Version imprimableWhilst ecosocialism has made great strides in its ability to offer a comprehensive alternative for society, its supporters must still prove that they are capable of engaging in politics – that is, of fighting for power.
This is no small challenge, because it is clearly not a question of gaining power within the bourgeois institutional framework. It is a question of fighting for a class-based break that involves redefining power to serve the exploited and the oppressed, whilst respecting ecological limits.
A major difficulty in this endeavour stems from the fact that most of the planet’s ecological limits have been exceeded. Consequently, an anti-capitalist break must necessarily involve a reduction in global energy consumption, material production and transport. However, this constraint is unpopular amongst workers because, under capitalism, growth determines employment, wages, social benefits, etc.
The heatwaves of 2026 could be a game-changer. Large sections of the population have recognised the danger of climate change. Yet the threat posed by climate change, by its very existential nature, transcends socio-economic concerns and tends to reveal the absurdity of the capitalist logic that dispossesses workers of their labour and their lives.
This awareness may wane. But any such lull would be temporary because 1) capitalism is incapable of stabilising the climate and 2) with a 3°C rise in temperature, Western Europe is particularly threatened by heatwaves and other extreme weather events.
There is therefore a chance that the world of work will join the fight against the climate catastrophe on a much larger scale, on the basis of its own demands and from an anti-systemic perspective. This is a major challenge, as workers make up the majority of the population and can bring the capitalist economy to a standstill.
In this context, eco-socialists cannot be content with merely spreading propaganda: they must also campaign for an emergency plan comprising demands that bridge the gap between the issues perceived as most pressing by the working classes and the maximum programme.
In this plan, it is of paramount importance not to neglect adaptation measures. The catastrophe is upon us, and is partly irreversible. Action must be taken. The task of protecting the most vulnerable must not be left to the demagoguery of the climate-denying far right!
We obviously do not view adaptation in the same way as neoliberal governments. We link it to the redistribution of wealth, give it a democratic and social dimension, and combine it with the reduction of emissions (in housing, transport, agricultural policy, etc.).
The comprehensive eco-socialist programme is an irreplaceable propaganda tool because it presents an alternative vision of society. Engaging in practical politics involves selecting those proposals which, in each specific situation, are likely to set in motion the momentum needed to advance towards the strategic objective: the expropriation of the fossil fuel industry and the financial sector by a government as loyal to the oppressed as current governments are to the employers.
23 July 2026
Translated by International Viewpoint from SolidaritéS.
