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Sustainability Just Mobility Postfossil Conversion and Free Public Transport

Michael Brie and Mario Candeias Translated from the German by Alexander Gallas 1

Just Mobility Postfossil Conversion and Free Public Transport By Michael Brie and Mario Candeias

Institute for Critical Social Analysis Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, Germany Prepared for the Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association on «Concrete Utopias. Emancipatory Projects, Institutional Designs, Possible Futures» Denver, August 17–20, 2012 2 Part I. Part II. Private E-Car vs. Public Transport Conversion. for free – Real Dystopia vs. Concrete Towards a Eco-Socialist Economy Utopia of Reproduction Michael Brie Mario Candeias

Crises create opportunities to set long- How to get from here to there? A Free range goals for the future. A key ques- Public Transport system is deeply con- tion is that of urban mobility in a world nected to the conversion of the car in- in which the great majority of the world’s dustry and specific modes of dealing population will soon live in cities of over a with contradictions of a transformati- million inhabitants, many of them in me- ve process. The car industry is facing tropolitan conurbations. Broadly spea- strong challenges between crisis of king, there are two possible alternatives: overproduction, booming demand from one, the US system of mobility centred «emerging markets’, spatial relocation on private, petrol-driven cars can be and ecological necessities. Conversion ecologically modernized and expanded and a just transition for the workers and to embrace the globe by switching to communities affected face several stra- electric-powered cars; or, two, public tegic dilemma. The paper elaborates on transport can be ecologized and made union and (eco)movement strategies more flexible. For historical reasons the and short comings, trying to draw on factors determining which of these alter- a political method and projects, which natives will be chosen are very different create communalities out of different and path-dependent. Whereas rapid interests at the same time as appre- transit systems have largely disappeared ciating differences. The protagonist of from many US metropolises, European such a process of transformation to- metropolises are characterized by mixed wards a Green Socialism can only be systems. In many metropolises of the a «mosaic left» oriented towards parti- southern hemisphere the car-based cipation, which enables people to be- mobility of the rising middle classes co- come «the drivers of their own history» exists with the exclusion of large sec- (Eric Mann 2001) tions of the city-dwelling poor from urban mobility. Long-term experi­ments with a free-of-charge public transport system could act as a global model. Private E-Car vs. Public Transport for free – 3 Real Dystopia vs. Concrete Utopia Michael Brie

Forwards into the past As the official handout to the World Ex- On April 30, 1939, a very hot Sunday hibition – organized by a private compa- that was also the 150th anniversary of ny – put it: «The eyes of the Fair are on the inauguration of George Washington the future — not in the sense of peering as first president of the USA, the New toward the unknown nor attempting York World Exhibition opened its doors to foretell the events of tomorrow and in the presence of over 200,000 people. the shape of things to come, but in the Among the speakers were Franklin D. sense of presenting a new and clearer Roosevelt and Albert Einstein. In 1939 view of today in preparation for tomor- and 1940 this exhibition was visited by row; a view of the forces and ideas that 44 million people. The Great Crash of prevail as well as the machines. To its vi- 1929 that had brought the USA and Eu- sitors the Fair will say: ‹Here are the ma- rope to the brink of economic and soci- terials, ideas, and forces at work in our al collapse was still not quite overcome. world. These are the tools with which The New Deal on the one hand, and an the World of Tomorrow must be made. arms build-up and war preparations They are all interesting and much effort on the other, had ushered in structural has been expended to lay them before changes whose consequences were not you in an interesting way. Familiarity yet discernible. The Soviet Union was with today is the best preparation for the represented as were Czechoslovakia, future.›»2 Poland and Belgium, which were soon to Two places in particular drew crowds at be overrun by Germany. China, fighting the World Exhibition – the Tr ylon and Pe- for survival against a Japanese invasion, risphere and Futurama. However much was unable to take part. Germany did they might have in common in matters not take part in the World Exhibition, de- of detail, they can be regarded as oppo- nouncing it in abusive terms as an «Exhi- sing blueprints of the future. bition of Filthy Talmud Jews» (Völkischer The Trylon and Perisphere formed Beobachter)1. The Second World War the official, architectural centre of the and the shadow of Auschwitz loomed World Exhibition. They were intended on the horizon. While German panzer co- to embody the great vision of the next lumns were advancing on Warsaw and hundred years and foreshadow a new German bombs raining down on Polish global civilization – the Democracity of cities, while Paris was being occupied the year 2039. The over 212 metres tall and the Battle of Britain was raging, visi- Trylon and the spherical Periphere (over tors to the World Exhibition were looking 65 metres in diameter) were designed at «The World of Tomorrow». by the architects Wallace Harrison and This World Exhibition had been chiefly 1 Detlef Borchers: Vor 70 Jahren: Die Welt von morgen war initiated by large private corporations in auch einmal besser (30.4.2009) (http://www.heise.de/ct/ar- the USA bent on presenting themselves tikel/Vor-70-Jahren-Die-Welt-von-morgen-war-auch-ein­­- mal-besser-301540.html, 8.1.2012). 2 http://en.wikipedia. as visionaries and pioneers of progress. org/wiki/1939_New_York_World%27s_Fair (8.1.2012). 4 making and recreation, industry and agriculture, were organically linked in mutual dependence; from which slums and crime had been banished; where sunshine and clean air were accessible to every man and woman; and which was fuelled by renewable energy in the shape of water power. It was «a brave new world built by united hands and hearts»,3 into which the workers of «office, farm and factory» came and intoned a song by William Grant Still «Rising Tide»: «Hand in hand, side by si- de…». In the centre of this new life form was the place of joint decision-making for a life together in freedom. While Trylon and Perisphere incorpora- ted a vision of the future derived from open discussion, Futurama was nothing more nor less than a corporate blueprint Trylon, Perisphere and Helicline of the coming society. It was the pavilion photo by Sam Gottscho of General Motors, having a surface area (free commons from Wikipedia: This image of over 3,300 square metres with half is available from the United States Library of a million (!) houses, a million trees, and Congress’s Prints and Photographs division 50,000 miniature vehicles.4 The whole under the digital ID gsc.5 a02965) was conceived by the industrial desig- ner Norman Bel Geddes. The time hori- J. Andre Fouilhoux, while the interior of zon which General Motors had in mind the sphere, the Periphere, was the work was not a hundred, but only twenty ye- of Henry Dreyfuss, whose Democracity ars. Its future was «the wonder world drew upon Le Corbusier’s design of a of 1960», which the blurb described as ville radieuse (radiant city). The visitors «the greater and better world of tomor- ascended twenty metres on what was row …», a «tribute to the American sche- then the world’s longest escalator into me of living where by individual effort, the interior of the Periphere, and looked the freedom to think and the will to do down at the world of the future moun- are giving birth to a generation of men ted on revolving balconies, while one of who always want new fields for greater the most famous radio announcers of accomplishment». Flying over the USA the day, Hans von Kaltenborn, spoke the of the year 1960 in 552 mobile seats, commentary. He described a civilizati- on which lived in harmony with nature; 3 Ibid. An impression may be obtained from the video, which contains the commentary and the song: http://www.you ­ in which individuals and nations lived tube.com/watch?v=pd-6sWzLiFA (8.1.2012). 4 Details taken in peace with one another; in which li- from: http://www.expo2000.de/expo2000/geschichte/detail. php?wa_id=14&lang=2&s_typ=8; http://en.wikipedia.org/wi- ving and working, democratic decision- ki/1939_New_York_World%27s_Fair (8.1.2012). seeing a land criss-crossed by mighty private car and long-distance freight 5 motorways constituting the arteries of transport.7 Perhaps the time has come the nation, swooping down into a city in to rediscover the vision of Democracity which residential, service, administrati- rather than the crisis-racked world of Fu- ve and industrial areas are separate («all turama as the year 2039 draws nearer! have been separated for greater effici- ency and greater convenience») and the Back to the Future city centre is dominated by 400-metre In the context of the cultural changes skyscrapers that helicopters can land of this period the oil crisis of the early on. It is a world built «in the spirit of in- 1970s triggered a new debate on mo- dividual enterprise in the Great Ameri- bility. Rising prices and the prospect can Way».5 And as the visitors «landed», of an oil shortage on the one hand and they found themselves back at precisely the sense of private mobility on the that crossroads they had encountered other gave rise to a broad discussion when they left Futurama – only now it of alternatives which continues to this was life-size. day. There were individual, short-lived As Bel Geddes wrote: «Futurama is a experiments at local level like in Rome large-scale model representing almost or Bologna until the zeitgeist and the every type of terrain in America and il- real policies of emergent neo-liberalism lustrating how a motorway system may turned against it. In the early 1960s the be laid down over the entire country – public transport system in West Ger- across mountains, over rivers and lakes, many accounted for as much traffic as through cities and past towns – never personal motorized transport – thirty deviating from a direct course and al- years later its share had fallen to below ways adhering to the four basic princip- 20 per cent. les of highway design: safety, comfort, The discussion resurfaced some thirty speed and economy.» He had acknow- years later, in 1997/98, when the Bran- ledged this in the belief that «a free- denburg towns of Lübben and Templin flowing movement of people and goods began to experiment with the introduc- across our nation is a requirement of tion of a free public bus service. Today modern living and prosperity.»6 the most prominent exponent of this Within the orbit of the USA’s view of its- is the Belgian city of Hasselt, which is elf Democracity and Futurama formed home to 70,000 permanent residents two opposite poles – free communality and 40,000 students while also being vs. individual enterprise, democratic in- visited by many so-called «in-commu- stitutions vs. corporate headquarters, ters», i.e. people who drive into the city organic link between work and life, po- to work, study or shop. litics and economics or their complete separation – both alternatives were gi- 5 The quotations are taken from the publicity film for Fu- turama http:// www.wired.com / entertainment/hollywood/ ven visual form. And each of these two ma­gazine/15-12/ff_futurama_original (8.1.2012).6 Quoted visions had a different concept of mo- from: http: / / en.wikipedia.org / wiki / Futurama_ % 28 New_ York_World%27s_Fair%29 (8.1.2012). 7 The opposing na- bility: one combined public local and ture of the two concepts has been deliberately stressed long-distance transport and pedestrian here at the expense of the points they had in common, although they would have been perceived by contempora- traffic, while the other focused on the ries as forming a unity. 6 In 1995, following a change of mayor mother no longer prevails, while the (the left-wing Socialist Steve Stevaert assembly lines and open-plan offices had been elected in 1994), a decision of large corporations are no longer as was taken to drop plans for a third ring dominant as they used to be. Individu- road and offer the public a free bus ser- alization / flexibilization / subjectivization vice instead. A Mobility Agreement was of work, teamwork, network organiza- concluded with the Flanders Region and tions, flat hierarchies and Enterprise 2.0 a transport company called «De Lijn». By are not just ideological slogans – they 1997 Hasselt had eight city buses car- also describe new realities. In people’s rying a thousand passengers a day. By own four walls the Internet, with its chat 2007 there were 46 city buses and the rooms and role-plays, is replacing the number of passengers had increased merely passive enjoyment of television tenfold. The inner ring was greened and programmes imposed from outside. In revamped. The inner city became more the Internet individuals are much freer to attractive and mobility increased.8 At move about than on the streets of the ci- the same time car-sharing, car-leasing ties. The wealth of the human spirit, the and car-renting schemes are springing possibilities of play and direct commu- up all over Europe. The car has lost, es- nication across the globe, may have as- pecially among the younger generation, sumed perverted forms in some cases, its pride of place as a symbol of individu- but they can also have an emancipatory al (male) freedom and has become just function. another, albeit interesting, consumer The economic, technical and cultural good. Meanwhile there are also experi- prerequisites for a new revolution in ur-

