Shen Guangming: The Ecological Narrative of Marxist Productivity Theory
Productive forces constitute the core concept of historical materialism. Unlike past economists who understood productive forces only in terms of increasing wealth and strengthening national power, Marx interpreted them as the material foundation of human social life and all of history. He not only affirmed the immense productive forces created by capitalism but also viewed the inheritance of capitalism's advanced productive forces as the material prerequisite for the realization of communism. To this end, some Western ecological scholars, in reflecting on the relationship between capitalism and ecological issues, have argued that Marx’s theory of productive forces contains anti-ecological ideological elements. To counter this view, two questions must be discussed. First, are productive forces ecological in nature? By analyzing texts concerning productive forces within Marx’s works, we endeavor to demonstrate the fact that productive forces possess an ecological character. Second, what is the internal relationship between ecological environmental problems and the development of productive forces? Marx believed that the development of capitalist productive forces led to a "metabolic rift" [1] in the exchange between humanity and nature. He advocated for a resolution through the collective control of this metabolism based on the public ownership of the means of production. From this, it can be inferred that ecological environmental problems are the result of the anti-ecological nature of capitalist productive forces. We maintain that although Marx did not use the term "ecology" at the textual level, his narrative regarding the attributes and laws of nature, the contradictions between humanity and nature, and their resolution aligns with the essential tenets of ecology, as concentrated in his theory of productive forces. In the process of the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism, while contemplating how to liberate and develop social productive forces, the Chinese Communists have paid close attention to the relationship between developing productive forces and protecting the environment. General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important discourse that "new quality productive forces are themselves green productive forces" is precisely a major fundamental innovation of Marxist theory. We shall proceed from the ecological narrative of Marxist productive force theory to conduct an in-depth investigation of this.
I. The Ecological Nature of the Productive Power of Labor and the Sources of Green Productive Forces
From the perspective of a materialist view of nature, "A being which does not have its object outside itself is not an objective being. A being which is not itself an object for some third being has no being for its object; i.e., it is not objectively related." A being without an object is a non-being; all natural beings establish objective relations through objective activity. Motion is an inherent attribute of matter; the motion of matter generates impulses, vitality, and tension. "The primary forms of matter are its indigenous, vital, essential forces, which give it individuality." The forces inherent within matter drive the interaction between natural beings, performing objective activities and forming objective relations. Marx also referred to this objective activity as the natural metabolism of matter. Changes in the material structure and natural form of all natural beings constitute this natural metabolism. On this basis, Marx distinguished between living and non-living natural beings and discussed the objective relationship between the two. Living natural beings satisfy their needs for survival through objective activity, while non-living natural beings manifest their inner essential forces through objective activity. The objective activity between living and non-living natural beings sustains vital existence and enables the continuous evolution of life. The objective activity of animals sustains life through eating, drinking, and procreating. Humans, as natural beings—and specifically as living natural beings—are physiologically identical to animals: "Eating, drinking, procreating, etc., are also, of course, genuine human functions. But abstractly taken, separated from the sphere of all other human activity and turned into sole and ultimate ends, they are animal functions." The objective relationship formed by plants, animals, and humans with non-living natural beings is the relationship of interaction between organic life and its environment; it is the "home" that sustains life—that is, ecology. Interactions between various natural beings form mutually dependent objective relations. The ecosystems characterized by the cycling of matter, the flow of energy, and the transmission of information in an ecological context are generated by these objective relations. It is evident that Marx already addressed the fundamental essentials of ecology within his materialist view of nature.
The objective activity of humanity toward nature generates productive forces. "Nature at first confronts men as a completely alien, all-powerful and unassailable force." Humans initially survived in nature like animals, gradually constructing a life-world through the objective activity of transforming nature, reproducing nature according to recognized natural laws and the laws of beauty, and thereby transforming the alien forces of nature into forces that sustain life. In the historical materialist view, Marx provided a more concrete definition of humanity’s objective activity toward nature: "Labor is, first of all, a process between man and nature, a process by which man, through his own actions, mediates, regulates, and controls the metabolism between himself and nature." Labor, as the metabolic activity between humanity and nature, is the fundamental objective activity. In this objective relationship, humanity is the laborer, nature is the object of labor, and the "thing or complex of things that the worker interposes between himself and the subject of his labor" through mediation, regulation, and control constitutes the instruments of labor. The material force by which the laborer uses instruments of labor to transform and influence nature to suit social needs is the productive force. "The simple elements of the labor process are: purposeful activity or labor itself, the object of labor, and the instruments of labor." The development of productive forces is precisely the labor process; it is the process of generating a "humanized nature" through humanity’s objective activity toward nature. "Through this production, nature appears as his work and his reality." For this reason, productive forces are also called the productive power of labor.
