File spoon-archives/postanarchism.archive/postanarchism_2004/postanarchism.0401, message 41


Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2004 17:45:54 -0600 (CST)
From: =?iso-8859-1?q?eduardo=20enriquez?= <eduardofenriquez-AT-yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [postanarchism] Zimmerman: "Introduction to Deep Ecology"


Alan: So social ecologists see things like
homelessness as being caused by the same mechanisms
that cause rainforest devastation?

Michael: Also racism, sexism, third world
exploitation, mistreatment of other marginalized
groups - they're all phenomena on the same spectrum.
By supposedly not recognizing the social roots of the
environmental crisis, deep ecologists invite
themselves to be accused of nature mysticism. Social
ecologists say we need to change our social structure,
and that the elimination of authoritarianism and
hierarchy in human society will end the environmental
crisis.

Deep ecologists say there's no certainty that would
happen. Again, you can imagine a case where social
hierarchy is eliminated and yet the new egalitarian
society dominates nature just as badly. The problem is
that anthropocentrism can take on different forms.


INDEED THAT DID HAPPEN IN THE USSR, YET THE IMPORTANT
PART OF THE CRITICISM THAT SOCIAL ECOLOGY (BOOKCHIN)
MAKES IS THAT DEEP ECOLOGY TENDS TO IGNORE ANALYSIS
AND EXPLANATION OF THE SOCIAL SYSTEM WHICH IS CLEAR
THAT IT IS ORGANIZED BASICLLY AGAINTS LIFE AND
ECOSYSTEMS IN GENERAL IN A BASIC WAY. DEEP ECOLOGY
TENDS TO STAY INSIDE PHILOSOPHICAL-SPIRITUALIST
TERRAINS. NOW OF COURSE IT DOESNT MEAN THAT ONE CANNOT
FIND ANYTHING OF VALUE IN DEEP ECOLOGY. ITS JUST THAT
IT IS BETTER TO GO ELSEWHERE WHEN ONE WANTS TO LOOK
FOR A SYSTEMIC SOCIOLOGICAL EXPLANATION OF THE
ECOLOGICAL CRISIS. 
BUT NOW OF COURSE THERES THE ISSUE OF A TENDENCY
WHITHIN DEEP ECOLOGY OF EMBRACING A CERTAIN RATHER
NASTY NEO-MALTHUSIANISM WHICH WILL INDEED SEE
SOMETHING LIKE PLAGUES LIKE AIDS AND HUNGER AS WAYS
NATURE HAS IN ORDER TO CONTROL ITSELF. INDEED IF ONE
IS TO REMAIN CENTERED IN "NATURE" SO ONE WILL TEND TO
FORGET TOO MUCH OF HUMANS.
BUT BACK TO THE POINT OF THE NEED OF A NEW WAY OF
RELATING OURSELVES WITH NATURE AT LARGE THERE IS
SOMETHING THAT I WOULDNT DO ANYTHING ELSE BUT TO
SUPPORT. BUT WHAT DEEP ECOLOGISTS WOULD MOST LIKELY
NOT POINT OUT TO IS THAT THIS IS A CULTURAL PROBLEM
MEANING A WAY OF BEHAVING AND RELATING OURSELVES TO
OTHERS AND TO NATURE ITSELF AND THAT INDEED NESESARELY
WILL LEAD TO ENGAGING WITH ANALYSIS WITH HOW THE
SOCIAL SYSTEM WORKS AND HOW IT CONDITIONS SUBJECT TO
SPECIFIC BEHAVIORS. IN ORDER FOR THE "PHILOSOPHY" THAT
HUMANS HAVE THAT IS ECODESTRUCTIVE TO CHANGE ONE HAS
TO NESSESARELY ADRESS THE NEED FOR THE SOCIAL SYSTEM
TO CHANGE SIGNIFICANTLY. THERE WASNT A HUMAN MADE
ECOLOGICAL CRISIS AS BAD AS TODAY AND DEFINITELY IF
SUCH EXISTED THEY WOULDNT SIGNIFICANTLY COMPARE TO
THOSE OF TODAY. 
CHRISTIANITY MOST LIKELY IS NOT GOING TO BE OF TOO
MUCH LOVE FOR DEEP ECOLOGISTS YET IT WAS THE RULING
"PHILOSOPHY" DURING A PREVIOUS SOCIAL SYSTEM WHICH WAS
MUCH MORE CLOSE TO NATURE AND MUCH LESS
ECODESTRUCTIVE, FEUDALISM. CHRISTIANITY IS MUCH ON THE
WAY OUT AND NOW "THE DEATH OF GOD" IS A REALITY. 
PHILOSOPHIES ARE CONNECTED WITH SOCIAL PRACTICES IN
INSEPARABLE INTERACTION. 
LETS GO BACK TO HOW THE EGALITARIANISM DOESNT MEAN
NESSESARELY ENDING DESTRUCTION OF NATURE. IN
ECO-SOCIALIST, ECO-MARXIST AND ECO-ANARCHIST DISCOURSE
THAT IVE READ, IVE NEVER SEEN ANYONE BLAMING THE
ECOLOGICAL CRISIS ON "INEGALITARIANISM". THESE POINT 
TO THE COMBINATION OF SUCH CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL
INSTITUTIONS AND REALITIES SUCH AS PRIVATE PROPERTY,
ACCUMULATION, COMMODITY STRCUTURE, BUREACRATIC POWER,
CONSUMERISM, ETC AS THE CAUSE OF THE CURRENT
ECOLOGICAL CRISIS. THE CURRENT ANTI-NATURE PHILOSOPHY
IS A CAUSE ONE CAN SAY YET ALL OF THESE CANNOT BE
SEPARATED. BUT IF INDEED ONE NEEDS AN ECOLOGICAL
REASON OF WHY TO OPPOSE SUCH GROOS INEQUALITIES SUCH
AS THOSE OF TODAY ONE HAS TO POINT OUT TO HIGH
CORPORATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS AS DECIDING SUCH
CATASTROPHES AS SAY bHOPAL IN INDIA WHICH KILLED LIKE
10000 PEOPLE. 

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