Kohei Saito's 'Dark Socialism' and Ulrike Herrmann's Green War Economy Debate

Japanese philosopher Kohei Saito's new book 'Am Ende des Fortschritts' (At the End of Progress) argues for a 'dark socialism' as the best survival strategy amid climate collapse, rejecting utopian visions. Saito critiques taz economics correspondent Ulrike Herrmann's concept of a green war economy, which she proposed in her book 'Das Ende des Kapitalismus'. In an interview with der Freitag, Herrmann responds to Saito's criticism, noting that she does not call the potential authoritarian outcome fascism but rather a 'refeudalization' where warlords divide scarce resources. Saito warns of a breakdown of international order into national gangs fighting over dwindling resources, leading to extreme scarcity and authoritarian measures. The debate highlights differing leftist approaches to the climate crisis: Saito's anti-growth, socialist path versus Herrmann's state-directed, war-economy model.