Li Shule: Persisting in Green Development Is a Profound Revolution in the Concept of Development | Marxism Research Network

Green development is a vital component of the New Development Philosophy ^[1] and serves as the defining characteristic of high-quality development. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: "Persisting in green development is a profound revolution in the conception of development." The Outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of the People's Republic of China makes specific deployments centered on accelerating the comprehensive green transition of economic and social development and building a Beautiful China ^[2], emphasizing the need to "accelerate the green and low-carbon transition of developmental modes, and form new green modes of production and new trends of lifestyle." Placing the persistence of green development at the significant height of a profound revolution in the conception of development fully demonstrates our Party’s theoretical innovation and practical self-awareness in advancing the construction of ecological civilization ^[3].

Marx and Engels profoundly elucidated the dialectical relationship between humanity and nature, emphasizing that the interactive relationship between the two must be understood and grasped through human practical activity. They revealed that only by maintaining a sense of awe toward nature can humanity achieve harmonious coexistence with it. Human developmental activities are, in the final analysis, a process of continuously separating and abstracting humanity from external nature, while simultaneously reintegrating and unifying them through self-creation and self-development. Respecting, conforming to, and protecting nature are the fundamental prerequisites for all developmental practice. This requires that the process of human development must follow the dialectical unity of the laws of social-historical development and the laws of natural evolution.

Green is the symbol of life and the background color of nature; green development is an inherent requirement of Chinese-path modernization. Taking green, circular, and low-carbon development as its path, and using carbon peaking and carbon neutrality ^[4] as its drivers, green development coordinates the promotion of carbon reduction, pollution reduction, green expansion, and growth. It continuously fortifies ecological security barriers and enhances the endogenous momentum of high-quality development. Its core lies in accelerating the formation of production methods and lifestyles that conserve resources and protect the environment, strictly limiting human economic activities to within the carrying capacity of natural resources and the ecological environment, thereby leaving time and space for ecosystems to rest and recuperate. Green development is precisely a fundamental repudiation of the model that sacrifices the ecological environment for transitory growth, and a firm choice of the path of harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature.

Fundamentally speaking, green development concerns the well-being of the people and is the inevitable path to achieving high-quality development. Entering the New Era, along with the transformation of the principal contradiction in our society ^[5], the people’s expectation for a beautiful ecological environment has become increasingly urgent. Developing the economy is for the people, and improving the ecological environment is likewise for the people. Green development is precisely our Party’s active response to this expectation regarding the people's livelihood. At the same time, the construction of ecological civilization concerns the future of humanity, and building a clean and beautiful world is the shared dream of all mankind. As a major participant, contributor, and leader in global ecological civilization construction, China is committed to constructing an ecological system that respects nature and promotes green development, working with all countries to build a beautiful home where humanity and nature coexist in harmony.

Problems are the slogans of the times. Since humanity entered industrial civilization, while creating vast material wealth, it has also intensified the extraction of natural resources, the consequence of which is an unprecedented tension in the relationship between humanity and nature. Engels pointed out in Dialectics of Nature that handling the relationship between humanity and nature "requires a complete revolution in our hitherto existing mode of production, and with it of our whole contemporary social order." It is evident that the dialectical unity of humanity and nature is not only the basic prerequisite for future human development but also the theoretical cornerstone for Marxism to answer the contemporary question of "development." The fundamental reason for defining the persistence of green development as "a profound revolution in the conception of development" lies in the fact that it is not a partial adjustment to developmental modes, but a fundamental reshaping of developmental philosophy, logic, and paradigms. This revolutionary character is manifested in the following dimensions:

First, green development is a transcendence of the developmental logic of traditional industrial civilization. The industrial civilization of capitalism serves the valorization of capital through the consumption of natural elements; this process constructs "humanized nature" ^[6] as a form opposed to the human lifeworld and original nature. This developmental logic ignores the impact on the ecological environment, ultimately leading to unprecedented tension between humanity and nature. Green development takes the resolution of the problem of harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature as its core essence, driving humanity to transform from a "master" of nature into its guardian, achieving harmony between the two. It rejects the capital-centered developmental logic of traditional industrial civilization, emphasizes the consistency of economic development, social progress, and natural environmental protection, and incorporates ecological protection into the core of its developmental logic, achieving a transcendence of the developmental logic of traditional industrial civilization.