ments with completely CO2-free mobili- ban transport are largely in place. But ty in Masdar City, Kuwait, of all places, a as with the transition to the car cities as country whose wealth is exclusively due symbolized by the General Motors pavi- to oil. They include a public transport lion at the New York World Exhibition’s system based on renewable energies Futurama, the switch to cities with a and the construction of a pedestrian- largely public transport system repre- friendly city under desert conditions and sents a comprehensive transformation. temperatures of up to 50 ºC(!). The new Vested interests, cultural stereotypes Information and Communication Tech- and billions invested in motorways and nologies are creating the conditions for roads stand in the way of such a trans- systems of mobility that are both public formation. If they are to be overcome, and highly individualized, combining attractive models, concrete utopias, equal access for all with freedom for must be created to trigger a new dyna- each and everyone. mic. Such a utopia is free public trans- There exists, however, the possibility port. For years now there has been a of a different line of development. The steady flow of new initiatives envisaging elements of new ways of living and pro- ducing have long been embedded in 8 For an overview on such experiments see Karl-Heinz Schweig: Fahrscheinfreier Stadtverkehr. Deutsche und aus- the pores of the car society. The classi- ländische Beispiele. In: Petra Kelly Stiftung: Mobilität nach cal division of labour between the ma- Maß! Wege zu einer zukunftfähigen Verkehrspolitik. Doku- mentation der Tagung am 22. Mai 2003 im Eckstein. Mün- le «breadwinner» and the housewife/ chen 2003, pp. 37–38. this option that have been under discus- of transport ought to be exploited as in- 7 sion.9 There has been a whole series of tensively as possible. Precisely the op- studies examining the technical and posite is true of private cars. They stand financial consequences of such a step. around on the roads taking up space. What are the arguments in favour of free Enormous areas are devoted to road- public transport as an all-German and ways and parking places for them. Their ultimately European project, particularly productivity lies too far behind that of in the present crisis? What reasons are public transport to ever catch up. Their there for opting out of the system of indi- average speed in cities when in motion vidual motor transport? is many times less than that of rail trans- 1. The first question is, can we afford free port systems. In order to make up for public transport? The answer is that the these cost disadvantages private cars costs of a public transport system would are massively subsidized. The costs that come to at most 50 to 70 per cent of the are privately charged are – depending costs of personal motor transport.10 If on the source – only 70 to 50 per cent of one includes all the follow-up costs, the the real social cost. outlays are much lower in comparison. 2. About a quarter of the CO2 emissi- The community would save enormously. ons in the highly-developed countries An equally high Gross Domestic Product are caused by motor transport. The use would suddenly be worth much more. of public transport could reduce CO2 The wealth of society and its citizens emissions by a factor of 5 or even 10. would increase without any correspon- In order to prevent an extreme climate ding rise in growth! But the costs would catastrophe, reductions of this order of be differently distributed. They would magnitude will be necessary over the have to come from the state. This would next two or three decades. In the field of mean a redistribution from the private transport this would be possible on the to the public sector, so that private in- basis of existing technologies merely by dividuals could save as well. The thesis switching to public transport systems. of «more net from the gross» turns out There is no comparable technological al- to be sheer demagogy. For less from ternative. Even the so-called electro-car the gross of the individual would in real would have to rely on electricity which terms mean more for many individuals many countries will not be able to gene- if it were really spent on the right things, rate using renewable sources of energy i.e. on the building up of the transport in the foreseeable future. Fuels derived system. In the UK car owners spend from agricultural products («agrofuels») about a third (!) of their net monthly ear- 9 Mark Diesendorf: The Effect of Land Costs on the Econo- nings on things connected with their mics of Urban Transportation Systems (PDF). Proceedings cars.11 Simply looking at the petrol costs, of Third International Conference on Traffic and Transpor- tation Studies (ICTTS2002): 1422-1429. Retrieved on 2008- as many do, is completely misleading. 04-15. 10 Diesendorf, Mark. „The Effect of Land Costs on the Economics of Urban Transportation Systems» (PDF). In Germany, for example, a small car Proceedings of Third International Conference on Traffic costs its user about 320 euros a month and Transportation Studies (ICTTS2002): 1422-1429, 2008- 04-15. 11 Hilary Osborne (2006-10-20). «Cost of running 12 and not, as its user thinks, 190 euros. a car «exceeds £5,000’». The Guardian (London: Guardian If society were a company, we would Media Group). http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2006/ oct/20/motoring. 12 http://www.focus.de/auto/diverses/ say that the capital tied up in the means umfrage_aid_119549.html. 8 have proved themselves to be a major up to 50 kilometres (or longer in thinly contributor to environmental pollution, populated areas) per month. Purchases to the ruin of rural production, especially would be delivered not by private car, but that of small and medium-sized farms, by mass suppliers. Countries like Swit- and to increased hunger. zerland show that a good dense network 3. In a famous article entitled The Trage- of public transport systems markedly dy of the Commons (1968) Garrett Har- reduces the use of private automobiles. din showed how pasture land, if owned On the other hand the thinning out of the in common, was in danger of being over- public network, its deterioration, or the grazed and destroyed. What he left out sheer absence of relevant services, are a of account was that for many centuries major cause of the increase in motorized well-run communities have prevented personal transport. this very thing from happening, unlike 5. The banishing of the car from the pub- the car- and capital-fixated western so- lic spaces of our cities would allow them cieties which give their darlings free rain. to be reclaimed as meeting places, as They have allowed cars to destroy the places for the public life of the streets globe, congest the cities, poison the air and non-threatening encounters with with exhaust fumes, use up resources, strangers. The pollution caused by noi- and to carve up the country with more se, dirt (particulate matter) and exhaust and more roads. In 2007 there were over fumes would fall drastically. Many ma- 800 million cars, 250 million of them jor thoroughfares could be made green. in the USA. About 70 million new cars Imagine for a moment the centres of leave the assembly line every year.13 Rome or Paris without cars! The pos- The number of deaths per kilometre sibilities of democratic participation travelled by car is six to eight times hig- in the running of the city would incre- her than in the case of bus or rail. Cars ase. With greatly strengthened muni- not only wage war on nature, they also cipal transport companies enterprises cause a slaughter among motorized and incorporating more citizen involvement non-motorized citizens. We have literally could be developed. Instead of being decided in favour of the most lethal sys- subordinated to the constraints of pri- tem of transport there is. vate mobility, cities could be democra- 4. A specious argument in favour of cars tically shaped in quite a different way. is enhanced individual mobility, the pos- The cities of «having» are cities of motor sibility of getting directly from door to traffic and temples of consumerism, be- door. This must be set off against what neath whose concrete slabs meadows are often long driving times. Further- lie buried, while the cities of «being» are more the basic switchover of passenger places of public transport and culture. traffic from private to public vehicles 6. A free public transport system is a ty- could be combined with a highly sub- pical Middle-Bottom alliance.14 It shows sidized or equally free taxi system for solidarity with the weak, with those who short distances. Also, the possibility of 13 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automotive_industry. 14 Cf.: car-sharing for «the last two kilometres» Michael Brie: Segeln gegen den Wind. Bedingungen eines po- should be considered, the use of which litischen Richtungswechsels in Deutschland in Michael Brie; Cornelia Hildebrandt; Meinhard Meuche-Mäker: Die LINKE. would be free of charge for distances of Wohin verändert sie die Republik? Berlin, 2007, pp. 259 –318. cannot afford a car, with those who are lasting recession. The only question is, 9 dependent on public transport, who are should these be programmes like that of particularly affected by its drawbacks, the «environmental bonus», which pro- and who in some cases do not have the mote industries and technologies that money for a season ticket. And it is an have been completely superseded and invitation to the middle classes to prac- belong in a past age, or should they be tise their mobility not as a private luxury such as are aimed at a long-term socio- of the few, but as a «public luxury» (Mike ecological transformation. The planet Davis), which is accessible to all and ex- has grown too small for even more re- cludes no one. sources to be wasted at its expense. The 7. A fully developed system of free pu- situation is too grave to maintain outg- blic transport would be one of those rown structures by increasing national projects that facilitate real global coope- indebtedness. The opportunities of a ration. Private motor transport cannot change are too obvious to let a mindless, be a global solution, even if it seems to destructively business-as-usual attitude be what we are working towards. In the to prevail. It is time to turn the crisis in- rich countries of the northern hemisphe- to an opportunity, to do what we always re it is still possible today to finance both wanted to do – build a society based on a private and a public transport system, solidarity and free from cars. The car-do- but it won’t be tomorrow. In the southern minated cities of having can be replaced hemisphere, where the social limits on by cities of being (Erich Fromm). People mobility are extreme, it is already out will only survive if they can take the «au- of the question today. A switch to free to» out of «automobile» and stop turning public transport in the northern hemis- the planet into one gigantic motorway. phere would be an effective aid to deve- This, however, can only be achieved if lopment, as it would reduce the demand we, children of nature that we are, finally for resources, alleviate the threat of cli- learn to treat the world gently and cau- mate change (which mainly affects the tiously and mine the wealth that resides southern hemisphere), offers a model in public effort. Then perhaps people which, unlike personal motor transport, with a sense of social solidarity would really can be applied as a global soluti- determine the measure of things and the on, and could be linked with a cost-free earth would become a home. technology transfer from North to Sou- How to get from here to there? A Free th. Some of the costs the developed eco- Public Transport system is deeply con- nomies would save could be invested in nected to the conversion of the car in- the promotion of suitable infrastructure dustry and specific modes of dealing projects in the developing countries. with contradictions of a transformative In the present crisis public stimulus process. This should be elaborated in packages are necessary to prevent a the next section. 10 Conversion: Advancing towards an Eco-Socialist Economy of Reproduction Mario Candeias

