Mihnea Tanasescu on the Need for 'Ecocene Politics'
Oct 1, 2023
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Mihnea Tănăsescu, a research professor, discusses the concept of the Ecocene era and the need to shed anthropocentric notions. He explores the impact of capitalism on meaning, the cultural significance of olive trees, and the challenges of increasing visibility of diverse perspectives. Tănăsescu emphasizes the importance of commitment to relationships, creating protected zones of coherence, and alternative practices to challenge mainstream culture.
The term 'Ecocene' is suggested as a more appropriate label for the current era of geological history, emphasizing the intrusion of ecological processes into political life and the need to recognize our interconnectedness with nature and other living beings.
Critiquing capitalist modernity and its principles of individualism and rationality is vital in moving towards a politics of relationality and mutualism, which can help break free from the constraints of modernity and address the traps of capitalist modernity.
Deep dives
The Role of Ecology in Political and Social Change
Ecological processes play a significant role in occasioning political and social change, often more important than human actions. The intrusion of ecological processes into political life is a key theme, challenging the notion that humans are in charge during the Anthropocene. Understanding the chance events and dynamic equilibria of ecosystems can help break the bifurcation of modernity and provide a different way of relating to the world.
Critiquing Modernity and Capitalist Modernity
Modernity, characterized by the bifurcation of nature and the reduction of places to measurable and interchangeable entities, has led to the disenchantment and draining of meaning from life. Critiquing capitalist modernity and its principles of individualism and rationality is essential. The book explores the traps of capitalist modernity and the need to move towards a politics of relationality and mutualism.
The Need for New Worldviews and Approaches
As ecological processes disrupt political and social life, there is a need for new worldviews and ways of understanding human existence. The concept of the Ecosene era is proposed as an alternative to the Anthropocene, emphasizing the importance of ecological demands and the interconnectedness of all beings. Commitment to biological relationality and acknowledging the interplay of chance, change, and locality can help break free from the constraints of modernity.
Building a Different World
Building a different world requires a commitment to right relationships, non-linearity, and a rejection of traditional top-down approaches. The examples of olive tree cultivation and the creative commons illustrate the potential of diverse initiatives and projects that challenge the dominant systems. While the danger of co-optation and denaturation exists, sustaining commitment and embracing the complexity of these endeavors can lead to transformative possibilities.
The best term for this era of geological history is not the Anthropocene, says Mihnea Tănăsescu, a research professor at the University of Mons in Belgium, but the Ecocene. "The increasingly frequent intrusion of ecological processes into political life” requires us to shed our anthropocentric notions, and recognize our deep, entangled relationships with nature and other living beings. In this interview, Tănăsescu talks about his book 'Ecocene Politics' and explains what it means to unlearn the modern mindset and cultivate a relational ethics of reciprocity, cooperation, and care for living beings. We must learn to renovate our legacy forms of political economy and culture, and develop the infrastructures and practices to support mutualism.
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