Radical Ecological Democracy

‘Emancipate richnesses!’

April 24, 2023April 24, 2023 Capitalism, Community, Democracy, Development, New Economy, New Politics, Power Dynamic

Hope in hopeless times is a necessary imperative of the human condition, and now a new book by John Holloway articulates that longing through a critique of the contemporary political economy and revolutionary theory itself, pointing a way out of the current socio-political despondence towards reasoned action. In this incisive review of “Hope in Hopeless Times”, Anitra Nelson, an old friend and comrade of RED, takes us through the contours of Holloway’s ideas on reclaiming human richness from the clutches of money “to ensure that capitalism comes to an end before it leads to the extinction of humanity.”

Action Agenda Analysis Ideas Stories

From Growth, through Degrowth, to a Pluriverse of Flourishings

April 24, 2023April 24, 2023 Community, Development, Ecological democracy, Environment, New Politics, Power Dynamic, Sustainability

A new debate is emerging within the larger discourse on systemic change – what role would the global south with its much greater diversity of ways of living than the North, and with its modern history of pluriversal destruction driven by concentrations of power and privilege from/in the North, play in the unfolding of the idea of degrowth? Is that possible role in any way impeded by degrowth discourse’s own coloniality, which probably is an outcome of its self-definition in opposition to the Eurocentric developmentalist discourse of growth? Does the pluriverse become interesting to degrowthers only if it meets their degrowth criterion? Is the pluriverse of thousands of still surviving biocultural ways of living/knowing on earth and more than seven thousand languages, being subordinated to the degrowth agenda? In this astute and sharp article Saurabh Arora and Andy Stirling of the University of Sussex flesh out this pertinent debate, helping us untie the knots on growth and degrowth, and clarify the promise of the pluriverse beyond.

Agenda Analysis Ideas News Stories

“Giorgia on our minds”: Exploring “alternatives” as the ultra-right overtakes Italy

October 9, 2022October 11, 2022 Capitalism, Democracy, Development, Ecology, Environment, New Economy, New Politics, Power Dynamic

As the ultra-right prepares to take power in Italy following the recent elections, a major soul searching is underway among the left and progressive circles on what ails their movement, and how to reconstruct an agenda to appeal to the alienated Italian electorate. Mitja Stefancic probes the recent failures of the Italian left and concludes that progressive politics can only be revived if alternative political movements are accompanied by reliable economic “alternatives” that challenge the top-down neoliberal model.

Agenda Analysis Ideas Policies Stories

Technology and (dis)empowerment: A call to technologists

September 30, 2022October 2, 2022 Capitalism, Community, Democracy, Development, Power Dynamic, Revolutionary Technology

Could technology become an unambiguous force for social good, and help usher in a more equitable and fairer ecosystem capable of handling challenges of inequality, exploitation, poverty and climate change? Aaditeshwar Seth answers this important question in his recently published book, “Technology and (Dis)empowerment: A Call to Technologists”. In this article, Seth discusses the many ways in which technology could aim to overturn hegemonic and unjust social and economic structures to create an equal and just society, a strikingly bold thread running through his book.

Agenda Analysis Ideas Stories

Living bioregionally, now

September 22, 2022September 23, 2022 Capitalism, Development, Ecology, Environment, Sustainability

Could bioregional forms of governance that start from the biophysical realities of ecosystems, which are particular and even unique to places, be a part of the solution to the environmental and climate crises being experienced by the world? Christine Dann analyses the promise and the challenges inherent in that hope based on her extensive work on critical environmental issues in New Zealand.

Ideas Stories

“Where the mind is without fear”

August 31, 2022September 28, 2022 Community, Democracy, Ecology, Environment, New Economy, New Politics, Sustainability

Earlier this August, India marked the 81st death anniversary of the iconic Bengali poet, writer, educationist and philosopher Rabindranath Thakur. His acclaimed poem, “Where the mind is without fear” has inspired generations of Indians to work for wisdom and wellbeing in the country. Ashish Kothari honors Rabindranath Thakur’s memory inspired by that celebrated poem, introducing an “alternatives” twist to the great poet’s sentiments in a poem of his own.

