperate.” If the traditional mode of development is characterized by “high consumption and high pollution,” and its crux lies in the one-dimensional pursuit of quantitative economic growth, then Xi Jinping’s emphasis on “accelerating the formation of a green mode of development is the fundamental strategy for solving pollution problems” and on “accelerating the green and low-carbon transformation of the mode of development, insisting on green and low-carbon development as the fundamental strategy for solving ecological and environmental problems” represents a shift. Promoting the formation of a green mode of development, achieving a win-win situation for economic development and environmental protection, and striving to establish an economic structure that is compatible with and coordinated with the carrying capacity of the ecosystem. While promoting the transformation of the mode of production, we advocate a green mode of life, “using the green transformation of the mode of life to force the green transformation of the mode of production,” and “strengthening the green foundation of high-quality development.” General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important discourse on thoroughly solving ecological problems by transforming the mode of production and the mode of life both adheres to the basic Marxist viewpoint on the analysis of the root causes of ecological problems and grasps the particularities of the emergence of ecological problems under the conditions of socialist construction, thereby enriching and developing Marxist thought on the rationalization of the relationship between humanity and nature in a new historical context.

对此，习近平总书记准确把脉中国生态问题的根源，强调“生态环境问题归根结底是发展方式和生活方式问题，要从根本上解决生态环境问题，必须贯彻创新、协调、绿色、开放、共享的发展理念，加快形成节约资源和保护环境的空间格局、产业结构、生产方式、生活方式，把经济活动、人的行为限制在自然资源和生态环境能够承受的限度内，给自然生态留下休养生息的时间和空间”。如果说传统的发展方式在于“高消耗、高污染”，其要害在于单向度地追求经济的量的增长，那么，习近平总书记强调的“加快形成绿色发展方式，是解决污染问题的根本之策”，要“加快推动发展方式绿色低碳转型，坚持把绿色低碳发展作为解决生态环境问题的治本之策”。推动形成绿色发展方式，实现经济发展与环境保护双赢，努力建立与生态承载能力相适应、相协调的经济结构。在推动生产方式变革的同时，倡导绿色生活方式，“通过生活方式绿色变革，倒逼生产方式绿色转型”，“厚植高质量发展的绿色底色”。习近平总书记关于通过转变生产方式和生活方式来彻底解决生态问题的重要论述，既坚持了马克思主义对生态问题根源分析的基本观点，又抓住了社会主义建设条件下生态问题衍生的特殊性，从而在新的历史语境中丰富和发展了马克思主义关于人与自然关系合理化的思想。

Second, cultivating and shaping ecological values among the entire people. The logic of capital gives rise to an instrumental rational view of nature. The value orientation of modern society, which treats nature merely as an object of conquest, is also an important driver of increasingly serious ecological problems. Promoting the construction of a rational relationship between humanity and nature fundamentally requires the thorough overthrow of capitalist relations of production. At the same time, promoting changes in the concepts based on capital and the social reality shaped by capital also plays an important role in realizing the rationalization of the relationship between humanity and nature. Concepts ultimately come from reality, so the fundamental path to changing concepts lies in changing reality.

第二，培塑全民生态价值观念。资本逻辑衍生出对待自然的工具理性观念。现代社会将自然只是作为征服的工具的价值观念取向，也是引发日益严重的生态问题的重要动因。推动构建人与自然关系的合理化，根本在于彻底颠覆资本主义生产关系，而推动建立在资本以及由资本所塑造的社会现实基础上的观念的改变，在实现人与自然关系合理化中也发挥着重要的作用。观念归根到底来自现实，从而观念改变的根本路径在于改变现实。

At the same time, it must also be recognized that concepts themselves have relative independence, so promoting changes in concepts requires guidance and education at the cultural and spiritual levels. General Secretary Xi Jinping has made a series of important statements on the importance, methods, and approaches of cultivating and shaping ecological values, forming a systematic body of thought on the shaping of ecological values. First, from the perspective of the main force, it is emphasized that ecological and environmental protection is a common cause for the entire people. In this regard, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out, “Everyone is a protector, builder, and beneficiary of the ecological environment. No one is an onlooker, an outsider, or a critic. No one can just talk without acting or stand aloof.” Second, from the perspective of the unfolding of nationwide environmental protection actions, the importance of spiritual strength is emphasized. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out, “To promote ecological progress, we must rely on both material and spiritual forces.” Third, from the perspective of the methods and paths for shaping ecological concepts, we both adhere to the guidance and education of ideological concepts, emphasizing the need to “strengthen publicity and education on ecological civilization, incorporate content such as cherishing the ecology, protecting resources, and caring for the environment into the national education and training system, and into mass activities for cultural-ethical progress, firmly establish the concept of ecological civilization throughout society, and form a good atmosphere of joint participation by the whole society,” and “start from childhood, through lively labor experience courses, let children do it themselves, experience it personally, and realize it themselves, so that the concept that ‘lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets’ is implanted early in children’s hearts.” It also highlights the importance of organizing environmental protection activities, extensively carrying out green lifestyle creation activities, thereby cultivating and shaping ecological values among the entire people in the unity of ideological education and practical training.