The car industry is a key instance and «green» strategy («go green!»). Howe- focal point of the current multiple crises ver, this only means that the companies (cf. LuXemburg 3/2010). In 2009, car in question are continuing to advance sales dropped by up to 50%; today, this individual mobility and are carrying on – crisis appears to be over, and sales are now driven by different forces – with the booming again. Carmakers in Europe same old business model. The electric and North America are planning to dou- car may represent a new opportunity ble their output and increase exports for image improvement and accumula- even further. In other words, the notori- tion, but it does little to alter the struc- ous overcapacities in car production are ture of private transport and address not being reduced; instead, competition its problems: the terrifying number of is intensifying – which primarily affects injured and dead people, the exponen- the workers. tial growth in traffic density, soil sealing, Moreover, in China and India, power- and the increasing use of highly poiso- ful competitors to the established car nous and rare resources, for example producers are emerging. It is common lithium. Besides, the use of electric cars knowledge that the global climate will does not prevent traffic jams or even the collapse if countries like China or In- total standstill of traffic. The strategies dia achieve levels of automobilization of carmakers are based on increasing comparable to the West – a kind of eco- output and exports, not on ecological logical «crisis of overproduction». Ne- requirements. They aim at sidelining vertheless, carmakers in the West invest competitors and thus intensifying com- their hopes in these emerging markets. petition, not at redressing ecological Some commentators argue that, view- imbalances. ed from a global perspective, there is no The introduction of new technologies overproduction in the «real» economy. is usually accompanied by substantial According to this view, the expanding investments in development and infra- «middle classes» in the global south structure, and it cannot be predicted, have to be supplied with cars, and glo- most of the time, whether a certain bal society in its entirety, including the technology or technological standard most remote places on earth, has to be will prevail. Hardly any corporation modelled on the idea of «automobilized» can afford to get involved in the deve- individuality. lopment of all relevant technologies Yet before this new level of global «au- and become a true competitor in their tomobilization» can be achieved, there production. A handful of «global play- will be break-downs of traffic in mega ers» like Daimler Benz and Volkswagen cities like Mumbai, Shanghai or Istan- have been able to prevail in the world bul, and the inhabitants will ache under market, but «at home», they have been the smog. In the light of this scenario, cutting jobs for decades. Thanks to the nearly every carmaker is working on a new markets, new sites of production are springing up – but not in Germany, Left-wing site committees (Betriebs- 11 the US or France. Increases in produc- gruppen) are confronted with other tivity are being forced, which results in problems, e.g., the intense competition job cuts in the «old» car nations. Soon, between the different sites of produc- the competition between different si- tion, the intensification of work, defeats tes of production will intensify further, in collective bargaining disputes and the and there will be even more attempts gladness felt by some workers about to play off work forces against one keeping their jobs in times of crisis. The another. This suggests that trade union site committees are too weak to moti- strategies based on «competitive cor- vate workers to rethink their situation. poratism» do not offer prospects for the Similarly, if someone says «conversion», future. The crisis has revealed that to a capital always seems to hear «e-cars». large degree, the new sites of produc- «These corporations aren’t capable of tion in Eastern Europe and Turkey are, conversion, not by themselves», remarks and remain, dependent on the decisi- a young member of the Volkswagen ons made in Western company head- works council (ibid.). «Conversion is an quarters. And if costs – especially wage illusion», is the resigned statement of a costs – increase, capital will already be member of the works council at Bosch, a moving to new sites of production in car parts supplier. According to him, the Asia that are located close to the growth current state of affairs is simply a reflec- markets. It is more necessary than ever tion of the given relations of forces (ibid.). to establish new, and stronger, forms of transnational unionization – based on The Current Growth Model the cooperation with social-ecological at its Limits associations and other forces from civil We have reached the ecological and society. The aim is to link the issues of economic limits of the current «growth employment and workers’ right with ini- model» – and this does not just apply to tiatives for alternative modes of produc- the car industry. In theory, all political tion and consumption. camps agree that it is no longer ade- A member of the Porsche works coun- quate to just focus on the quantitative cil describes the situation thus: «We’re side of GDP growth. Official commissi- doing well again. This means we have ons are discussing additional, qualita- to start developing alternatives now. tive criteria and indicators that can be Otherwise, there is a real threat of a ‹hard used for measuring and re-assessing conversion› in the near future».14 Due to (economic) development. Especially the current boom in orders, however, people on the left agree that a socio- the recent, subtle signs of an emerging ecological transformation is required. debate on conversion are already dis- For decades, «ecology» and «econo- appearing. The latest pronouncements my» were seen as conflicting princip- from IG Metall, the German metalwor- kers’ union, fall short of the unions’ 14 Quote from a debate at the conference «Auto.Mobil.Kri - se.», which took place in Stuttgart from 28–30 October 2010 progressive debate in the 1980s, and an d w as o r g anize d by Ro s a Lu xe mb ur g F o un d at i o n in c o o p- e most of the unions’ representatives do ration with the Bundestag group of the Left Party and Trans- nationals Information Exchange (TIE), www.rosalux.de/ little to change this (exceptions apply). documentation/41066/automobilkrise.html. 12 les. Today, many politicians grasp the 2011). This entails a «change of values», ecological modernization of society as which embeds the renunciation of ever- an opportunity for economic, and thus increasing material wealth in a just, as- for social, development – at least at the cetic way of life. Andrew Simms (2010: level of rhetoric. Of course, there are 34), the director of the New Economics enormous differences regarding the Foundation, quotes John Maynard path and aim of the proposed social- Keynes in this context: In the future, so- ecological transformation. Some of the cial justice is about addressing «the pro- different conceptions are: a) «social» or blem of the distribution of sacrifice».15 «qualitative growth»; b) «green growth» Neither approach has much to say and a «Green New Deal»; c) a steady- about the unequal distribution of the state economy without growth. costs incurred by the social-ecological All these approaches portray the so- transformation or transition. Both of cial-ecological turn as a win-win situ- them keep quiet about the «losers». In ation – everyone is supposed to profit the first scenario, everyone is a winner: from it: the economy gains due to new particular interests are absorbed by the growth and export markets; wage-la- common good. In the second scenario, bourers get new jobs; the tax income of everyone has to tighten their belts (in the state increases; and nature benefits some cases with, and in some without, from the de-coupling of the economy redistribution) and adopt a new way of from its dependence on an ever larger life. Particular interests have to be sup- amount of resources and energy. pressed in favour of the common good; Contrary to these approaches, a cer- people who do not recognize the need tain fraction of the left denies that the for this are unreasonable. de-coupling of economic and material Both approaches conceptualize the growth is possible. They believe that mediation between particular interests a contraction of the economy («de- and the purported common good in an growth») is necessary. According to abstract, top-down fashion. Following them, the current, dramatic intensifica- them, transformation is a process wit- tion in the exploitation of the biosphere hout transition – a continuous process and natural resources forces us, under without ruptures. Next to the internaliza- time constraints, to rethink our ways tion of consumerist, «imperial» life-styles of life. Some authors link this negati- (Brand), this is a key reason why the path ve message with the prospect a «good to the ecological transformation remains life» («buen vivir»). This is based on the blocked – despite the fact that people are idea of replacing the existing, ever-ex- constantly invoking the idea and large panding patterns of consumption with parts of the political scene subscribe to a focus on increasing the wealth of time it, at least at the rhetorical level. The cont- and relationships (Bullard 2009, Larrea radictions inherent in this conception are 2010). In the statements of a majority of revealed in concrete social processes; these authors there is, at least, a hint of 15 For neoliberals like Meinhard Miegel, the approaching an appeal to ethics. They call for a mo- end of growth means that we simply have to tighten our re modest, less «material» way of life belts: «The big bash is over, the bar is now closed… The sign says ‹closed›; it is both for the thirsty and for those who in harmony with nature (e.g., Gudynas aren’t» (2010, 165, translated). the unequal distribution of «costs» beco- The experience of structural change and 13 mes apparent. If these contradictions are conversion in certain branches of indus- not discussed openly and managed poli- try led to the emergence of this idea. Ex- tically, it will be difficult to create a broad amples are the arms industry and the consensus behind the advancement to- first «environmental» strike, which wards conversion. Advancements are in took place in the US in 1973 and targe- danger of getting squeezed between the ted Shell, the oil company (cf. Young clientelism of the trade unions, which are 2003, 3). Workers and environmentalists catering for a (dwindling) base of core formed a strategic alliance – in the case workers, and the policies for a «good» of Shell to protest against the threat po- natural environment pursued by the aff- sed by the company to the health of the luent middle classes on behalf of their environment, the population and the children and themselves. workers, and to claim compensation for those who were already ill. «Just Transition» The Just Transition Alliance emerged About 15 years ago, Canadian and US from such locally rooted initiatives trade unionists like Brian Kohler coined linked to the labour movement. It is the term «just transition»16. They de- operating as a part of the climate justi- manded that the necessary ecological ce movement, standing up especially restructuring of the economy proceed for «front workers», as well as creating on the grounds of social justice: «current awareness of racial discrimination. After patterns of production and consumpti- all, the people worst affected by polluti- on must change for environmental re- on, climate change, and work hazardous asons». This will have profound effects to health are people of colour, indige- on employment: «Businesses will adapt nous people and other disadvantaged (with government subsidies), highly- groups: «Our dependence on fossil fuels paid executives will gently glide to new comes at a high price for our health, our positions on golden parachutes, and the atmosphere, and our economic and po- environment will presumably improve, litical strength. Workers and community to the benefit of the general population. residents are contaminated, injured and Who will pay? Left to the so-called free killed in the processes of extracting and market, workers in affected industries refining fossil fuels. In fact, more wor- who lose their jobs will effectively suffer kers die in oil, gas and coal extraction for everyone else’s benefit». The «just than in all other industries combined. transition» approach «asks that society Low-income, people of color and Indi- consider who benefits from, and who genous Peoples are affected even mo- pays the cost of, implementing mea- re than other populations by fossil fuel sures to protect the environment» (5). use» (Just Transition Alliance no year, 1). «Simply stated, «just transition» means Consequently, «just transition» does fair compensation to impacted workers not concern workers in danger of lo- and communities for economic and sing their jobs and workers in the global health losses due to changes in produc- tion», remarks Jenice View from the Just 16 I would like to thank Jana Flemming for her research on the origin of the concept, cf. mehring1-blog: http://ifg.rosa- Transition Alliance (2002, 2). lux.de/2011/01/14/just-transition 14 north, but everyone whose existence is and employees in industries that are affected by climate change, says Stine highly detrimental to the global climate Gry from Climate Justice Action.17 are often accused of being structurally On the whole, subaltern groups and conservative and blocking the unavoi- classes from the global south are even dable social-ecological transformation. more vulnerable than their counterparts One example is the strategy pursued in the global north. in Germany during the crisis in order to At the global summits in Copenhagen protect the car industry. This included a (2009) and Cancún (2010), the demand cash for clunkers scheme, «short-time for a «just transition» was included in the working» benefits and the controversi- final document of the governments (cf. al bail-out for Opel (the European GM Sweeney 2011). However, the term – just branch). People are right to criticize the- like «sustainable development» and se measures. «climate justice» – is in danger of remai- But how can concrete interests be re- ning an empty signifier, behind which formulated in such a way that the inte- hugely different social and political rests of potential allies are considered forces can gather, and that covers up from the start and different