The productive power of labor possesses the quality of maintaining the interactive relationship between the environment and organic life, including animals, plants, and microorganisms as well as humans. From Marx’s standpoint of explaining labor through the concept of "metabolism," the process of labor creating a humanized nature is not a one-dimensional process of humanity dominating nature, but rather a two-way exchange process of interaction and interdependence to sustain life. Humanity is merely one part of the organic whole of nature. Humans transform other living and non-living natural beings, appropriate and produce use-values, and extract the matter, energy, and information necessary to sustain life. Simultaneously, the excreta formed by human life activities and the remains of life after death return to nature. On the one hand, these are transformed into the material, energy, and information that sustain the lives of other living natural beings; on the other hand, they compensate for the material and energy humans have extracted from non-living natural beings. Because the lost material and energy of other living and non-living natural beings receive corresponding compensation, a stable cycling of matter, flow of energy, and transmission of information is maintained. Thus, labor is not an activity of one-dimensional, infinite extraction of matter and energy by humans, but rather an activity of participating in the interaction between living and non-living natural beings. It functions identically to metabolism and serves as a mode of natural metabolism. Consequently, for Marx, humanity is not the owner of nature but an organic part belonging to nature—a position that aligns with an ecological worldview. From the metabolic connotation of the concept of "labor," the productive power of labor is essentially the power of humanity to conduct metabolism with nature. It is both the power to acquire matter, energy, and information from nature to sustain life and the power to output the same to nature to compensate for the depletion of other natural beings, as prescribed by the order of the ecosystem’s material cycles, energy flows, and information transmissions. Therefore, the productive power of labor can maintain the interactive relationship between various forms of organic life—including humans—and the environment; it possesses an ecological character.
The ecological character of the productive power of labor is the source of the "base color" of green productive forces. Ecological research indicates that vegetation consists of the producers in an ecosystem, converting solar energy into chemical energy and inorganic matter into organic matter through photosynthesis, forming the primary productivity of the ecosystem and providing oxygen, organic matter, and food energy for the maintenance of life. In the symbolic sense of life, the "green" of vegetation signifies vigorous life-vitality and is regarded as the base color of nature and a synonym for ecology. As a force originating from the activities of material cycling, energy flow, and information transmission in nature, the productive power of labor possesses an ecological character that sustains life-vitality and can also be identified as "green." Marx and Engels pointed out: "In the development of productive forces there comes a stage such that productive forces and means of intercourse are brought into being, which, under the existing relationships, only cause mischief, and are no longer productive but destructive forces." At certain historical stages, under the influence of specific relations of production, the productive power of labor can also destroy the interactive relationship between organic life and the environment, leading the ecosystem toward collapse. Therefore, in the process of transforming nature, humanity needs to form productive forces marked as "green"—that is, green productive forces—which can maintain a sustainable interactive relationship between organic life and its environment. These forces take ecological character as their fundamental attribute and green development as their base color.
