Ecofeminism & Radical Green Thinking

Transcription

1 Ecofeminism & Radical Green Thinking

2 What is radical green thinking? Radical is often associated with Left politics & philosophies Inspired in some fashion by Marxist or Marxian approaches Focuses on the relations of power expressed through material conditions of social being

3 All radical green thought originates in Their roots are in liberalism 19th century philosophies They are humanistic rather than organic They derive from marxist & socialist theories They tend to be somewhat economistic & materialistic

4 Radical green thought sees domination as a primary problem Modern society is primarily capitalist Capitalism is driven by profit motive Capitalism is based on surplus value Surplus value comes from labor & nature Labor comes in many forms: workers, women, minorities Domination of labor leads to domination of nature Accumulation of power & capital are parallel

5 Power is embedded in specific social relations, which allows domination & exploitation

6 Such relations of domination are present in many spheres of social life

7 Who or what is responsible for such domination and injustice? Capitalists, most of whom (but not all) are men though system logic Men, most of whom (but not all) are patriarchal through socialization Society, most of which perpetuates injustice through naturalization Modernity, which perpetuates illusion of management & control Ideology, which legitimates & perpetuates hegemony by calling it natural

8 Radical green philosophies see such domination in human-nature relations, in particular, as a threat & injustice Nature is an object of human desire, rather than a subject of our respect This may be the result of material factors or ideological ones The result is that nature is exploited & ultimately destroyed Second contradiction of capitalism

9 Thus, the environmental crisis arises out of the class and competitive elements of capitalism, the domination of human by human, and the domination of nature by "man"

10 Does this, therefore, imply that nature will eventually rise up and overthrow human domination? Depends who you ask

11 Eco-feminism comes out of this philosophical vein, but in several varieties: The domination of women & nature are linked due to Valuing of both as providing free resources Deep institutionalization of patriarchal relations & property rights of men Emphasis on rationality, which prizes calculation & demeans emotion Naturalizes inferiority of both

12 Consider the following ecofeminisms: Essentialist accept the caring element in the mother-child relationship Religious restore pagan pantheist women s worship Post-modern downgrade rationality as the measure of everyday life Structuralist critique & deconstruct naturalized power relations

13 Essentialist eco-feminism (Nel Noddings) Women are naturally more sensitive to nature This is seen in the mother child relationship That is an emotional bond, and not a contractual one Boys are taught to demean this bond & be rational Women must take the lead in restoring proper humannature relations

14 Religious ecofeminism (Starhawk) In prehistoric times, human bands were matriarchal Earth Goddess(es) were heads of pantheist religions Protection of Earth was the primary command Return to Goddess worship (or Gaia) is a way out of our dilemma

15 Post-modern ecofeminism (Carolyn Merchant) The scientific revolution saw nature as a bundle of secrets to be revealed by research & reason This could be done only by reducing nature to its constituent parts Reason thus became highly valued, as opposed to intuition, emotion & chaos We must give up the notion of progress and revelation of nature s secrets to restore proper human-nature relations

16 Post-structural ecofeminism (Noël Sturgeon) Domination is naturalized through ideology & practice It is through naturalization that power is both rationalized and exercised Relentless critique of beliefs & practices will reveal how this is happening Ultimately, such critique will reveal the truth, and people will change for the better

17 Motherhood is a social, not just biological, fact Boys reject their relationship with their mother; girls do not Conviction of separateness is a male illusion Knowledge is contextual and embodied/bodily Women measure themselves through relationships & an ethic of care This should be the basis of an ecological ethic Peterson

18 Mellor focuses on the gendering of economic systems & effects on the natural world Most economies are dualist & gendered, & devalue women s work ($15-45 trillion/yr.) This is concerned with the human body & basic needs Link of humanity with natural being is thereby diminished Both nature and women are diminished and degraded Provisioning offers an alternative Mellor

19 Dobson is contrasting ecologism with ecofeminism Identifies different forms of ecofeminism: Difference feminism Deconstructive feminism Materialist feminism And distinguishes ecologism from these because They are andocentric and Don t address limits to growth Ecologism does not seem too concerned about domination Dobson

20 Philosophical standpoint Representative author Central argument or concern Primary goal Means of achieving goal Critique Essentialist Nel Noddings Mother-child relationship = "natural caring" Replacement of male-dominated ethical systems A society with "mothers of both sexes" Only addresses close relationships Romantic Joanna Macy Indigenous women are closer to nature Establishing a closer bond with nature Learning beliefs & practices of indigenous women Tends towards essentialism Cultural-religious Starhawk Goddess worship was/is ecofriendly Recreate pagan pantheist feminism Practice Celtic, Wiccan religions Anti-rationalist magical thinking Psycho-social Carol Adams Patriarchy is psychosocially reproduced in individuals Eliminate binary socialization of boys & girls Non-gendered environment in home & elsewhere Fails to address society s role in reproduction Liberal Karen Warren Unequal representation of women Equal political and economic power for women and men Affirmative action, political access, economic success Individualistic; does not address structural issues Distributionist Vandana Shiva Unequal distribution of resources to women & children Just distribution of resources and power Greater access for women to economic resources Distributive justice offers weak structural critique Materialist Mary Mellor Sex/gendered division of labor subordinates women and nature Eliminate domination of women & nature by men United struggle to end male domination; women s decolonization Why should movement coalitions be Green? Post-modern Carolyn Merchant Science sees nature as female & women as natural Eliminate dominance of rationalism in analysis & action Restore holism & organicism to life & action Here there be dragons! Post-structural Noël Sturgeon Ecofeminisms must be deconstructed so as to not be essentialist Denaturalize all categories so that power is exposed Relentless critique of ideological positions No political program, only critique