同时，也要看到观念本身具有相对独立性，从而推动观念的改变需要文化和精神层面的引导和教育。习近平总书记在培塑生态价值观念的重要性、方式方法等方面作出了一系列重要论述，形成了关于生态价值观念塑造的系统化思想。首先，从主体力量来看，强调生态环境保护是全民的共同事业。对此，习近平总书记指出，“每个人都是生态环境的保护者、建设者、受益者，没有哪个人是旁观者、局外人、批评家，谁也不能只说不做、置身事外”。其次，从全民环保行动的展开来看，强调精神力量的重要性。习近平总书记指出：“抓生态文明建设，既要靠物质也要靠精神。”再次，从生态观念的培塑方式和路径来看，既坚持思想观念的引导和教育，强调“要加强生态文明宣传教育，把珍惜生态、保护资源、爱护环境等内容纳入国民教育和培训体系，纳入群众性精神文明创建活动，在全社会牢固树立生态文明理念，形成全社会共同参与的良好风尚”，“要从娃娃抓起，通过生动活泼的劳动体验课程，让孩子亲自动手、亲身体验、自我感悟，让‘绿水青山就是金山银山’的理念早早植入孩子的心灵”，又突出组织环保活动的重要性，广泛开展绿色生活创建活动，从而在思想教育和实践锻造的统一中培塑全民生态价值观念。

Third, strengthening the construction of an ecological civilization system. Ecological concepts help form the conscious action of ecological civilization construction, but just as any effective action cannot be separated from the regulation of institutions, ecological civilization construction also requires a complete institutional mechanism and policy system for regulation. In this sense, the construction of an ecological civilization system has a fundamental position and role in ecological civilization construction. General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly pointed out: “Institutional issues are more fundamental, overarching, stable, and long-term,” and “protecting the ecological environment must rely on institutions and the rule of law. Only by implementing the strictest systems and the most rigorous rule of law can we provide reliable guarantees for ecological civilization construction.”

第三，加强生态文明制度建设。生态观念有助于形成生态文明建设的行动自觉，但正如任何行动的有效开展都离不开制度的规约一样，生态文明建设同样需要完善的体制机制和政策体系来规范，从这个意义上说，生态文明制度建设在生态文明建设中具有根本性地位和作用。习近平总书记深刻指出：“制度问题更带有根本性、全局性、稳定性、长期性”，“保护生态环境必须依靠制度、依靠法治。只有实行最严格的制度、最严密的法治，才能为生态文明建设提供可靠保障”。

Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, focusing on providing institutional support for vigorously promoting ecological civilization construction, has incorporated the construction of an ecological civilization system into the overall plan of innovating the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics for integrated planning and promotion. It has established and improved the resource and ecological environment management system, the land and space development and protection system, and the national natural resource asset management system; implemented the farmland rotation and fallow system, the main functional area system, the system for paid use of resources, and the ecological compensation system; improved the natural forest protection system and the carbon emission statistical accounting system; and improved the carbon emission rights market trading system. Through the implementation of the central environmental protection inspection system, the improvement of the ecological and environmental protection responsibility investigation system, and the environmental damage compensation system, the rigid operation of the system is ensured. Accelerating the top-level design and institutional system construction of ecological civilization, grasping the key link in promoting the transformation of ecological civilization concepts into practical actions, “always adhering to the strictest systems and the most rigorous rule of law to protect the ecological environment,” has greatly expanded Marxist thought on realizing the rationalization of the relationship between humanity and nature, ensuring that the construction of ecological civilization in the New Era has achieved great accomplishments.

党的十八大以来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央着眼为大力推进生态文明建设提供制度支撑，将生态文明制度建设纳入中国特色社会主义制度创新的全局中一体筹划和推进，建立健全资源生态环境管理制度、国土空间开发保护制度、国家自然资源资产管理制度，实行耕地轮作休耕制度、主体功能区制度、资源有偿使用制度和生态补偿制度，完善天然林保护制度、碳排放统计核算制度，健全碳排放权市场交易制度等，并通过落实中央环保督察制度、健全生态环境保护责任追究制度和环境损害赔偿制度等，确保制度的刚性运行。加快推进生态文明顶层设计和制度体系建设，抓住推动生态文明理念向现实行动转变的关键环节，“始终坚持用最严格制度最严密法治保护生态环境”，大大拓展了马克思主义关于实现人与自然关系合理化的思想，确保了新时代生态文明建设取得伟大成就。

(Author bios: Xu Hengbing, Professor, Department of Marxist Theory, Political College, National Defense University; Distinguished Researcher, Center for the Study of the Sinicization of Marxism, Nanjing Academy of Social Sciences. Xu Di, Associate Professor, Department of Marxist Theory, Political College, National Defense University.)

（作者简介：许恒兵，国防大学政治学院马克思主义理论系教授，南京市社会科学院马克思主义中国化研究中心特聘研究员；许迪，国防大学政治学院马克思主义理论系副教授）

(Project: Jiangsu Provincial University Philosophy and Social Sciences Major Project “Research on Xi Jinping’s Important Discourse on the Leadership of the Communist Party of China as the Most Essential Feature of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics” (2020SJZDA002); Shanghai Municipal Marxist Theory Teaching and Research “Young and Middle-aged Top Talent” Funding Project “Innovative Development of Major Marxist Ideas in China in the New Era” (2020BJ38) – phased results.)

（项目：江苏省高校哲学社会科学重大项目“习近平关于中国共产党的领导是中国特色社会主义最本质特征重要论述研究”（2020SJZDA002）、上海市马克思主义理论教学与研究“中青年拔尖人才”资助项目“马克思主义主要思想在新时代中国的创新发展”（2020BJ38）的阶段性成果）

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