The development of green productive forces requires the following: First, not exceeding the carrying capacity of the ecosystem. The capacity of an ecosystem for self-maintenance and self-regulation is its carrying capacity. Humans need to transform the natural productivity of the ecosystem into the productive power of labor to sustain life, but excessively extracting matter and energy from nature without an equivalent return, or returning things that nature cannot accept (such as various pollutants that cannot be absorbed), will destroy the basic structure and function of the ecosystem, making it difficult for the ecosystem to support the development of productive forces. In its development, green productive forces must return the extracted matter and energy to nature in an acceptable manner to maintain the steady-state operation of the ecosystem. Second, not violating the laws governing the operation of the ecosystem. The fundamental way in which the productive power of labor continuously develops is by inventing and creating instruments of labor that "mediate, regulate, and control" nature through mastering and utilizing "the mechanical, physical, and chemical properties of things." Developing science and technology and creating instruments of labor based on a correct understanding of natural laws and the relationship between humanity and nature is an inherent requirement of green productive forces. The application of science and technology and production activities that violate the operational laws of the ecosystem will inevitably destroy the interactive relationship between organic life and its environment, such that the order of material cycles, energy flows, and information transmissions in nature can no longer be maintained, causing productive forces to lose the natural conditions for sustainable development. Third, not deviating from the needs of free human development. On the basis of satisfying the needs of life-maintenance, the productive power of labor must also satisfy the needs for the realization of the free and well-rounded development of humanity. At the level of the relationship between humanity and nature, this is manifested in humans treating natural beings as equals: "Only when the object becomes for man a human object... can I relate myself to the object in a human way... Need and enjoyment have thus lost their egotistical nature, and nature has lost its mere utility." Developing productive forces by treating natural beings as alien existences to be conquered, infinitely extracting matter and energy, and insatiably pursuing desires and pleasures will inevitably lead to a sharp antagonism between humanity and nature. The development of green productive forces must enable humanity to achieve free and well-rounded development through harmonious coexistence with nature.
In short, the productive power of labor, as the metabolic force between humanity and nature, possesses an ecological character, but under specific relations of production, it can also produce anti-ecological consequences and destroy ecosystems. Therefore, humanity needs to develop green productive forces.
II. The Economic Nature of Capitalist Productive Forces and the Developmental Prospect for Green Productive Forces
Marx and Engels pointed out: "This development of productive forces... is an absolutely necessary practical premise because without it only want is made general, and with destitution the struggle for necessities... would be reproduced." The development of productive forces is an economic activity to escape poverty and the fundamental path to enriching the country and the people. From this, it can be seen that the productive power of labor possesses an economic character. However, its economic and ecological characters may enter into a state of mutual confrontation: the ecological character requires maintaining the stability and balance of the ecosystem, while the economic character requires extracting as much matter and energy from the ecosystem as possible to create wealth. The examples cited by Engels of the inhabitants of Mesopotamia and elsewhere suffering the revenge of nature due to deforestation for cultivation are concrete manifestations of this contradiction. Thus, social development must coordinate the ecological and economic characters of productive forces.
Capitalist productive forces evolved from the productive power of labor but possess an anti-ecological economic character. Marx discovered from the products of labor...
"Undifferentiated human labor" is, according to Marx, the "crystallization of this social substance, which is value." Based on the exchangeability of value, products of labor are transformed into commodities. This exchange of commodities separates out money as the general representative of value. Capital is then generated in the economic activity of utilizing the economic power of money to acquire more money; it is money capable of realizing a surplus amount over the original sum advanced. "This increment or excess over the original value is called surplus value." Unlike the early forms of capital—merchant capital and interest-bearing capital, which earned surplus value through buying cheap and selling dear or through interest—modern capitalist society directly transforms the internal elements of productive forces—laborers, means of labor, and objects of labor—into variable and constant capital. It achieves accumulative valorization by uncompensated expropriation of the surplus value created by laborers and subsequently transforming that surplus value back into variable and constant capital.
Consequently, driven by the command of capital, the productive forces of labor are transmuted into capitalist productive forces. "While capital strives for the boundless enrichment of value, it seeks to increase the productive forces boundlessly... Every increase in the productive forces of labor... is an increase in the productive forces of capital, and the productive forces of labor are only such insofar as they are the productive forces of capital." While the productive forces of labor acquire material goods from nature to create wealth, the wealth pursued by capital is value that valorizes without end. Driven by valorization, capitalist productive forces infinitely intake material goods, creating wealth that "appears as an 'immense collection of commodities.'" This nature of wealth creation—maximizing the extraction of material goods from nature and the uncompensated appropriation of surplus value from laborers—constitutes the "economic" character of capitalist productive forces. Regulated by this economic character, capitalist productive forces adopt a mode of wealth creation characterized by production for the sake of production, technology for the sake of technology, and consumption for the sake of consumption. This creates an irreparable rift in the metabolic relationship between humanity and nature, thereby triggering ecological crises.
