Description:
When it comes to doing our part to “save the environment”, we’re often limited to making superficial choices as consumers. Choices which don’t do much, if at all, to preserve or improve the health of our planet. What if we had a real choice? What if our ways of life–from basic needs to our deepest desires–were aligned with ecology, rather than in tension with it?
In this episode I sit down with Chaia Heller, author of The Ecology of Everyday Life, to discuss social ecology and her work developing a philosophy and politics of social desire. Social ecology, starting with the work of Murray Bookchin, draws from sources like Marxism, feminism, and the environmental movement to develop a rational society that values both social justice and the environment. Chaia expands on this, drawing from feminist theories of desire and the erotic, to show how a rational ecological society should emphasize enjoyment, not just satisfying basic needs. Sounds pretty solarpunk to me!
Sources:
The Institute for Social Ecology
Chaia Heller- The Ecology of Everyday Life: Rethinking the Desire for Nature
Murray Bookchin- Freedom and Necessity in Nature: A Problem of Ecological Ethics
Murray Bookchin- Post-Scarcity Anarchism
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Solarpunk Now! is written, hosted, and produced by Luka Dowell. The solarpunk theme is by Red Keener on SoundCloud.
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