struggles real contradictions – as Jana Flemming are linked up (cf. Candeias 2010, 11)? rightly points out. Nevertheless, public The International Federation of Trans- «references to the costs of an ecological port Workers (2010) suggests cutting transformation» could be an opportunity jobs in transport and creating new ones for «creating awareness of the contradic- in other sectors – a ground-breaking tions inherent in the hegemonic manage- step for trade unionism. The Campaign ment of the ecological crisis. Wherever against Climate Change (2011), a trade costs are accrued that disadvantage cer- union group, demands the creation of tain groups, it is possible to point to the one million (public) green jobs – now. At structural causes of this unequal distribu- the same time, it requests guarantees tion» (Flemming 2011, translated). for all workers who will lose their jobs. All participating groups including the Green Jobs British Trades Union Congress (TUC) Time and again, trade unions are remin- demand that the transition to a «low ded to «tell [their members] the truth» carbon economy» cannot be based on (Schumann 2011) and inform them that «the vain hope that the market alone will due to climate change, their jobs cannot provide». Rather, «planning and proacti- be protected. It will not be possible to ve policies by government» are required keep quiet about the fact that «the chan- (TUC 2008, 7).18 Most of the time, this ges needed will have grave consequen- campaign links the resolution of con- ces» (Strohschneider 2011, translated). But how is it possible to gain support 17 www.climate-jus­tice-action.org/news/2009/10/19/climate- justice-movement-to-take-mass-action-during-un-climate- for these changes by the people af- talks 18 There is a certain scepticism towards the decisions fected? After all, these changes entail made by both capital and governments: «we recognize that corporate (and, too often, governmental) interests regularly that, for the common good, they will injure workers, communities, and the environment for pro- have to make sacrifices and cope with fit. We refuse to abandon one another for economic secu- rity or environmental health and safety, as we want both« job losses and insecurity. Trade unions (View 2002, 1). flicts over aims to the existence of sus- chemical and the energy industries, the 15 tainable and social growth (17). structural change towards «green tech- These examples demonstrate how nologies» and renewables does not just ecological reforms can be linked with entail a move from one sector to the prospects of reform in social and em- next. The restructuring of the car in- ployment policy – based on conceptions dustry will not necessarily take place at of a just transition for those who are most the existing sites of production. In other heavily affected. Nevertheless, strategic words, it will lead to job losses and the contradictions emerge once processes relocation of production to other coun- of transition are organized in practice. tries. For the workers, the contradictory experience of (ever shorter phases of) Strategic Contradictions I: job security for some (for longer wor- A Dilemma for the Trade Unions king hours, cuts to Christmas and ho- Speaking in the abstract, the protection liday bonuses, intensification of work of the environment, a social equilibri- etc.) and training agencies for others um and good work for everyone are not who have been laid off is hardly an at- diametrically opposed goals. Everyo- tractive prospect. ne in the «mosaic left» is united behind Very few workers who have been these (minimal) requirements of social «parked» in training agencies for some transformation – despite divergences time find new jobs comparable to their in people’s more far-reaching political old ones; many experience unemploy- conceptions. And yet, there are consi- ment and, after a short time, Hartz IV derable divergences, strategic contra- (German welfare/workfare benefits). dictions and conflicting political tactics There are almost always job losses – and, regarding the entry points and the paths for the people affected, losses of purpose of transition: short- and medium-term and of social connections. Over the short perspectives differ, and there are con- term, «green growth» hardly helps peop- flicts over aims. As a result, different le – even if it is a long-term improvement. left-wing groups tend to act at a dis- Under such conditions, trade unions are tance from one another. obliged to stand up for the workers’ inte- For decades, the trade unions have be- rest in job security – even if this does only en struggling to reconcile short- and offer relief for a short time. medium-term goals. The process of so- There is «no way around a drastic reduc- cial-ecological transformation entails the tion in working hours», says a member shrinking of certain sectors of industry, of the Opel works council.19 But so far, for example the car industry. Conversion public acceptance of this instrument and deep structural changes will result is limited. During the crisis, short- in many workers losing the jobs they are time working has protected core work used to. Under conditions of crisis and forces in Germany from job losses while unfavourable relations of forces, short- 800,000 temporary workers were dis- term requirements and long-term goals missed. The extra time gained by the tend to diverge. people on reduced working hours hard- For people currently employed in the 19 Quote from a discussion at the conference «Auto.Mobil. car industry or in certain sectors of the Krise.» (see above). 16 ly opened up new prospects for them. In Currently, IG Metall is attempting to ac- fact, due to the uncertainties over future tively counter this development. With developments, it caused fear. Similarly, international help, the trade union has collective bargaining agreements that launched an organizing project in the lead to the reduction of working hours «green tech» industry. In this sector, have contradictory effects: either they work is remunerated more badly than require people to agree to wage cuts – elsewhere, and the standards of coll- or there is a significant intensification ective bargaining do not apply across of work and further flexibilization. As the board. In short, job losses in the old a result, workers hold on to well-tried industries are not fully compensated patterns of work. It would be wrong to for by the creation of new jobs in new assume that it is just the «pride of the sectors – even if quantities are similar. producer» that leads car workers to de- Moreover, the shrinking of the old in- fend, against their better judgment, the dustries poses a threat to the core area production of ecologically detrimental of the organizational power of the trade luxury cars. After all, the production of unions, that is, large, highly unionized such high-tech products makes possib- firms characterized by high standards le more group work and slightly slower of collective bargaining. These firms are cycle times. Considering the increasing supposed to serve as (a) point of orien- intensification of work, this is an impor- tation for other companies in terms of tant point – especially if people «are sup- the standard of working conditions, (b) posed to carry on until they are finally safeguards in the politics of power that entitled to a pension», as Susanne Nickel protect achievements and the legal re- from IG Metall Bremen explains (ibid.). gulations underpinning them, and (c) a Moreover, even if new sectors compen- base for organizing in other branches. sate for job losses in the old branches People are right to demand the expansi- of industry in quantitative terms, the on of the service and infrastructure sec- employment relations and conditions tor; however, under the given conditions, of work are often worse. In the rene- this will not lead to the creation of a suf- wables sector (and the «green sector» ficient number of jobs characterized by in general), many companies are «free» high wage levels and standards of coll- from trade unions. This does not only ective bargaining. Moreover, the com- reflect the unions’ weakness in organi- petition between the different sectoral zing in new industries, but also the part- trade unions in Germany is complicating ly open, at times aggressive rejection matters further. IG Metall argues thus: It by management of minimal standards is understandable that ver.di (the service of co-determination, collective bargai- and public sector union) demands the ning and freedom of association. This is expansion of the public sector, and this especially the case with small and me- is indeed supported by IG Metall. But dium-sized «green» companies, which this expansion does not open up new often are not members of the Confe- prospects for a metal workers» union. deration of German Industry (BDI) and As a result, IG Metall demands a turn therefore not part of general collective in industrial policy and flanking measu- agreements. res – as have been formulated by Ulla Lötzer (2010), member of parliament for the hand is worth two in the bush. From 17 the left party Die Linke, among others. the perspective of an individual union, it Yet if the route of the market is taken, the makes sense to be worried about being transformation of carmakers into integ- worse off than before and to hope that rated providers of mobility services will one will be spared by the effects of a cri- create conflicts with the competing stra- sis – even if others (the «competitors») tegies of other fractions of capital such are hit. The (longing for a) return to nor- as the energy industry, construction mality, to the old orientations, creates a and local transport. All of these fractions sense of security in a time of general in- want to secure shares of this market. security (even though there are growing This suggests that (industrial) trade uni- feelings of unease and an increasing, ons are not structurally conservative silent awareness that things cannot go because they are narrow-minded, but be- like this): «All in all, and compared to cause rapid structural change threatens others, we’ve done pretty well…» – this to undermine their organizational power. sentiment is quite common. However, even if they refrain from pursu- In the current crisis, it has been fairly ea- ing a strategy of transformation, they are sy for unions in Germany to build on the still exposed to changes triggered by ma- old strategic links to the state. German nagement (relocation, restructuring, and governments had been ignoring trade transformation), ecological reforms, and unions for a long time. Since 2008, they crises. Addressing this dilemma requi- have become, once again, a serious part- res orchestrating strategic interventions ner for the state and capital, and they are based on the idea of a «just transition» being listened to. At company level and (which should also target the trade uni- at the level of collective bargaining ag- ons themselves as organizations) – not reements, there has been little progress waiting passively for structural change to in recent years. Nevertheless, the unions happen. What is needed is transformati- have managed to force through the ex- ve organizing (Mann 2010 b), that is, the tension of the short-time working benefit, redefinition of the tasks, conception and the cash for clunkers scheme, economic organizational culture of trade unions (cf. stimulus packages, and the introduction Candeias/Röttger 2007). of co-determination at companies for- Yet the strategic interventions required merly hostile to unions (for example at diverge from the observations of indivi- Schaeffler, a car parts supplier). These dual unions regarding opportunities for structurally conservative measures – a action. Unions may regroup, undergo kind of «crisis corporatism» – are suppo- a sweeping restructuring and enhan- sed to stabilize the situation until surging ce their capacity to intervene – but this demand from abroad – especially from still requires substantial resources and China and South East Asia – brings relief carries risks. It usually takes a long time and opens up new prospects for German until positive results come into being; industry. The project of a social-ecolo- they require endurance and the prepa- gical transformation or shifts in strategy redness to act without guarantees of have to wait; immediate, short-term inte- success. Against this backdrop, strate- rests are prevailing over long-term inte- gies of restructuring are risky – a bird in rests. At first sight, it seems obvious that 18 the unions should do one thing without labour movement was cut. For years, the- stopping the other; however, this fre- re was hardly any public debate on (glo- quently fails because their financial, staff bal or local) questions of social justice. and strategic resources are overburde- Ecological transformation should not ned with the pressures of short-term (and be reduced to technological moderni- partly conflicting) requirements. zation. It affects most social relations of inequality: class relations and gender re- Strategic Contradictions II: lations; relations of production as well as Knee-jerk reactions from relations of consumption. Environmental the green camp policy produces problems of justice be- Trade unions surely have to become cause its effects and costs are distribut- «greener», but green movements also ed unequally. Certain groups and classes have to take into account, to a stronger profit from the much-propagated net degree, the interests of workers. In the dividend of an ecological transformation course of the 1990s, the social question – as is the case with any dividend. At the and the ecological question were incre- same time, some important questions asingly discussed separately from each are ignored: which branches of industry other. Under the hegemony of neolibe- need to shrink, which needs should be ralism, environmental policy became restricted and, crucially, who is affected institutionalized in the state. The 1992 by all this? It appears that environmen- UN conference on the environment and tal policy currently remains a one issue- development triggered ambitious pro- agenda for affluent, urban, middle-class cesses of global governance, which in- consumers who are the buyers of expen- creasingly included green NGOs. While sive e-cars, organic food, fair trade clo- representatives of the green movement thes etc. The interests of «lower» classes and party immersed themselves in the (healthier environmental conditions and red-green project, the active elements affordable «conscious» consumption) of the social movements transformed and the interest of workers (more and themselves into professionalized