1. Production for the sake of production: Breaking through natural limits As James O'Connor noted: "To use Marx's words, capitalism must 'either accumulate or die.'" The operation of capitalism relies on surplus value; a surplus value rate tending toward zero means capital is approaching death. To this end, capitalist productive forces involve "production for the sake of production, that is, developing the productive forces of human labor regardless of any pre-established and pre-determined limits of need," breaking through any boundaries that hinder the development of productive forces to produce surplus value.
First, it breaks through the limits of ecosystems. Capitalism subjects nature to money fetishism, turning it into a controllable and useful object. Capitalist productive forces absorb the matter, energy, and information of ecosystems without providing corresponding compensation, thereby exceeding ecological carrying capacities. Second, it breaks through the limits of time and space. Capitalism incorporates natural riches into its cycles at a scale and rate of geometric expansion, exhausting in a short period the "blessings of hundreds of thousands of years of history" evolved by nature. Simultaneously, it uses the velocity of circulation to truncate natural rhythms, disrupting the life cycles of the ecosystem. "Capital by its nature strives to drive beyond every spatial barrier." Capitalist productive forces tear apart the natural bond between town and country, transforming natural space into production space and "undermining the everlasting natural condition for the lasting fertility of the soil." In short, in the process of pursuing the maximization of surplus value, capitalist productive forces produce for the sake of production, breaking natural limits and causing ecological crises.
2. Technology for the sake of technology: Dominating natural forces For Marx, science becomes a productive force as a result of capitalists "utilizing science and appropriating science" [5] to shape production technology, using it to increase labor productivity and obtain extraordinary surplus value. Science and technology become "possessed" by value, turning into an autonomously evolving system that combines with laborers, means of labor, and objects of labor to be transformed into productive forces in the mode of "technology for the sake of technology." Although Marx affirmed science and technology as historical levers promoting the development of productive forces, he clearly pointed out that in capitalist applications, they "turn material production into the scientific domination of natural forces."
First, this entails a formal domination of natural forces. Nature is abstracted through scientific demystification into universal forms expressing natural laws. Constructed under these universal forms, production technology can reshape and empower natural forces, sucking them entirely into capitalist productive forces. Second, it entails the industrial domination of natural forces. Subject to the command of capital, science and technology are used to explore the entirety of nature to discover natural forces that can be inexhaustibly supplied to large-scale industry and industrially managed large-scale agriculture. In brief, the mode of technology for the sake of technology brings extraordinary surplus value, but the "scientific domination of natural forces" also causes a metabolic rift [6].
3. Consumption for the sake of consumption: Overdrawing natural riches The realization of surplus value requires the "immense collection of commodities" to enter the sphere of consumption to complete the circuit of capital. Once commodities cannot be absorbed by the sphere of consumption, the chain between the supply side and the demand side breaks, leading to an economic crisis. The drive to extract surplus value and the pressure to avoid economic crises give rise to the model of "consumption for the sake of consumption."
First, this involves consumerism driven by material desire. The instinctive desires of human life are subsumed by "capital as the boundless desire for enrichment," becoming an ideology that deeply influences production and consumption. Desires are activated by capital to generate what Deleuze termed "desiring-production" and Baudrillard called the "consumer society" based on material desire, forming a bottomless abyss that swallows natural riches. Second, it involves accelerated consumption. Stimulating, inducing, and even disciplining laborers to overdraw their future labor to accelerate the consumption of the "immense collection of commodities" is the way to complete the capital circuit at maximum speed. The acceleration of consumption brings an acceleration of capital circulation; this cumulative cyclical motion not only accelerates the overdrawing of natural riches but also results in the natural environment being unable to absorb and process wastes in the short term that would normally take nearly a century to decompose and purify. Third, it involves polluting consumption. Driven by extraordinary profits, capitalists dump waste into nature without decontamination or recycling; "in the utilization of such excreta, the capitalist economy is very wasteful." Wastes destroy natural material structures and ecosystem functions, leading to the excessive overdrawing of natural riches.
The wealth creation modes of production for the sake of production, technology for the sake of technology, and consumption for the sake of consumption lead to an irreconcilable conflict between the economic and ecological characters of productive forces, triggering ecological crises. Developing green productive forces is the fundamental way out of current ecological crises. Marxist theory of productive forces scientifically provides a blueprint for the development of green productive forces.
