Contradiction as the engine of progress: ecological civilization as a step towards the modern socialist society

Abstract

The concept of Ecological Civilization was recently inscribed in the Chinese State Constitution - a sign of its importance - but what is this concept about? And what is its importance, in the light of dialectics and historical materialism, for China's national development project? By making a qualitative analysis of primary and secondary sources, we seek to draw a theoretical picture of this concept and fit it in the objective that the Chinese State set itself, for the year 2049, of building a modern socialist society. Analyzing the existing literature, one can see the diversity of the study and the interpretation of this concept. We also see that the understanding of Ecological Civilization must be made based on the study of the material conditions existing in China and that the answer to the problem of development occupies the centrality of the question. We conclude that Ecological Civilization - an integral part of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics - is born in response to the contradictions that the post-1979 development model created and that its appearance corresponds to the need to find a new development model that focuses on the qualitative question.