In response to the severe crises of the Anthropocene, the prominent Japanese Marxist scholar Kohei Saito proposed an ecological communism characterized by “degrowth” on the basis of his research of Marx’s manuscripts, which has garnered great attention from the academic community both domestically and internationally. Although Saito did not explicitly use the term “ecological communism” in his theoretical work , his efforts can be seen as a cautious attempt at this in that his advocacy is rooted in Marx’s late ecological thought and emphasizes “degrowth” as a response to the crises caused by capitalism’s blind pursuit of technological and economic growth. Despite the huge academic controversy he has stirred up, his exploration of Marx’s late communism from an ecological perspective and his implicit questioning of “how ecological communism is possible” from the standpoint of the Anthropocene have opened up new avenues for the development of Marxist ecological thought in the 21^st century, and is worthy of serious attention. 

　　Editor: Zhong Yao  Liu Tingting 

　　From: Journal of Southeast University(Philosophy and Social Science) .2024. No.