First, this development is based on the historical inheritance of advanced capitalist productive forces through the public ownership of the means of production. The development of capitalist productive forces produces a result where constant capital increases infinitely while variable capital tends toward zero due to technological progress and increased labor productivity. Consequently, capitalism is replaced by communism; that is, "the development of the productive forces brought about by capital itself in its historical development, once it has reached a certain point, will not create but eliminate the self-valorization of capital." With the establishment of the public ownership of the means of production, the wealth created by capitalist productive forces is transformed into collective wealth owned and shared by all laborers. While labor productivity returns to the community by shaking off the control of capital, it simultaneously develops to a high degree, possessing an economic character that allows "all the springs of collective wealth to flow more abundantly." Inheriting the advanced productive forces of capitalism to create wealth in the historical process of transcending capitalism is the realistic prerequisite for developing green productive forces. Returning to a stage of productive force development that would only lead to "the universalization of poverty and extreme want" for the sake of being "green" does not conform to historical laws.
Second, this development is based on the common control of the metabolism through the public ownership of the means of production. Marx profoundly pointed out: "Productive power will also increase... Freedom in this field can only consist in socialized man, the associated producers, rationally regulating their interchange with Nature, bringing it under their common control, instead of being ruled by it as by the blind forces of Nature; and achieving this with the least expenditure of energy and under conditions most favorable to, and worthy of, their human nature." This indicates that common control of the metabolism between humanity and nature, based on public ownership, will ensure that the development of productive forces does not exceed the ecosystem's carrying capacity, violate its laws of operation, or deviate from the needs of the free and well-rounded development of humanity.
Specifically, developing green productive forces should focus on the following aspects. One is conducting metabolism "under their common control." Institutional arrangements based on the "common interest, according to a common plan, and with the participation of all members of society" can "coordinate their productive forces according to a single large plan" during the metabolic process, ensuring development does not exceed ecosystem limits. Two is conducting metabolism "with the least expenditure of energy." The development and application of science and technology, organized and managed collectively by the whole of society, will make it possible to extract as little matter, energy, and information from the ecosystem as possible, reuse waste as resources in production and consumption, and return non-polluting excreta to nature. This uses the least natural force to support the high-level development of productive forces. Three is conducting metabolism under "conditions most suitable to human nature." Public ownership not only allows humanity to escape "all relations in which man is a debased, enslaved, forsaken, despicable being" to achieve "free conscious activity," but also provides the institutional foundation for humanity to engage in metabolism with nature on an equal footing. This allows humanity to coexist harmoniously with nature while developing productive forces, transitioning from the realm of necessity to the realm of freedom. The green productive forces of the future society will steadily maintain the interaction between organic life (including humans) and the environment, finally realizing the true reconciliation of humanity and nature.
III. New Quality Productive Forces are Themselves Green Productive Forces
Capitalist countries have achieved some success in addressing environmental pollution and ecological degradation by adjusting industrial structures and promoting technological innovation. However, so-called green policies, green technologies, and green economies based on capitalist private ownership can never escape the logic that "capital has only one life instinct, the drive to valorize itself and create surplus value." They cannot fundamentally resolve the contradiction between the economic and ecological characters in the development of productive forces, nor can they thoroughly solve ecological and environmental problems. It can be said that capitalist private ownership and green productive forces are inherently mutually exclusive. The reason some Western ecological scholars label Marxist productive force theory as "anti-ecological" stems from their own standpoint of private ownership. Their error lies in failing to recognize the qualitative reshaping of modes of production, science, technology, and lifestyles brought by the historical transformation from private to public ownership, and further, failing to understand that public ownership is the institutional prerequisite for humanity to view itself as an integral part of the organic whole of nature and coexist harmoniously with it. In essence, developing green productive forces and addressing the current ecological crisis must be based on the public ownership of the means of production.
China has made it a major task of the New Era to accelerate the formation and development of green productive forces.
