The environmental problem is not new at all, although the strengthening of ecological concern has been a recent tendency. The destruction of the environment is inherent in the capitalist system, although the environmentalist rhetoric can be exploited for pro-capitalist causes as well.

János Kornai is the permanent "nearly Nobel-prize winner economist" of Hungary. Nevertheless, one can find a good deal of political judgments in his policy recommendations.

Marx did not forget about the environmental impact of capitalist production, although he did not elaborate on the issue since much of the evidence was then missing. Nevertheless, his value and rent theories represent a solid ground for the theory of Marxist ecology.

Kornai's main contribution to international economic science is the concept of shortage, a model based on a number of unacceptable simplifications on the nature of the bureaucracy and other issues.

The legacy of Marx and Polányi allow us to develop a political economy of ecology. O'Connor's contribution has become a classic for the Western left in this area.