Pii: S0921-8009(00)00248-2

Karl Marx’s philosophical, political and sociological analysis of the workings of capitalism provides insights regarding the character of monetary value (price) and the role of the market that are relevant to ecological economists. Ecological economists are divided over the utility of pricing components of ecological systems and the potential role of the market in achieving ecologically sustainable societies. In the Marxian-influenced socialist movements of the 19th and 20th centuries, similar issues were raised by those preoccupied with organising state policy and manipulating the market to achieve social justice. For example, at particular points in the Russian and Cuban revolutionary processes, the potential and limitations of monetary pricing and market exchange were debated in a heated and detailed way. In as much as ecological economists hold certain interests in common, it is worth reflecting on Marx’s view of the human role within nature and analysing the discussions and experiences of Marxian experimenters in social transformation that relate specifically to exchange. © 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights