4-Building Ecosocialist Capacity

In the previous article, What Could Ecosocialism Mean in New Mexico? Part 2: Trade-Offs, Choices, and Democracy, we explored Democratic Ecological Planning as one response to a difficult challenge facing our nation, state, and DSA chapter: communities face interconnected social and ecological concerns that do not exist in isolation. They influence one another, affect people in different ways, and often require difficult trade-off decisions.

Democratic Ecological Planning begins with a simple idea: communities should play a meaningful role in understanding those concerns, examining alternatives, determining priorities, and establishing responses.

Where does Democratic Ecological Planning begin?

The answer is straightforward. It begins with discussion. Not with an institution. Not with a policy platform. Not with a campaign. Not with a plan.

Before communities can determine what should be done, they must first decide whose voices should be involved, examine shared concerns, and consider competing priorities. Democratic Ecological Planning begins in the same place.

Over the course of this series, we have explored ecosocialist questions concerning relationships, scale, power, inequality, and democratic decision-making and considered how they might apply to New Mexico. The purpose of that exploration was never to provide a finished set of answers. It was to introduce questions. The next challenge is deciding what to do with them.

Why should Albuquerque DSA spend additional time discussing ecosocialism?

Chapters have limited time, limited energy, and no shortage of important concerns competing for attention. Housing affordability, economic inequality, labor organizing, and many other issues already demand the Chapter’s attention. Adding another discussion simply because it is intellectually interesting would be difficult to justify.

Yet the argument presented throughout this series is not that ecosocialism introduces another issue that should compete with existing priorities. Instead, ecosocialism introduces a set of questions that can help us examine concerns we are already confronting.

The questions explored throughout this series can be applied to many of the issues DSA is already trying to address. They do not dictate answers. They encourage us to examine familiar challenges from a broader systems perspective. That is one reason ecosocialism has become a growing discussion within DSA. Whether one agrees with every aspect of ecosocialist thought or not, the questions themselves are often relevant to concerns that chapters already discuss.

If those questions are useful, a practical question follows: Are they important enough to continue exploring together?

In previous articles, we explored the importance of scale. Some concerns can be understood primarily at the local level. Others unfold across larger social, economic, and ecological systems that extend far beyond municipal boundaries. There may therefore be value in a broader discussion.

Albuquerque DSA, Santa Fe DSA, and Paseo Del Norte DSA each operate within different contexts and bring different experiences to the discussion. A cross-chapter discussion does not require agreement. Nor does it assume that every chapter shares the same priorities. Its value lies in creating opportunities to explore common questions from multiple perspectives and experiences across New Mexico.

If Democratic Ecological Planning begins with democratic discussion, then an important question follows: How should such a discussion begin?

If the questions explored throughout this series are worth discussing, and if there is value in exploring them beyond a single chapter, another question emerges: How should that discussion occur?

Democratic Ecological Planning begins with democratic participation. Yet participation rarely happens automatically. Discussions require people willing to organize, facilitate, and sustain them. In other words, meaningful discussion requires capacity. This is true throughout DSA. Chapters regularly form working groups and other organizational structures when certain issues warrant sustained attention. These structures do not exist for their own sake. They exist because they help members develop the capacity needed to engage shared concerns.

The growing discussion of ecosocialism presents a similar challenge. If the questions explored throughout this series warrant continued exploration, should Albuquerque DSA develop the capacity to support it?

If Democratic Ecological Planning begins with democratic discussion, and if a broader discussion is worth having, then someone must help create the conditions that allow it to occur. That is one reason Albuquerque DSA is considering an Ecosocialism Working Group.

The purpose is not to provide answers on behalf of the Chapter. The purpose is to create opportunities for members to explore questions together, engage with other chapters, participate in political discussion, and help determine whether ecosocialism should play a larger role within our organization.

Over the course of this series, we have explored ecosocialism and considered how its questions might apply to New Mexico. The purpose was never to provide a finished set of answers. It was to introduce questions that may help us better understand the challenges facing our communities and the choices that lie ahead.

Article 3 ended by asking where Democratic Ecological Planning begins. This article has suggested one answer: it begins with a discussion.

If those questions are important enough to explore and if there is value in exploring them together, then the next step is to decide whether Albuquerque DSA should help create the capacity for that discussion. Next week, chapter members will have an opportunity to consider one proposal for how that process might begin: a Resolution establishing an Ecosocialism Working Group to organize and moderate a New Mexico-wide discussion with DSA chapters.

The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Red Rose, any individual editor, Albuquerque DSA, the Democratic Socialists of America, or any individual therein.

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