The Environment And Marxism-Leninism: The Soviet And East German Experience

Description

In the past two decades, environmental pollution and natural resource shortages have evoked increasing concern in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. The emerging ecological crisis has challenged many common assumptions in the Soviet bloc, as in the West. This book provides, for the first time, a detailed and comprehensive analysis of the ecology debate in the USSR and its highly industrialized ally, the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Based on a thorough examination of the Soviet and GDR sources, Dr. DeBardeleben explores the authorities' attempts to explain the problem to their populations. She also examines the viewpoints of scientists, writers, and scholars, with special attention to economic dimensions of the ecology debate. The study reveals the increasing sophistication of specialists in influencing public policy by adapting official values to support their positions. Through comparison of the Soviet and East German cases, the study clarifies the impact of natural resource endowment and legitimacy dilemmas on treatment of the ecology issue. The book demonstrates that Marxist-Leninist values subtly affect Soviet and GDR responses, but at the same time the environmental crisis is forcing a reevaluation of some aspects of Marxist-Leninist theory and ideology itself. Cover Half Title Title Copyright Contents Preface PART 1 IDEOLOGY, THEORY, AND THE ENVIRONMENT 1 SOVIET STUDIES AND ECOLOGY Marxism-Leninism as Ideology and as Theory Limits on Public Discussion Soviet and East German Perspectives The Comparative Dimension A Note on Sources 2 POLITICAL LEGITIMATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS Environmental Deterioration as a Legitimacy Challenge Politics as Language: The Nature of Environmental Protection Causes and Solutions: Capitalism and Socialism Conclusion 3 PHILOSOPHICAL, THEORETICAL, AND THEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES Western Culture, Marxism, and Environmental Ethics Mastery of Nature: The Limits Conclusion 4 SCIENCE, SCIENTISTS, AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH The Search for a Framework: Disciplinary Competition and Cooperation Practical Coordination: Fragmentation and Scientific Lobbies International Cooperation "Unified Geography" and the Environment Conclusion PART 2 ECONOMICS AND THE ENVIRONMENT 5 THE POLITICAL-ECONOMIC CONTEXT Economic Policy and the Environment 6 ECONOMIC GROWTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT No "Limits to Growth": Responses to the Club of Rome The Economics of Growth The Limits of Economic Analysis Conclusion 7 MACRO-ECONOMIC QUESTIONS: NATIONAL ACCOUNTING AND TERRITORIAL PLANNING National Accounting and Planning Concepts Branch and Territorial Planning Conclusion 8 NATURAL RESOURCE PRICING AND THE LABOR THEORY OF VALUE Background: Soviet and GDR Policies The Soviet Debate The Debate in the GDR Methods of Economic Evaluation Conclusion 9 CONCLUSIONS LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS BIBLIOGRAPHY Newspapers and Popular Science Magazines Consulted