Second, green development is a contemporary activation and paradigmatic innovation of the Marxist conception of development. The Marxist conception of development holds that the ultimate goal of development is the free and comprehensive development of the individual. Green development rejects the traditional developmental view of "pollute first, treat later," and integrates the important concept that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" ^[7] throughout the entire process of development. This is a deepening of the understanding of the laws of development—namely, that humanity and nature are a community of life, and the ecological environment has no substitute; only by respecting the laws of nature can nature be effectively developed and utilized. In the context of the severe ecological crisis and climate challenges facing the world today, green development aims to satisfy the people’s growing needs for a beautiful ecological environment and incorporates ecological well-being into the scope of the free and comprehensive development of the individual. It is an important manifestation of the people-centered philosophy of development.

Third, green development is a forward-looking guide for the evolution of the forms of human civilization. Historical materialism holds that the evolution of human civilization forms is the inevitable result of changes in the mode of social production. From primitive civilization to agricultural civilization and then to industrial civilization, humanity’s ability to shape the totality of nature has continuously strengthened. While industrial civilization created enormous material wealth, it also brought about a profound ecological crisis. Green development is precisely a reflection upon and transcendence of the developmental logic and conception of development of traditional industrial civilization; it is the inevitable path as the evolution of human civilization reaches an advanced stage. As General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Ecological civilization is the product of the development of industrial civilization to a certain stage, and it is a new requirement for achieving the harmonious development of humanity and nature." "Protecting the ecological environment is protecting the productive forces, and improving the ecological environment is developing the productive forces." Currently, green development has become a key driver in promoting the evolution of human civilization forms. It is not only an innovation in developmental philosophy but also a deep-level transformation in the evolution of civilization forms, shaping the new form of human civilization created by Chinese-path modernization.

III

Green development is not only a developmental philosophy but also a profound revolution in action. Transforming the grand blueprint of green development into reality requires coordinated efforts in several areas.

Persist in using systemic thinking to coordinate the method of governance. Ecology is a system—a chain in which various natural elements are interdependent and interact to achieve natural cycles. To advance green development, we must adhere to systemic thinking and reject fragmented governance models that "treat the head when the head aches and treat the foot when the foot aches" ^[8]. We must persist in overall planning, holistic policy-making, and multi-pronged measures. From the comprehensive management of river basins to regional collaborative protection, and from optimizing the spatial layout of national land to the protection and restoration of ecosystems, we must establish a "single chessboard" ^[9] mindset.

Promote the green transition of production methods and lifestyles. On one hand, we must promote the optimization and adjustment of industrial and energy structures, making green and low-carbon development a universal form of high-quality development. On the other hand, we must advocate for simple, moderate, green, and low-carbon lifestyles, guiding the public to consciously practice green concepts in all aspects of clothing, food, housing, and transportation, so that a good ecological environment becomes a growth point for the people’s lives and a support point for the sustainable and healthy development of the economy and society.

Strengthen institutional guarantees. Only by implementing the strictest systems and the most rigorous rule of law can we provide a reliable guarantee for the construction of ecological civilization. To this end, we must persist in the basic national policy of conserving resources and protecting the environment, establish and improve mechanisms for realizing the value of ecological products, compensation mechanisms for ecological protection, and incentive and restraint mechanisms for green development. We must carry out ecological environmental protection in an all-round, all-territory, and all-process manner, using a system of institutions to ensure that green development proceeds steadily and reaches far.

Explore effective paths to transform ecological advantages into developmental advantages. Persist in prioritizing ecology and green development, and explore the transformation path of "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" in practice. This allows ecological advantages to be transformed into developmental advantages and ensures that the people tangibly feel the environmental benefits brought by economic development. We must persist in guiding economic and social development with the philosophy of ecological civilization, ensuring that economic, social, and ecological benefits are enhanced simultaneously, achieving the organic unity of prosperous people and beautiful ecology. At the same time, we must work together to build a community of all life on Earth, contributing Chinese solutions to global ecological governance and the joint construction of a clean and beautiful world.