Analysis Ideas Stories

Localization: Bringing about Buen Vivir to address climate fluctuations and globalization

August 21, 2022August 21, 2022 Capitalism, Community, Democracy, Development, Environment, Localization, New Economy, Power Dynamic, Sustainability

In the last fifty years or so of rampant globalization, the decision making processes related to all aspects of people’s lives – food, water, shelter, learning, health, governance – have become restricted to a self-serving collaboration between corporations and international finance, enabled by their nexus with governments all over the world, whether they are openly autocratic or continue to operate under the pretense of democracy. The results now stare us in our faces – runaway economic inequality and increasingly frequent environmental crises. Is there a way out of this quagmire? Christian Stalberg advocates for local control over the means of production and trade, and self-reliance in meeting basic needs from within a human-scale local region. Based on a presentation he made at a session at the World Social Forum earlier this year in Mexico City, Stalberg advances the Andean idea of “Buen Vivir” centered on “localization”, where our choices can be informed by their impact on the earth’s ecology as well as human wellbeing, not just the chimera of convenience and price tag.

Action Agenda Analysis Ideas Stories

Five axes of transition: Imagining “alternatives” for the post-pandemic future

July 30, 2022July 31, 2022 Capitalism, Community, Democracy, Ecology, New Economy, New Politics, Power Dynamic, Sustainability

At some point in the next year or so, we, as a society, may enter the endgame of the Covid-19 pandemic. But, are we, in any way, prepared to deal with the political and economic stresses that will continue to hound us long after? And, how do we even begin to purge ourselves of the pandemic induced detritus that clogs the arteries of our socio-psychological existence? Arturo Escobar, a prominent political-ecologist and an old ally of the Radical Ecological Democracy website, lays out a strategy – what he calls the five axes of transition – needed to come out on the other side of this societal collapse with hope, and to “give impetus to our deepest yearnings for other worlds and worlds otherwise.”

Action Analysis Ideas Stories

Carbon commodification in the Peruvian Amazon: The Kichwa People’s Struggle Against Territorial and Climate Destruction

July 26, 2022July 26, 2022 Capitalism, Community, Democracy, Development, Ecology, Environment, Power Dynamic, Sustainability

The contemporary model of “fortress conservation” continues to dispossess Indigenous Peoples around the world of their territories to justify the implementation of dubious projects pushing climate change mitigation mechanisms and biodiversity conservation actions. It ignores the ancient rights of communities over their territories, and actively impairs their own local governance systems perfected over time. The resistance to this fraudulent attempt at conservation, however, is gaining ground all over the world. In this article on the emerging issues in Peru, Matias Pérez Ojeda del Arco discusses the ongoing struggle of the Kichwa people to ensure the enjoyment of their traditional livelihoods and the continuation of their territorialities and relationalities with their forests. While the situation is far from perfect, this contestation has allowed for the creation of an “alternative” paradigm where the communities are recognized as key actors for any conservation action undertaken by the Peruvian State to meet its climate commitments.

Agenda Analysis Ideas Stories

A Sisyphean Politics of Desire – Camus’ Philosophy in the Anthropocene

June 22, 2022June 23, 2022 Capitalism, Community, Democracy, Ecology, Environment, New Politics, Power Dynamic

Albert Camus’ outstanding scrutiny of the human condition using the lens of the “absurd” has afforded post-war western society a keen insight into its intensifying socio-psychological ennui and fatigue. Yet, is that somewhat edifying self-reflection enough to discern and intervene in the current unceasing tumble into an environmental and economic dystopia? Adam Cogan examines Camus’ “The Myth of Sisyphus” to weigh the suitability of its message to effect societal mediations, and concludes that a world beyond Camus’ faltering exhortations needs to be fervidly reimagined to contest the “despondency of capitalist realism, and the destruction it condones.”

