‘The Best-Laid Schemes o’ Mice an’ Men’: Transformative Agency Towards Ecosocialism

Abstract

Within ecosocialist literature, there exists a significant lacuna on the subject of transformative agency, exactly those actors with the capacity and power to realise the ecosocialist vision. Our research explores this topic through (1) an analysis of three documents (the Belém Declaration; the Réseau Ecosocialist Manifesto; and Ecuador’s National Development Plan), which mirror ecosocialist goals and are actively followed by a group of people, and (2) a stakeholder power analysis of the actors involved in the controversial Belo Monte Dam project in Brazil. Five agents feature prominently in the discussion, two of which contrast with traditional red-green thought: social movements, indigenous groups, the affluent capitalist class, left-wing political parties and the state. Their specific capabilities and power resources determine the different roles they could assume in a transition from a capitalist to an ecosocialist situation. We also argue that the particular opportunity context within which their activities are taking place constitutes a key consideration in transformative agency.