Eileen Crist
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780226596778
- eISBN:
- 9780226596945
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226596945.001.0001
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Environmental Studies
Abundant Earth documents the loss of biodiversity underway and lays out the drivers of this destruction. It goes beyond the litany of causes—a growing population, rising livestock numbers, expanding ...
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Abundant Earth documents the loss of biodiversity underway and lays out the drivers of this destruction. It goes beyond the litany of causes—a growing population, rising livestock numbers, expanding economies and trade, and spreading infrastructures—to ask the question: Since it is well-understood that humanity’s expansionism is irreparably diminishing life’s richness, why are we not taking the needed steps to halt our expansionism? It argues that the worldview of human supremacy—the conviction that humans are superior to all other life-forms and entitled to use them and their places—stands in the way, for it normalizes humanity’s ongoing expansion. This worldview is an obstacle to recognizing that the conjoined strategy of scaling down the human enterprise and pulling back from expanses of land and seas is the means for addressing the ecological crisis and preempting the suffering and dislocations of both humans and nonhumans. Scaling down calls us to lower the global population within a human-rights framework, move toward deindustrializing food production, and work to localize economies and contract global trade. Pulling back is the project of restoring terrestrial and marine ecologies, so that life’s abundance may resurge. The book argues that humanity will not advance by entrenching its domination over the biosphere, but will stagnate in the debased identity of nature-colonizer and decline in the predicament of vying for “natural resources.” Instead, humanity can chart another course, choosing to live in fellowship with our Earthly wild and domestic cohort, within vibrant ecologies, nestling human inhabitation inside a biodiverse, living planet.Less
Abundant Earth documents the loss of biodiversity underway and lays out the drivers of this destruction. It goes beyond the litany of causes—a growing population, rising livestock numbers, expanding economies and trade, and spreading infrastructures—to ask the question: Since it is well-understood that humanity’s expansionism is irreparably diminishing life’s richness, why are we not taking the needed steps to halt our expansionism? It argues that the worldview of human supremacy—the conviction that humans are superior to all other life-forms and entitled to use them and their places—stands in the way, for it normalizes humanity’s ongoing expansion. This worldview is an obstacle to recognizing that the conjoined strategy of scaling down the human enterprise and pulling back from expanses of land and seas is the means for addressing the ecological crisis and preempting the suffering and dislocations of both humans and nonhumans. Scaling down calls us to lower the global population within a human-rights framework, move toward deindustrializing food production, and work to localize economies and contract global trade. Pulling back is the project of restoring terrestrial and marine ecologies, so that life’s abundance may resurge. The book argues that humanity will not advance by entrenching its domination over the biosphere, but will stagnate in the debased identity of nature-colonizer and decline in the predicament of vying for “natural resources.” Instead, humanity can chart another course, choosing to live in fellowship with our Earthly wild and domestic cohort, within vibrant ecologies, nestling human inhabitation inside a biodiverse, living planet.
Jay McDaniel
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780823238958
- eISBN:
- 9780823238996
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fordham/9780823238958.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
People in different parts of the world need to aim at becoming “ecological civilizations.” Those of us affiliated with different world religions can play a constructive role in helping bring about ...
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People in different parts of the world need to aim at becoming “ecological civilizations.” Those of us affiliated with different world religions can play a constructive role in helping bring about such civilizations in three ways. First, we can critique problematic dimensions of our own heritages that lead to a wasteful use of energy and an exploitation of the Earth. Second, we can recognize that the environment itself is not merely an issue among issues, but a context for all issues, insofar as it is the web of life in which human life is embedded. Third, we can develop fresh ways of thinking about “energy,” “God” and “human vocation.” Toward these ends, process philosophy reminds us that there are many kinds of energy, psychological and spiritual well as material, and that even consciousness is a kind of energy. Furthermore, it proposes that the mystery at the heart of the universe is an indwelling lure toward dwelling in harmony with the earth. Finally, process philosophy offers the idea that this lure is simultaneously an activity of receptive love and a Deep Listening, in whom all forms of energy are loved on their own terms and for their own sakes.Less
People in different parts of the world need to aim at becoming “ecological civilizations.” Those of us affiliated with different world religions can play a constructive role in helping bring about such civilizations in three ways. First, we can critique problematic dimensions of our own heritages that lead to a wasteful use of energy and an exploitation of the Earth. Second, we can recognize that the environment itself is not merely an issue among issues, but a context for all issues, insofar as it is the web of life in which human life is embedded. Third, we can develop fresh ways of thinking about “energy,” “God” and “human vocation.” Toward these ends, process philosophy reminds us that there are many kinds of energy, psychological and spiritual well as material, and that even consciousness is a kind of energy. Furthermore, it proposes that the mystery at the heart of the universe is an indwelling lure toward dwelling in harmony with the earth. Finally, process philosophy offers the idea that this lure is simultaneously an activity of receptive love and a Deep Listening, in whom all forms of energy are loved on their own terms and for their own sakes.