"Communists can summarize their theory in a single sentence: the abolition of private property." Guided by Marxism, the Communist Party of China (CPC) abolished various forms of private property inherited from the old society during the processes of revolution and construction, gradually establishing public ownership of the means of production. While our country persists in taking public ownership as the mainstay, it simultaneously leverages the positive role of capital in developing productive forces. However, while achieving the goals of national prosperity and individual well-being, a situation characterized by tight resource constraints, serious environmental pollution, and ecosystem degradation has emerged. The contradiction between the economic and ecological dimensions of the productive power of labor has become prominent. Entering the New Era, the Chinese communists, with Comrade Xi Jinping as their chief representative, proposed a new strategy to promote high-quality development through new quality productive forces. "New quality productive forces are an advanced state of productive forces in which innovation plays the leading role; they move away from traditional economic growth models and paths for developing productive forces, feature high technology, high efficiency, and high quality, and align with the New Development Philosophy."
New quality productive forces possess an economic dimension aimed at satisfying the people's ever-growing needs for a better life. Developing these forces requires the constant generation of new technologies, the development of high technology, and the accelerated transformation and application of scientific and technological achievements. It necessitates the transformation of traditional industries, the expansion of emerging industries, and the fortification of the foundations of a modernized industrial system, thereby enhancing the efficiency, benefit, and quality of economic development to create abundant wealth for improving the people's living standards. Simultaneously, new quality productive forces possess an ecological dimension aimed at satisfying the people's ever-growing needs for a beautiful ecological environment. "Green is the symbol of life and the background color of nature; more importantly, it is the foundation of a better life and the aspiration of the masses." Developing new quality productive forces also requires protecting the integrity of the ecosystem, constructing a community of life [7] characterized by harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature, and promoting high-quality development where "green becomes the universal form," thereby safeguarding the people's most inclusive public welfare.
As General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Green development is the background color of high-quality development, and new quality productive forces are themselves green productive forces." New quality productive forces possess the background color of green development; they are advanced productive forces capable of maintaining the coordination and unity of the economic and ecological dimensions. At the current stage, our country's acceleration of the formation and development of new quality productive forces follows the blueprint for green productive forces found in Marxist theory. We are unswervingly following the path of ecological priority and green development, promoting the green transformation of production methods, green innovation in science and technology, and the green revolution in lifestyles to cultivate and develop green productive forces.
1. The Green Transformation of Production Methods Marx noted that "with the acquisition of new productive forces, people change their mode of production." New quality productive forces require new production methods compatible with them. The production methods of mass production, mass consumption, and mass emissions, which emerged during China's process of resolving the problem of economic scarcity, have placed pressure on the carrying capacity of the ecosystem. Advancing the green transformation of production methods and preventing or avoiding the phenomenon of "production for the sake of production" are inherent requirements for cultivating new quality productive forces. To this end, we should draw on the idea of community control over the metabolism [8] between man and nature, leverage the advantages of the socialist system, and exercise macro-control over the production process. At the current stage, the emphasis is on adjusting structures, optimizing layouts, strengthening industries, and integrating chains.
First, we must adjust economic and energy structures, changing the situation where the scale of the extensive economy [9] is too large and its development too rapid. We must phase out high-energy-consuming, high-polluting, and low-efficiency capacity while developing renewable clean energy. Second, we must prioritize the planning of ecological and emerging industries, optimize industrial layouts across regions and river basins, and implement high-quality management of energy-rich areas and ecological security barrier zones. Third, we must expand energy-saving, environmental protection, and clean industries. This involves cultivating modern agriculture that is high-yield, safe, resource-saving, and environment-friendly; developing high-end, intelligent, and green modern industry; and promoting the green upgrading of the service industry to form ecological industrial clusters. Fourth, we must establish integrated green industrial chains that encompass technology development and application, commodity production and circulation, and the circular utilization of resources. This involves promoting environmental protection and resource conservation across the entire chain, achieving a circular connection between the production and living systems. This green transformation will enable our country to extract minimum resources from nature and utilize them through high-efficiency recycling. Meanwhile, China is extending this development path of structural adjustment, layout optimization, industrial strengthening, and chain integration internationally through platforms such as the "Green Belt and Road" and South-South Cooperation, assisting developing countries in their own green transformation.
