자연의 유물론과 생태 민주주의－칼 맑스(K.Marx) 『경제학-철학 초고』와 코로나 이후 새로운 삶의 양식을 중심으로－

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to establish ecological democracy as a new mode of life in the post-corona age, based on the theses that “naturalism is humanism” and “realized humanism is naturalism” as appeared in Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844 by Karl Marx. Not only is man still entrapped by the instrumental view of nature from the late modern period, but he is also buried in the myth that all relationships come down to the equalization of capitalist exchange value. Faced with the corona pandemic, man creates a hierarchy based on the use-value of all living creatures that are unable to create capitalist relations of production, or in other words, exchange value. And it is according to this relative capacity to generate exchange value that he decides which life should be saved first. Man now find himself at a crossroads, as to whether to return to the old capitalism prior to the pandemic or to establish a new mode of life. Contemplating on a possible new mode of life for the post-corona period amidst the continuing pandemic is essentially equivalent to seeking new possibilities for a life after capitalism within the bounds of capitalism. But reflecting on a post-Corona age in the midst of the Corona age requires more than the historical anticipation of the advent of communism after the demise of capitalism. One should rather completely re-examine the relationship between nature and man and also that between men, which had been neglected in favor of a myth from the enlightenment era regarding the linear progression of history. To this end it will be attempted to reinterpret Marx’s “realized naturalism of man, humanism realized by nature”, that is, a complete unity of man with nature and a true resurrection of nature, employing the ideology of ecological democracy. This concept dictates that nature as man’s inorganic body and man as organic nature do not anymore serve the function of supporting the instrumental view of nature. Both are instead ideologies that regulate post-capitalist modes of life. Ecological democracy, which aims to restore the relationship between man and nature, is a constructive method of rejecting the view of nature from the late modern period, which reduces the earth - including nature in terms of its use-value, individuals, and states - to its mere exchange value. In this sense, ecological democracy is an alternative to restore the inter-relationship among all living beings on earth, recognizing the intrinsically distinct use-value in all of them.