Ecologism 15 Markers

• Bahro: capitalism as cause of environmental degradation due to a) private property encourages belief of human dominance over nature b) market commodifies nature so that it only has exchange value C) capitalist system breeds materialism + consumerism leading to relentless growth at any expense
• socialism as naturally "green" system bc wealth is owned in common interest, including long term humanity

1a) define anthropocentrism; belief that human needs + interests are of overriding moral + philosophical importance
1b) explain: all conventional political ideologies based on anthropocentrism, reflected in emphasis on human rights/humanity/social order/interests of nations + races etc; implies non-human world is only of value insofar as it satisfies human needs
1c) link to ecologism: shallow ecology based on anthropocentric assumptions

2a) define ecocentrism: theorectical orientation giving priority to maintenance of ecological balance > achievement of human ends
2b) explain: humans merely as part of nature, contributing to its wellbeing + having no greater/separate value; implies belief in value-in-nature i.e land ethic - things are right when tending to preserve integrity/stability/beauty of nature (ethical community)
2c) link to ecologism: embraced by deep ecology + ecofeminism

1) define sustainability: capacity of system to maintain its health + continue in existence over a period of time
2) how - emphasis on sustainable growth/development; attempts to reduce dependency on non-renewable energy sources + expansion in use of renewables i.e solar, wind etc
3) why - address key problem of conventional economic thinking (that natural resources are unlimited); emphasising use of limited + exhaustible wealth so society ought to operate within constraints imposed by ecology; takes into account needs + rights of future generation that they should enjoy same living standards enjoyed by current generation

1) green capitalism
2) capitalist enterprises are highly responsive to consumer pressures, if consumers become ecologically aware (in that climate change/pollution etc negatively will impact on quality of life) firms will have to respond by producing new + green tech
3) long term corporate profitability can only be ensured in context of sustainable development

WHY

• based on antropocentric assumptions
• good + bad defined in terms of human needs/interests/rights ∴ non-human world (other species/plants/trees/land etc) only has value if furthering human ends regardless of ecological consequences

HOW

• extension of moral obligations towards future generations so cross-generational justice supporting sustainability
• moral stands developed in relation to human beings to other species/organisms i.e animal rights + biocentric equality (all organisms/entities in ecosphere of equal moral worth)
• deep ecologists: nature has value in own right (nature as ethical community in which humans don't have anymore rights than other members

WHY

• materialism + consumerism emphasis importance of satisfaction of material needs (happiness = level of material consumption)

HOW (eco-anarchists + deep ecologists)

• materialism constitutes cultural basis for environmental degradation, encouraging short term economic interests > long term ecological concerns ∴ obsession with economic growth contributing to range of environmental problems
• questioning whether happiness is promoted by increased consumption; favouring "postmaterial" model of wellbeing constructed around "being" > "having"

• environmental degradation explained by male domination over both women + nature
• gender essentialism (irreconcilable differences between men + women) - women naturally close to nature + drawn towards relationships characterised by nurturing/caring/compassion whilst men are creatures of culture/cold reason + are competitive/controlling/dominating
• environmental degradation best addressed by withdrawal of women from inherently corrupt patriarchal societies + construction of matriarchal alternatives

WHY

• commitment to environmental sustainability (capacity of natural system to maintain health + continue existence over period of time)
• shallow ecologists: extending notion of human interests to encompass current + future generations who should enjoy living standards no less advantageous (implication of dependence on/rate that we use finite natural resources

HOW

• natural duty (cross-generational justice as extension of moral concern for children)
• expression of ecological stewardship (no generation owns nature but rather each generation only protects/preserves nature for benefit of generations to come - link to conservative thinking about nature of tradition and idea that society is partnership between living + dead)
• liberals: individualism extended to rights of indiv. not yet born

• principle of social ecology suggesting ecological structures (i.e spontaneous harmony + natural balance found in eco-systems) can/should be applied to social organisation
• construction of decentralised societies where people live closer to nature without states
• rejection of materialism + consumerism bc they subvert human wellbeing + foster ecologically unsustainable economic growth

