A Marxist critique of Circular Economy: From alienation to ecological civilization

The Circular Economy (CE) represents a highly popular articulation of the environmental discourse and practice. It is loaded with expectations to achieving the necessary transition towards a sustainable development model. In this article, we begin by pointing to the constraints posed to the CE by the laws of thermodynamics. Subsequently, we discuss why, despite the thermodynamic critique, the environmental discourse and practice remains predominantly articulated around the CE. We chart an unexplored path by offering a critical reinterpretation of the concept of the CE drawing directly on Marx's Capital. By bringing to the foreground Marx's critique, it becomes possible to see how the CE is a specific capitalist articulation of the environmental discourse and practice. However, we argue that, within the boundaries set by the laws of thermodynamics, but free from capitalist relations of production, a different articulation of the environmental discourse and practice is possible. In this respect, the People's Republic of China is the most advanced ground for the development of such a new articulation, as it channels the animal spirits of capitalist competition towards the pursuit of social goals, originating a socialism with Chinese characteristics. This new possibility can be perceived in the gradual sublation of the CE discourse in China within the holistic concept of ecological civilisation (EC).