NGOs stable «good» jobs) are only addressed committed to political lobbying. Both si- in a superficial fashion. Unsurprisingly, des trimmed down the social-ecological in the last 30 years, the unions» have question by transforming it into a set of recognized the green movement as a policies aimed at ecological moderniza- political ally only to a limited extent. Si- tion. This may have facilitated the poo- milarly, for the «precariat», the green mo- ling of resources and increasing media vement does not play any political role coverage of «green» demands, thereby whatsoever. boosting public awareness of the issue, Consequently, the «green new dealers» especially in Germany. However, this are counting on compromises with cer- strategy ignored a number of key requi- tain (progressive) fractions of capital and rements for a social-ecological transfor- on the «creativity» of business. Fücks mation. The «green» current of the labour and Steenbock from the green Heinrich movement became marginalized, the Böll Foundation argue that in the light interests of the workers were neglected, of increasingly scarcer raw materials, and the link between the green and the politics is all about the «efficient ma- nagement of resources» (2007, transla- ted in civil societies around the globe 19 ted). They don»t see, that it is likely that can do little to counter this. And yet, struggles over resources, which have many of them argue that the leap into started already, will intensify, and that green capitalism is within our capabili- imperial policies will become more im- ties – just like the «social taming of capi- portant. Besides, Fücks and Steenbock talism» achieved in the 19th century. The express their hope that those «who have idea of the «social» appears to be dead. missed the green turn will be punished This has contributed to the unsatisfying by the markets» (ibid). Obviously, for the results of attempts to «green» the mode privatized power companies in Germa- of production and the mode of living (cf. ny, this is not the case. They are making Candeias 2008). windfall profits due to price increases, It remains controversial whether there and they are banking on the extension is really a green fraction in the middle of the operational life of nuclear power classes that is capable of successfully ta- plants (against the declared end to nuc- ming and integrating capital without the lear energy in Germany), the construc- support of a broad alliance between the tion of new coal-fired power plants, and middle and working classes. After all, a megalomaniacal projects like offshore sweeping (social-)ecological transforma- wind parks and Desertec. Highly morali- tion will be accompanied by the destruc- stic, glossy brochures about a new agen- tion of capital on a massive scale, and this da based on corporate responsibility are will affect the most powerful fractions of little help here, and so are the token of capital: the «fossilistic» corporations green projects launched by BP and Shell. that include the oil and car industries as I have already remarked that the German well as everything in between. It is rare- car industry is attempting to expand into ly discussed what this implies for social the rising countries on the global peri- struggles, for the relations of forces and phery – not so much by exporting che- for crises. In all likelihood, the envisaged ap, green microcars, but by selling heavy transition will be accompanied by deep limousines and SUVs suited to only the crises and fierce struggles. small number of people who want to put The same can be said about strategies their newly acquired wealth on display. of mitigation through redistribution. At least, supposedly «green» funds have All (left-wing) approaches advocate re- good prospects in the financial markets, distribution – whether «de-growth» or and at least the big insurers are worried «qualitative growth» and «green jobs». about the costs of catastrophic climate Redistribution is surely indispensable. change. Yet this does not turn finance However, in the context of social-eco- into an ally of those advocating a social- logical transformation, it gives rise to ecological transformation. After all, the problems not experienced before. In the financial crisis has lowered social and Fordist era, high productivity and big ecological standards, and the trade with growth ensured that wages could be in- emission certificates is stagnating. creased and that the welfare state could The «system of guards» (Fücks/Steen- be expanded without squeezing profits. bock 2007, translated) composed of all In other words, there was a great leeway the green associations and NGOs roo- for redistribution. «Green New Deal» ap- 20 proaches aim at recreating this situation involved act separately: Understandably, (on a global scale). Other approaches IG Metall promotes the interests of peo- build to an even greater extent on the ple employed in the car and export indus- expansion of the public sector – a sec- tries and, in a situation of crisis, favours tor that has be funded, under capitalist interventions aimed at quickly stabilizing conditions, by tax revenues and, first and industry in a structurally conservative foremost, by the sectors of industry or- fashion. Ver.di (the service union) advo- ganized along capitalist lines. If the goal cates the expansion of the public sector, is shrinking the economy, things will get public transport and the railways. Green very «tight» and struggles over distributi- associations fight against state subsidies on will intensify. The decline in growth in for car traffic and the no 1 threat to the en- the neoliberal era provides a foretaste of vironment: the car. Feminists groups criti- things to come. cize the fact that ecologically detrimental «male» jobs are protected at the expense Becoming Drivers of of those sectors that either provide most- Our Own History ly «female» jobs (e.g., retail, as in the case Social-ecological transformation, con- of Arcandor) or address the reproductive version and just transitions, redistribu- needs of society (childcare, education, tion and green jobs – who is supposed health). Associations of the unemployed to advocate all this? The different pro- wonder why they should defend the in- jects aiming at a green renewal of soci- terests of core work forces, why billions ety address wage labourers as individual of Euros are mobilized for the banks and consumers or as members of a civil soci- the car industry while recipients of Hartz ety with vague contours, but not as politi- IV (workfare benefits) are facing the next cal subjects. Other than that, the existing round of cut backs. What is needed are (self-)interpellations are directed towards concrete projects and aims with a uniting the state, (green) capital, the NGOs, and, effect, which create communalities out of on the odd occasion, to the trade unions. different interests at the same time as ap- However, even the unions do not really preciating differences. regard the class of (more or less pre-cari- This can be exemplified with reference ous) wage labourers as actors behind the to the car industry. In the light of global movement who are actively making de- over-capacities, the pressures of com- cisions. The people affected still have to petition will intensify even more – they become the protagonists of change. will increase centralization and pose a The issue of social-ecological transforma- serious threat to certain sites of produc- tion raises the question how we should tion and certain jobs. conceptualize the practice of the «mosaic The relations of forces are not favoura- left» (cf. LuXemburg 1/2010): How should ble and people’s motivation is limited, we advance, starting from a diversity of but it is time to restart the debate on single interests, the formation of a com- conversion and develop new concep- mon project, how is it possible to instiga- tions. Whenever the next crisis hits, te pilot projects and open up prospects there will not be time to make up for of social transformation? So far, most of everything that has been neglected for the time, all the different organizations decades. Once this happens (the next recession is already impending), state requires deep structural change. Conver- 21 bail-outs should be attached to con- sion is not simply about building electric ditions: there should be an alternative cars and further advancing on the path of path of development; the employees of private transport in order to protect jobs. the companies affected should be offe- The entire structure of cities and spaces red a stake in them or there should be a has to be transformed. The distances full collectivization (as happened in the between work and home have to be re- case of GM in 2009 – however, without moved, and the separations between the federal government exploiting this them have to be overcome – i.e., the se- opportunity and triggering a process parations between being at home, doing of conversion). Who decides over what the school run, driving to work, driving gets produced? «I don’t need Porsche at to the supermarket after work, spending all», says a member of the works council a lot time in the daily traffic jam, prepa- at this famous producer of sports cars. ring food late in the day, and finally falling Public stakes in companies should be asleep on the couch in front of the TV. premised on the extended participati- It is necessary to reduce forced, unwan- on of employees, trade unions, green ted mobility. We need a whole range of association and people from the region new products, technologies and social affected – for example through the es- needs; new ways of life; and new forms tablishment of a regional council that of work, energy consumption, and con- decides which concrete steps should be sumption etc. It is only possible to de- taken to convert a carmaker into a pro- velop new conceptions of mobility and vider of green public mobility services new ways of life together with the car promoting integrated conceptions of workers – not against them. At the same transport. This would shift the balance time, the unemployed and marginalized between public and private transport people from a region affected by struc- and would favour trams, buses, pedest- tural change also need to be able to de- rians and (electric) bicycles over cars (cf. termine and decide how new prospects LuXemburg 3/2010). Car workers thre- can be created for them. atened with losing their jobs would use There is a need to shrink certain sec- company-level and regional councils tors of production, which also means in order to discuss, work out and deci- that we to have to develop strategies of de how the conversion of their industry a just transition. In this context, we can and a just transition could be organized. draw upon the (good and bad) experi- There is an enormous knowledge about ences made by trade unions and other production among workers that is rarely organizations operating in the areas of used (see, for example, the experiences mining (and, in particular, coalmining), of the «future workshops» of IG Metall in steel production, arms production and Esslingen). From this vantage point, it is shipbuilding – both of structural change easier to connect interests that diverge and, more specifically, of employment and to create organizational ties bet- and training agencies. The costs of a just ween different factions. transition for workers and communities A process of conversion of this type can- have to be covered by both companies not be completed at the company level. It and public funds. Moreover, we should 22 return to the debates on the reduction Especially in the global south, this kind of work hours and revisit company-level of transformation will focus the econo- and national initiatives dedicated to this mic process on addressing the basic issue (Krull 2011). needs of the rural and the urban poor, A just transition also requires the initial that is, on stabilizing rural communities. growth of some sectors of the econo- People would take control over their mo- my – while a relative decoupling of the des of production and ways of life, for ex- economy from material growth is taking ample through land reforms with the aim place. For the period of transition, qua- of establishing «food sovereignty». As a litative growth is necessary due to the result, people from rural areas would no deficits existing in certain areas of repro- longer be forced to secure their survival duction – especially in the countries of by moving to the mega cities. In these the global south. cities, it would be of key importance to If conversion is embedded in a macro- develop (or, first of all, introduce) a ma- economic strategy, it also entails trans- terial and social infrastructure and the forming our growth-oriented, capitalist corresponding systems of social secu- economy into an «economy of repro- rity. Investments should not be directed duction», which knows its limits and still towards creating a socially unjust and produces a different kind of wealth. In expensive infrastructure for millions this context, reproduction means, for a of privately-owned cars. After all, this start, focussing on the «care economy», would come at a high price – both for the which is based on needs and solidarity, people and for the natural environment. that is, on the social infrastructure of Instead, people should be granted free public health, education, research, so- access to the public transport systems, cial services, «food sovereignty», care, which, in turn, should be expanded ra- and the protection of the natural envi- pidly. The so-called growing middle ronment. This would put the crisis of classes in India, China and Brazil – the employment in the car industry into a western carmakers’ objects of desire – broader context. After all, the needs in will continue to represent only a small question are key needs concerning are- share of the increasingly polarized popu- as where everybody have been complai- lations in these countries. A strategy for ning of shortages for years. In countries the left cannot be based exclusively on like Germany, France, Sweden or the their purchasing power. US, the sectors belong to the social inf- This new orientation towards the needs rastructure are the only where there has of reproduction requires focussing on been employment growth recently. In internal markets and internal produc- the new capitalist centres like China, In- tion. Global chains of production are dia and Brazil, these sectors are growing in a state of overstretch, and this re- quickly – and it is of vital importance to sults in the squandering of resources. keep them public and not hand them Transport, one of the main causes of