• sustainability: capacity of system to maintain health + continue existence over period of time; economic growth should take place with no/little damage to ecosystem
• deep ecologists favour ecocentrism (humans not superior to nature; purpose of human life is to sustain nature, not other way round)
• rejection of economic growth (even if it's sustainable) as being essential to society + views this belief as justification for materialism + emphasis on standard of living of developed countries; sustainability is wrong in principle + isn't practically achievable based on damage to nature involved in economic growth

• green politics/ecologism: political ideology giving priority to promotion of ecological sustainability
• pastoralism: belief in virtues of rural existence; simplicity, community, closeness to nature > allegedly corrupting influence of urban/industrialised life
• ecological issues increasingly important bc they don't pay attention to international borders so international action required
• environmentalism: concern about natural environment + environmental degradation (policy stance > ideological stance)

• ecology: study of relationship between living organisms + environment, stressing network of relationships sustaining all forms of life
• eco-systems naturally incline towards state of harmony
• homeostasis: tendency of system to maintain internal equilibrium
• ecologies out of balance bc humankind pursuits material wealth i.e exponential growth in human population, depletion of finite fuel, eradication of tropical rain forests, pollution of resources, use of additives to foodstuffs, threat to biodiversity leading to extinction
• ecocentrism: theorectical stance prioritising maintenance of ecological balance > acheivement of human ends
• anthropocentrism: belief that human needs + interests are of overriding moral + philosophical importance
• shallow ecology: green ideological stance harnessing lessons of ecology to human ends
• deep ecology: green ideological stance prioritising maintenance of nature, associated with biocentric equality + diversity + decentralisation

• Capra: Cartesian- Newtonian paradigm as cause of environmental crisis bc science treats nature mechanically + humans as masters
• holism: belief that whole > its parts
• Smuts: science commits sin of reductionism whereas holism sees things as part of whole
• shift away from mechanical paradigm due to quantum theory and Eastern religions i.e Hinduism in seeing things as parts of systems (collection of parts operating through network of reciprocal interactions ∴ constituting complex whole)
• pre-Christian spiritual ideas i.e Gaia hypothesis: theory that Earth is best understood as living entity acting to maintain own existence (Lovelock)

• grey parties believe human life has unlimited possibilities for material growth + prosperity
• "spaceship Earth": earth only have limited resources due to closed system + shows evidence of entropy (tendency towards decay/degradation) when earth is considered cowboy economy (economy with unlimited opportunities encouraging reckless/exploitative/violent behaviour) i.e industrialised West seeing energy as income that can be topped up > natural limited resource
• tragedy of the commons: theory that "global commons" will be subject to inevitable degradation bc indiv. + firms + states put self-interest before collective good
• sustainability: capacity of system to maintain its health + continue in existence over period of time - humans will only survive + thrive if maintaining health of system so sets limits on human actions i.e alternative energy sources
• Schumacher: Buddhist economies - right livelihood in which production facilitates personal growth in developing skills + talents

• extension of human interests to whole including future generations (futurity: concern about future implying actions in present should be judged by impact on posterity/future generations) leading to ecological stewardship (notion that each generation has duty to protect + conserve natural environmental for benefit of generations of generations to come) as extension of moral concern for children + grandchildren
  CRITICISM
• absurd to endow rights on those not born who can't discharge any duties towards living
• burdens imposed are incalculable so future generations could be better off or inadequate sacrifices for future needs and
• applying moral standards to animals (animal rights: moral entitlements based on belief that animals are non-human persons deserving same consideration) to prevent speciesism (belief in superiority of one species over another through denial of moral significance) from Singer's utilitarianism (SHALLOW)
• Goodsin: nature has value in own right that cannot be articulated through extension of human values to non-human world + resources should be used valued bc result of natural processes but still anthropocentric

• critique of materialism (emphasis on material needs + satisfaction linking happiness with level of material consumption)
• Fromm: "having" attitude
  1) undermines psychological/emotional wellbeing bc consumers always want more
  2) cultural basis for environmental degradation bc consumer society places short term economic considerations > longer term ecological one where nature is commodity
• humans know "how" but don't know "why" i.e why ambitions are sensible
• deep ecologists want "being" (satisfaction from existence + sharing leading to personal growth) bc it transcends ego bc each person linked to universe
• Naess: self-realisation attained through broader + deeper identification with others