Christian P. Sorace
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781501707537
- eISBN:
- 9781501708503
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9781501707537.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, Asian Politics
This chapter introduces a relatively new concept in the Chinese Communist Party's political vocabulary: “ecological civilization” (shengtai wenming), which offers a new metric of development apart ...
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This chapter introduces a relatively new concept in the Chinese Communist Party's political vocabulary: “ecological civilization” (shengtai wenming), which offers a new metric of development apart from growth. Several years before the Sichuan earthquake, Qingchuan County was promoted by local officials and the media as an ecological society and an experimental pioneer in rethinking development in ecological terms. Qingchuan's ecological consciousness and dialectical strategy of protecting the environment and advancing the economy were said to differentiate it from other agricultural counties. This new discourse transformed Qingchuan's developmental constraints into political advantages. Among the most remote and impoverished counties in the earthquake zone, Qingchuan designed a reconstruction plan that would capitalize on environmental protection, forest conservation, and green modes of agricultural production. Using the case of Qingchuan, the chapter highlights the enormous obstacles for recasting not only production practices but also the very definition of economic development.Less
This chapter introduces a relatively new concept in the Chinese Communist Party's political vocabulary: “ecological civilization” (shengtai wenming), which offers a new metric of development apart from growth. Several years before the Sichuan earthquake, Qingchuan County was promoted by local officials and the media as an ecological society and an experimental pioneer in rethinking development in ecological terms. Qingchuan's ecological consciousness and dialectical strategy of protecting the environment and advancing the economy were said to differentiate it from other agricultural counties. This new discourse transformed Qingchuan's developmental constraints into political advantages. Among the most remote and impoverished counties in the earthquake zone, Qingchuan designed a reconstruction plan that would capitalize on environmental protection, forest conservation, and green modes of agricultural production. Using the case of Qingchuan, the chapter highlights the enormous obstacles for recasting not only production practices but also the very definition of economic development.
Eileen Crist
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780226596778
- eISBN:
- 9780226596945
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226596945.003.0011
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Environmental Studies
The Epilogue recaps central themes of the book and urges abdicating the common refrain to "save civilization." Civilization does not need to be saved but reinvented, since the domination of nature is ...
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The Epilogue recaps central themes of the book and urges abdicating the common refrain to "save civilization." Civilization does not need to be saved but reinvented, since the domination of nature is constitutional to its very nature. The Epilogue argues that as long as the natural world is constituted as "resources" for wealth and power, social inequities will prevail. It also argues that if social justice (equal distribution of resources) were somehow achieved (at the expense of Earth's biological wealth and integrity), the very notion of "justice" would be rendered hollow. Superseding human supremacy and building an ecological civilization founded on love for Earth is the only option.Less
The Epilogue recaps central themes of the book and urges abdicating the common refrain to "save civilization." Civilization does not need to be saved but reinvented, since the domination of nature is constitutional to its very nature. The Epilogue argues that as long as the natural world is constituted as "resources" for wealth and power, social inequities will prevail. It also argues that if social justice (equal distribution of resources) were somehow achieved (at the expense of Earth's biological wealth and integrity), the very notion of "justice" would be rendered hollow. Superseding human supremacy and building an ecological civilization founded on love for Earth is the only option.
James Miller
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780231175869
- eISBN:
- 9780231544535
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231175869.003.0008
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Science
An ecological civilization is one in which the social, cultural, and political order is rooted in the capacity of nature to promote the flourishing of the human species. The Daoist tradition offers ...