over to the market. The existence of an CO2 emissions, needs to be reduced; economy of reproduction also entails a production needs to be reorganized qualitative development of needs and along ecological lines – what is requi- economy, not quantitative growth. red is not a «naïve anti-industrialism», as Hans-Jürgen Urban, member of the IG state and economic decisions. There 23 Metall board, puts it, but an alternative have been processes of restructuring mode of production. There need to be in the past where quickness was una- new, alternative products: it is not much voidable, and these were usually com- more than a bright spot that Volkswa- pleted with the help of planning (e.g., gen and the green energy provider in the US in the 1930 and 40s). But this Lichtblick (bright spot) are now coope- time, it should be participative planning rating in the construction of block-type (Williamson 2010). The dispute about thermal power stations tailored for pri- Stuttgart 21 and about the extension vate, de-centralized use (cf. Röttger of the operational life of nuclear power 2010). But maybe it can also serve as plants in Germany in autumn 2010 have a «door opener», as Stephan Krull, for- demonstrated that there is an unmista- mer member of the workers council at kable call of the German population for Volkswagen, puts it.20 democratic participation – not to speak The de-globalization and re-regionaliza- of the Arab Spring, the Indignados or tion of the global economy would redu- Occupy Wall Street. ce current account imbalances and the Ultimately, this gives rise to the questi- fixation on exports of certain national on who decides over the use of soacial economies. The (non-commodified) ex- and natural resources, and which work pansion of the public sector would sideli- is socially necessary – not from the per- ne markets and privatization. Apart from spective of wage labour and the pro- the conversion of individual industries duction of surplus value, but from the like the car industry, there needs to be perspective of extending collective and a conversion of our growth- and export- cooperative forms of work. The criteri- oriented economic models, and there on for «social necessity» should be the needs to be a left-wing state project. efficiency of a certain type of work in This process and the necessity to trig- terms of its contribution to human deve- ger deep structural change under con- lopment, the wealth of human relations, ditions of «time pressure» (Schumann and disposable time. Placing reproduc- 2011) requires participative planning, tive work, in the widest sense, at the consultas populares and processes of heart of the project of transformation people»s planning, as well as decentra- allows us to leave behind the growth lized democratic councils (the debates fetish. At the same time, it undermines, on the crisis of the car and export in- over the medium term, the capitalist dustries have already covered regional mode of production. councils, cf. IG Metall Esslingen 2009, The protagonist of such a process of Lötzer 2010, Candeias/Röttger 2009). transformation towards a Green So- Moreover, transformation always also cialism can only be a «mosaic left» ori- involves the reduction in working hours ented towards participation, which in support of the expansion of repro- enables people to become «the drivers ductive work – not least because politi- of their own history» (Mann 2001, 273; cf. cal participation and self-organization 2 0 10 a ). require time. After all, transformation is 20 Quote from a discussion at the conference «Auto.Mobil. all about the radical democratization of Krise.» (see above). 24 Bibliography