Action Agenda Analysis Ideas Stories

“Beautiful Resistance” in Palestine: Challenging occupation by forging inner peace

June 13, 2022June 15, 2022 Community, Democracy, Development, New Politics, Power Dynamic, Resistance, Revolutionary Struggle

Resistance is a multifaceted undertaking – it demands clarity of purpose, steady action, regular strategic and tactical innovations, and access to resources. But, most importantly, it needs committed people at peace with their purpose. In Palestine, where the ugliness of occupation, violation of human rights and dehumanizing oppression are a lived reality, how do people respond without succumbing to frenzied violence, particularly its youth who grow up witnessing the unceasing shattering of their future, everyday? Alrowwad, a Palestinian cultural and arts organization uses the philosophy of “Beautiful Resistance” to work with the country’s youth and children to establish a sense of creative peace in their hearts and minds, with the ultimate aim of transmitting that ideal to the rest of the Palestinian society, and to lay the “alternative” pathway to freedom and self-rule. In this article, Abdelfattah Abusrour, the founder of “Alrowwad” discusses the philosophy and the practice of “Beautiful Resistance”.

Agenda Analysis Ideas Stories

Development as Service

May 21, 2022May 21, 2022 Capitalism, Community, Democracy, Development, Ecological democracy, Environment, Indigenous Communities, New Economy, New Politics, Social Change

Is nature an entity in its own right with intrinsic value to which one owes gratitude and respect, or is it a mere slave of human possession and exploitation? Dorine van Norren answers this question with deep reflection on traditional paradigms which have existed in indigenous cultures for thousands of years, and after having survived the centuries long onslaught of free market fundamentalism, are now providing viable alternatives to the fast crumbling ideas and practices of modern “development”. Delving into the tenets of African Ubuntu, Andean Buen Vivir and the Bhutanese precept of “Gross National Happiness”, van Norren asserts that these paradigms are paving the way toward establishing a society rooted in solidarity with one another and one’s living environment, with an enduring commitment to “development”, which is centered on service or reciprocity.

Analysis Ideas News Stories

Gustavo Esteva Had a Vision

April 10, 2022April 13, 2022 Capitalism, Community, Development, Environment, New Politics, Power Dynamic, Revolutionary Struggle, Social Change, Social Movements, Socialism

All through his uniquely inventive life, Gustavo Esteva conceived and established trailblazing initiatives, opening up fresh possibilities to fashion new worlds, and he did so with an ever-expanding group of spirited and thoughtful collaborators, particularly in his native Mexico. In this tribute, David Barkin, one of Esteva’s long-time comrades, recounts the enormous impact his ideas and initiatives had on the quest for societal transformation.

Analysis News Stories

“Hola, Gustavo!”- A personal tribute to Gustavo Esteva

April 5, 2022April 5, 2022 Alternatives, Community, Indigenous Communities, Innovation, New Politics, Revolutionary Struggle, Social Change, Social Movements, Society

The struggle for progressive “alternatives” suffered a great loss last month when one of its prominent standard bearers, Gustavo Esteva, passed away at the age of 86 in Mexico. In his remarkable and revolutionary journey spanning over six decades, Esteva redefined the very idea of “societal transformation”, and charted a unique course of praxis and theory for the realization of his vision. In this personal tribute, Ashish Kothari recounts Esteva’s enormous contributions, and their collaboration in the quest for meaningful “alternatives”.

Action Analysis Ideas News Stories

Is Italy’s new vision for environmental protection a real commitment to carbon neutrality?