2. Green Innovation in Science and Technology Every technological revolution in history has, to varying degrees, triggered changes in production methods. The green transformation of production methods is inseparable from green innovation in science and technology. Ecology has become a frontier science in technological innovation. Carrying out technological development and application in fields such as agriculture, industry, and forestry based on ecological principles is an essential component of innovating green technology. Promoting the integration of ecology into scientific and technological innovation—using the ecologization of science and technology as a guide to accelerate green technological innovation and the promotion of advanced green technologies—is the fundamental path to achieving the metabolism "with the least expenditure of energy." Currently, innovation in key generic technologies, frontier leading technologies, modern engineering technologies, and disruptive technologies must take the protection of the ecosystem as a prerequisite. It must achieve a conceptual fusion of innovation and "green," resolving problems of high energy consumption, high risk, and high pollution in development and application.
Although capitalist countries have promoted the rise of green technology, green innovation there remains constrained by the valorization of capital, following the logic of "technology for technology's sake." This results in insurmountable barriers such as the "Jevons Paradox" [10]. In developing new quality productive forces, China must fully leverage the advantages of the new-type whole-nation system [11], using innovation in economic and technological systems to circumvent the development of "technology for technology's sake." First, we must regulate and guide the healthy and benign development of capital, freeing science and technology from the capture of capital and making it a booster for green technology. Second, we must endow technological innovation with the goal of common prosperity, ensuring that "green technology becomes the fundamental direction of technology serving society." Third, based on the common interests of humanity, we must coordinate the economic and ecological benefits of technological innovation, systematically promoting the supervision of technological innovation to pre-emptively control the long-term impact of technological activities on the ecosystem.
3. The Green Revolution in Lifestyles General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized the need to advocate for green lifestyles throughout society, "forcing the green transformation of production methods through a green revolution in lifestyles." During its process of economic and social development, China saw the emergence of desire-driven consumption—such as extravagant construction [12], extravagance and waste, luxury and debauchery, and the indiscriminate eating of wild animals. Many industries experienced "accelerated consumption" trends, such as excessive stimulus of consumption, credit-based consumption, and premature consumption. For a long period, there was a tacit acceptance of discharging untreated waste and the problem of "polluting without paying." These issues increased resource consumption and environmental loads, creating many bottlenecks and "stuck points" [13] for the development of productive forces. Therefore, cultivating new quality productive forces necessitates launching a green revolution in lifestyles.
First, we must promote a transformation in consumption concepts, encouraging all people to establish life concepts of thrift, health, civilization, and moderation in their daily lives, studies, work, and social activities. We must establish a way of thinking focused on resource conservation, environmental protection, and pollution reduction to provide the spiritual impetus for developing new quality productive forces. Second, we must accelerate the innovation of consumption models. On one hand, we must create green, low-carbon, and circular consumption models to enhance the level of greening, decontamination, and low-carbonization of consumer goods, as well as the recycling, biodegradability, and zero-emission status of waste. On the other hand, we must create intelligent, shared, and inclusive consumption models to achieve the digital allocation of production factors, the shared use of social resources, and the inclusive enjoyment of ecological products. Third, we must optimize the consumption environment. This involves refining the regulatory mechanisms for green consumption standards and the disposal of waste materials and public hazards. We should construct market mechanisms that reflect the supply and demand for green consumption, the scarcity of resources, and the costs of pollution control, while perfecting incentive and constraint mechanisms for green consumption. The popularization of green lifestyles will effectively coordinate the contradictions between economic growth and environmental load, and the conflict between accelerated consumption and resource conservation. This will ensure that the people's needs for a better life and a beautiful environment are met, aiding in the early realization of the goal of free and well-rounded human development.
The ecological narrative inherent in Marxist productive force theory—concerning the ecological nature of the productive power of labor, the anti-ecological wealth-creation methods of capitalist productive forces, and the blueprint for green productive forces—is a theoretical treasure for understanding the causes of the current ecological crisis, establishing strategies to deal with it, and carrying out actions to protect the environment. The CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, based on the advantages of the socialist system, is vigorously cultivating and developing new quality productive forces. By promoting the green transformation of production methods, green innovation in science and technology, and the green revolution in lifestyles, the Party is putting the Marxist blueprint of green productive forces into practice. Based on this, new quality productive forces are themselves green productive forces.