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Röttger, Bernd, 2010: Konversion!? nomy/tuc-14922-f0.cfm?themeaa= Strategieprobleme beim Umbau touchstone&themeaa=touchstone & kapi­talistischer Produktion theme=touchstone LuXemburg, vol. 2, no. 3, 70–79 View, Jenice L., 2002: Just Transition Simms, Andrew, 2010: The Art of Alliance Frontline Workers and Rapid Transition: An Environmental Fenceline Communities United for War Economy?, London 2010 Justice, Washington DC Schumann, Harald, u. Hans-Jürgen www.ejrc.cau.edu/summit2/ Urban, 2011: Gespräch über Kon­­- JustTransition.pdf ver­cion und Mosaiklinke Young, Jim. 2003: Green-Collar LuXemburg, vol. 3, no.1, 84–90 Workers. Debating issues from arctic Strohschneider, Tom, 2011: Grenzen. drilling to fuel economy, labor and Kritik der Grünen, Linken und SPD environmentalists are often at odds. Wachstumspolitik, RLS-Standpunkte But a bold new plan could help re­ Sweeney, Sean, 2011: The Durban concile the differences challenge. Gewerkschaften in den Sierra Magazine, www.sierraclub.org/ globalen Klimaverhandlungen sierra/200307/labor_printable. LuXemburg, vol. 3, no. 2, 108–114 TUC – Trade Union Congress, 2008: Originally published in: Globale Ökonomie des A Green and Fair Future. For a Just Autos. Bewegung.Arbeit.Konversion, Ed. Mario Transition to a Low Carbon Economy, Candeias, Rainer Rilling, Bernd Röttger, Stefan London, http://www.tuc.org.uk/eco­- Thimmel, Hamburg: VSA, 2011