April 3, 2022April 7, 2022 Alternatives, Climate Change, Economy, Energy, Environment, New Politics, Power Dynamic

As the need to address climate change and other environmental crises becomes increasingly critical, many countries have found it necessary to amend their national constitutions to strengthen existing provisions for environmental protection, and even introduce new ones. This past February, the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Parliament passed legislation to amend two crucial Articles in the Constitution to align the country with the rest of Western Europe’s progressive vision on climate intervention. Fausto Corvino and Mitja Stefancic discuss the promise and challenges inherent in this significant move, particularly as the energy fallout from the on-going Russia-Ukraine conflict causes complex and worrying problems for Italy.

Agenda Analysis Ideas Stories

Against the Universal Agent of Separation: A Review of Anitra Nelson’s “Beyond Money: A Post Capitalist Strategy”

March 6, 2022March 7, 2022 Alternatives, Capitalism, Community, Ecological democracy, Education, Environment, New Economy

In this second part of our series on Anitra Nelson’s, “Beyond Money: A Post-Capitalist Strategy”, John Clark reviews the path breaking book for RED. He concludes that Anitra Nelson’s inquiry takes “seriously the real possibilities for escape from the power of money and the urgent need to begin realizing those possibilities in the immediate future.”

Action Agenda Analysis Ideas Stories

Ingredients for a decolonial politics – cooking up a future to delight in

March 3, 2022March 3, 2022 Capitalism, Community, Democracy, Economy, New Politics, Power Dynamic, Social Change

Creating “alternatives” to the political and economic structures that bolster the existing neoliberal order is as much a function of resisting their impact on society as it is to understand and challenge our own co-option into the colonial mindset that perpetuates that oppression. In this article, Eva Schonvled and Justin Kenrick present an inspiring framework for activists, academics, civil society campaigners and radical reformers to create “alternatives to our internalized and cultural habits of domination.”

Action Agenda Analysis Ideas Stories

Is post-capitalism post-money?

February 10, 2022July 6, 2022 Capitalism, Community, Ecological democracy, New Economy, New Politics, Political Ecology, Power Dynamic

If money is the lynchpin of the contemporary capitalist order then it is imperative that an alternative to that world is imagined and crafted outside the constraints of money. In her path-breaking new book, “Beyond Money, A Post-Capitalist Strategy”, Anitra Nelson lays the ideological foundation of a post-money society based on real, non-monetary, social and ecological values that define a new order committed to fulfilling people’s basic needs. In this exclusive article for RED, Nelson provides an insight into her revolutionary ideas essential for designing a world without socio-economic inequality and crippling environmental stresses.

Action Agenda Analysis Ideas Stories

Marketing the planet: The financialization of nature

January 31, 2022May 26, 2022 Community, Democracy, Development, Ecology, Environment, New Economy, New Politics, Power Dynamic, Sustainability

As pressure increases on corporations to transform their business models to address climate change, their response has been a stealth move in the shape of a project, which aims to financialize nature. The power elite recognize that as ecological services regulating climate, and providing food, water, soil stabilization and cultural values become scarce and gradually degrade, they become more attractive to financial markets as economic assets for speculation and trade. Helena Paul discusses why this attempt at deflecting attention from the real need to change our current economic system based on perpetual growth would prove disastrous, and how “alternative” ideas and practices are contesting this nefarious design to perpetuate the neoliberal order.

Action Agenda Analysis Conversations Ideas News Stories

Indian farmers prevail: A conversation with Kavitha Kuruganti, a farmers’ rights activist

December 27, 2021January 30, 2022 Agriculture, Agro-ecology, Capitalism, Climate Change, Development, Food Sovereignty, New Economy, New Politics, Power Dynamic, Revolutionary Struggle

No mass movement in India’s recent history has captured the imagination of the country the way the just concluded farmers’ movement did over the last one year period. After a protracted struggle the farmers were able to force the Indian government to withdraw three farm laws, which were aimed at corporatizing the country’s agriculture. In a wide ranging conversation with Kavitha Kuruganti, an Indian farmers’ rights activist, I discuss the implications of this victory for the Indian farmers, and how a sustainable and people-focused agricultural alternative could be constructed in the future.

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