Environmentalism has been unconsciously steeped in the Judeo-Christian concept of man’s dominion over the natural world. Jazmin Murphy explores how this crisis can be redressed by the inclusion of indigenous communities in environmental dialogue, research and action.
The path to an ecological civilization is paved by reclaiming the commons—our common home, the Earth, and the commons of the Earth family, of which we are a part. Through reclaiming the commons, we can imagine possibility for our common future, and we can sow the seeds of abundance through “commoning.”
We need to forge a new era for humanity—one that is defined, at its deepest level, by a transformation in the way we make sense of the world, and a concomitant revolution in our values, goals, and collective behavior. In short, we need to change the basis of our global civilization. We must move from a civilization based on wealth accumulation to one that is life-affirming: an ecological civilization.
We have been taught to live in a competitive, survival-of-the-fittest world. But in reality, the natural world is mostly about cooperation. What can we learn from nature’s mutualistic networks to help us make our human networks more resilient?
In discussing our options, we too often get sidetracked into a debate between political philosophies—capitalism vs. socialism—that sidesteps the larger issues. We need a different framework. Our common future depends on serious institutional rethinking and restructuring to localize power and share it on a global scale.
The concept of buen vivir has gained visibility in Latin America in recent years. Rooted in indigenous worldviews, buen vivir rests on an understanding of humanity’s relationship with nature that is fundamentally at odds with the anthropocentrism of modernity. Gustavo Hernández and Henkjan Laats trace the concept’s rising trajectory and its influence and echos in Europe.
In Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst, biologist and best-selling author Robert Sapolsky explores in depth the questions of why human beings behave as they do, and what we should do with that knowledge to move towards a better world.
Governance is a heavily loaded word. It brings about associations with concepts such as government, bureaucracy and power over people. Yet, every system, be it natural, artificial, social, biological or mechanical, needs a form of self-regulation. How does this apply in a locally-driven social change setting?
With 2020 now behind us and the new year fresh in our hands, it is time to put into practice our New Year’s resolutions. If one of them is to help make the world a better place but you are not sure how, do not despair, there are many heartening examples out there to take inspiration from.
Watersheds cover every ecological niche on the planet. When human societies live in harmony with the watershed, we flourish; when they are ignored, we perish. Deep down, we are all “People of the Watershed”. How can we achieve systems change by returning to this ancient legacy?
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