Vol. 5 No. 1 (2020)
Peer Reviewed Articles

Marx, population and freedom

Julian Roche
University of Edinburgh
This image of the cover of this issue of The Journal of Population and Sustainability has the title in block letters on a grey-green background.

Published 2020-12-01

Keywords

  • Marxism,
  • environmental impact,
  • population control,
  • freedom

How to Cite

Roche, Julian. 2020. “Marx, Population and Freedom”. The Journal of Population and Sustainability 5 (1):31–46. https://doi.org/10.3197/jps.2020.5.1.31.

Abstract

Marxists have long moved beyond a perception of Marx as a Promethean ecological vandal. Yet those disputing his environmental credentials are generally united in deploring the unhappy history of population control. They implicitly accept the idea of currently forecast future population levels as consistent with a Marxist view of human emancipation. This assumption should be challenged, on the basis of what resources a truly unalienated future may require in order to achieve real freedom for each future individual.

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