Impressum

The series Analysen is published by Rosa Luxemburg Foundation V.i.S.d.P.: Sabine Nuss Franz-Mehring-Platz 1, 10243 Berlin Tel. 030 44310-434, Fax 030 44310-122, [email protected], www.rosalux.de ISSN 2194-2951 Layout/typesetting: MediaService GmbH, Druck und Kommunikation Paper: Circle Offset Premium White, 100% Recycling Berlin, Germany, June 2012 26 Current Publication

Luxemburg argumente no. 3 Beautiful Green World On the myths of a Green Economy Ulrich Brand

It will stop climate change and the extinction of species and in so doing will create high growth rates and millions of jobs: the green economy. Its seen as a miraculous weapon. Through it, global capitalism will be stabilised. And then it will be sustai- nable as well. But what is the green economy? In it, policy parameters are supposed to ensure the flow of capital to make markets and economy «greener» and create «green» jobs. Enterprises are to pay an «appropriate» price for environmental dama- ge. And not least: The state is supposed to orient its public procurements to sustai- nability criteria and create sustainable infrastructures.

www.rosalux.de/publication/38457 Current Publication 27

Manuskripte 2 The radical left in Europe «Revolution and coalitions» – left-wing parties in Europe Birgit Daiber, Cornelia Hildebrandt, Anna Striethorst (Ed.)

Some 60 organisations can be considered part of the family of «Left Parties» in Eu- rope. The anthology includes 23 country reports reflecting development, political concepts and self-understanding, organisational structures, strategies and pro- grammes. Under what conditions do radical left parties compete successfully in the political spectrum? Do they address the building of counter-hegemonic societal alliances – or do they stay within their own «camps»? What are the answers to exis- tential issues of European development? And where can we find transformational projects of a forward-looking character? www.rosalux.de 28 Rosa Luxemburg Policy Paper Foundation on Youtube: www.youtube.com/rosaluxstiftung 01/2011 Cornelia Hildebrandt Ellen Meiksins Wood DIE LINKE is a successful party Democracy against capitalism However, it is able to do too little http://www.youtube.com/ with this success watch?v=EZLY3bVhMSk 02 /2011 Slavoj Žižek Friedhelm Hengsbach SJ Signs from the future European solidarity is not free http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=VJ7NkL3ljlA 0 3/2011 Hans Thie Tariq Ali Exit not Exitus The rotten heart of Europe The Red Project for Green http://www.youtube.com/ Transformation in 16 Theses watch?v=hMOGgVz1iMo 0 4 /2011 Michael Hardt Scientific Advisory Board of Attac What to do with a crisis? Controlling the financial markets http://www.youtube.com/ instead of crushing the population watch?v=O1v8hrJZU_0 of debtor nations Ten arguments for dealing with the John Holloway European financial crisis Crack Capitalism http://www.youtube.com/ 0 5/2011 watch?v=QNkNGHmUx1U Marcus Hawel Hegemonialism On the current relevance of Imperialism

0 6/2011 Institute for Solidary Modernity (ISM) Social-ecological reconstruction on the path to a solidary modernity In memory of Hermann Scheer

01/2012 Thomas Sablowski Impoverishing Europe

www.rosalux.de «How to get from here to there? A free public transport system is part of a process of trans­formations toward a Green Socialism … and the earth would become a home.»

Michael Brie/Mario Candeias

www.rosalux.de