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An ecological civilization is one in which the social, cultural, and political order is rooted in the capacity of nature to promote the flourishing of the human species. The Daoist tradition offers four insights that can help promote this: (1) an aesthetics of flourishing founded on the practical experience of the world in the body; (2) an ethic of flourishing founded on the mutual porosity and vulnerability of the world and the body; (3) a politics of flourishing founded on a democracy of local contexts; (4) a spirituality of flourishing founded on religious themes of consumption, violence, death, and transcendence. Altogether this produces a vision of flourishing based on overcoming the modern dichotomies of self and world, matter and spirit, nature and culture.Less
An ecological civilization is one in which the social, cultural, and political order is rooted in the capacity of nature to promote the flourishing of the human species. The Daoist tradition offers four insights that can help promote this: (1) an aesthetics of flourishing founded on the practical experience of the world in the body; (2) an ethic of flourishing founded on the mutual porosity and vulnerability of the world and the body; (3) a politics of flourishing founded on a democracy of local contexts; (4) a spirituality of flourishing founded on religious themes of consumption, violence, death, and transcendence. Altogether this produces a vision of flourishing based on overcoming the modern dichotomies of self and world, matter and spirit, nature and culture.
Christian P. Sorace
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781501707537
- eISBN:
- 9781501708503
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9781501707537.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Asian Politics
This book examines the political mechanisms at work in the aftermath of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake and the broader ideological energies that drove them. The book takes Chinese Communist Party ideas ...
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This book examines the political mechanisms at work in the aftermath of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake and the broader ideological energies that drove them. The book takes Chinese Communist Party ideas and discourse as central to how that organization formulates policies, defines legitimacy, and exerts its power. It argues that the Communist Party has never abandoned its conviction that discourse can shape the world and the people who inhabit it. It demonstrates how the Communist Party's planning apparatus continues to play a crucial role in engineering the Chinese economy and market construction, especially in the countryside. It takes a distinctive and original interpretive approach to understanding Chinese politics, and demonstrates how Communist Party discourse and ideology influenced the official decisions and responses to the Sichuan earthquake. The book provides a clear view of the lived outcomes of Communist Party plans, rationalities, and discourses in the earthquake zone. The three case studies presented each demonstrates a different type of reconstruction and model of development: urban–rural integration, tourism, and ecological civilization. The book emphasizes the need for a grounded literacy in the political concepts, discourses, and vocabularies of the Communist Party itself.Less
This book examines the political mechanisms at work in the aftermath of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake and the broader ideological energies that drove them. The book takes Chinese Communist Party ideas and discourse as central to how that organization formulates policies, defines legitimacy, and exerts its power. It argues that the Communist Party has never abandoned its conviction that discourse can shape the world and the people who inhabit it. It demonstrates how the Communist Party's planning apparatus continues to play a crucial role in engineering the Chinese economy and market construction, especially in the countryside. It takes a distinctive and original interpretive approach to understanding Chinese politics, and demonstrates how Communist Party discourse and ideology influenced the official decisions and responses to the Sichuan earthquake. The book provides a clear view of the lived outcomes of Communist Party plans, rationalities, and discourses in the earthquake zone. The three case studies presented each demonstrates a different type of reconstruction and model of development: urban–rural integration, tourism, and ecological civilization. The book emphasizes the need for a grounded literacy in the political concepts, discourses, and vocabularies of the Communist Party itself.
Karen Bell
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781447305941
- eISBN:
- 9781447302933
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781447305941.003.0008
- Subject:
- Political Science, Public Policy
China, as a nominally socialist country that is famously beset with serious environmental problems, appears to contradict the theory that it is capitalism that has produced the global ecological ...
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China, as a nominally socialist country that is famously beset with serious environmental problems, appears to contradict the theory that it is capitalism that has produced the global ecological crisis. Some avoid this conclusion by arguing that China is now, or always has been, a capitalist country, so that there is no inconsistency. Whether or not this is the case is a contentious debate, attracting fiercely opposing views, but most would agree that China certainly no longer conforms to the standard socialist model. This chapter describes how new legislation and collective action have enabled significant improvements in environmental policy making in China over the last decade. However, it also shows how, as in the United States and other countries, the impressive legal and institutional developments have, so far, failed to produce a reasonable level of environmental justice.Less
China, as a nominally socialist country that is famously beset with serious environmental problems, appears to contradict the theory that it is capitalism that has produced the global ecological crisis. Some avoid this conclusion by arguing that China is now, or always has been, a capitalist country, so that there is no inconsistency. Whether or not this is the case is a contentious debate, attracting fiercely opposing views, but most would agree that China certainly no longer conforms to the standard socialist model. This chapter describes how new legislation and collective action have enabled significant improvements in environmental policy making in China over the last decade. However, it also shows how, as in the United States and other countries, the impressive legal and institutional developments have, so far, failed to produce a reasonable level of environmental justice.
