Search

Recent debates about the most appropriate political agents for realising social justice have largely focused on the potential value of national political parties on the one hand, and trade unions on the other. Drawing on the thought of Murray Bookchin, this article suggests that democratic municipalist agents – democratic associations of local residents that build and empower neighbourhood assemblies and improve the municipal provision of basic goods and services – can often also make valuable contributions to projects of just social change. I identify a long-term and a more short-term argument for the value of democratic municipalist agency in Bookchin's thought and claim that the latter provides a compelling case for the valuable contributions this form of action can make to the achievement of a wide variety of visions of social justice. This provides a useful partial corrective to recent political theorising about the nature of the partisanship and trade unionism necessary to secure social justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research or concepts in the biological field have often been used as a basis to root political projects of different orientations. In the libertarian literature, there have also been attempts to explore the link between the natural world and the possibility of freedom by combining discoveries in biological fields and research in philosophical/political fields. In the first part of our work, we analyse Peter Kropotkin’s thought, especially his theory of mutual aid, focusing on his proto-ecological concepts. This section also focuses on the Social Ecology of Murray Bookchin in the context of the evolution of life in the natural world. The concepts of cooperation, empathy and mutual aid are explored, and also revolution, federalism and egalitarian ethics. In the second part, we review these ideas and concepts, drawing on insights from recent discoveries in the study of ecology and evolutionary biology. We conclude our review by discussing how these natural principles can inform social projects and social organisation, identifying how mismatches between social and biological organisation have contributed to inequality and domination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throughout the 1980s, the politics of Burlington, Vermont, were dominated by two of the American Left's most prominent figures: Bernie Sanders and Murray Bookchin. While there was considerable overlap between the two in terms of their general critique of capitalist exploitation, Sanders and Bookchin were often at odds with each other regarding renewable energy, economic development, and direct democracy. Bookchin accused Sanders of promoting an out-of-date "bread-and-butter" form of socialism that neglected quality-of-life concerns, specifically the need for greater democracy. In turn, Sanders thought Bookchin had a "back-to-the-woods mentality" that failed to consider that significant economic growth was necessary to end poverty. This article will examine the differences between Sanders's and Bookchin's approach to socialism within the context of Burlington's politics. It will explore the implications for these approaches in building a broad-based and highly democratic left-wing movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay addresses two related questions raised by the editors of the research topic for “Beyond the Frontiers of Political Science: Is Good Governance Possible in Cataclysmic Times?” In particular, it explores: 1) how we can identify new tools and perspectives from which to address the multiple and mutually reinforcing problems accumulating around climate change; and 2) what institutional alternatives to the nation-state need to be created and empowered to tackle such complex problems. It does so through an in-depth treatment of the paradigm of “social ecology” and the associated political project of “democratic confederalism.” It begins with an overview of the argument, first advanced by Murray Bookchin and subsequently adopted and adapted by the imprisoned Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan, that building an ecological society requires an assault on hierarchy in all its forms, and the construction of alternative, direct-democratic institutions capable of transcending the system of the capitalist nation-state. It sketches the institutional architecture of popular assemblies central to this project, both emphasizing their potential to contest capitalist social-property relations and hierarchies intrinsic to the nation-state and pointing out some sources of resilience of the existing system. It hones in on the experience of the revolutionary forces in control of the Autonomous Administration of North East Syria (AANES), who have been directly inspired by Öcalan’s ideas. It highlights both the AANES’s achievements as well as the significant obstacles it has encountered in the attempt to bring into being a radically-egalitarian, ecological society. It concludes by drawing lessons from these difficulties.

The following interview is an email exchange with the author, which was conducted as a follow up to the School for Politics and Critique 2019: Municipal Organizing and Left-wing Environmental Solutions. The questions were prepared by Katerina Kolozova and Zdravko Saveski. Author(s): Katerina Kolozova, Zdravko Saveski and Blair Taylor Title (English): Refusing the False Choice Between Individual and Collective Liberation: Interview with Blair Taylor Journal Reference: Identities: Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture, Vol. 16, No. 1-2 (Summer - Winter 2019) Publisher: Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities - Skopje Page Range: 32-37 Page Count: 6 Citation (English): Katerina Kolozova, Zdravko Saveski and Blair Taylor, “Refusing the False Choice Between Individual and Collective Liberation: Interview with Blair Taylor,” Identities: Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture, Vol. 16, No. 1-2 (Summer - Winter 2019): 32-37.

The purpose of this article is to present the Libertarian Municipalism Theory developed by Murray Bookchin. The text is divided into two sections. The first section presents the main precepts of Libertarian Municipalism. The second section shows how Bookchin’s ideas reached Rojava in Syria and is influencing the political organization of the region by the Kurds. The article used the descriptive methodology and was based on the works of Murray Bookchin and field research conducted by the author over the years.

Este trabalho tem por objetivo apresentar algumas reflexões sobre tecnologia, imaginação e ecologia presentes na obra do pensador libertário estadunidense Murray Bookchin (1921 – 2006), idealizador da Ecologia Social – abordagem crítica que influenciou movimentos sociais de vários países. Inicialmente, trabalharemos a noção de imaginação técnica desenvolvida pelo autor e, junto dela, destacaremos a crítica da imagem sobre a técnica predominante na modernidade e na concepção de trabalho em Marx. Para Bookchin, o estudo das imagens técnicas possibilita perceber a presença tanto de “epistemologias da dominação” quanto de “liberação”. Seu objetivo é investir na construção de uma perspectiva tecnológica vinculada aos ideais libertários e ecológicos. Em sua concepção, a construção de tecnologias libertadoras só é possível com a criação de instituições sociais emancipadoras e de uma sociedade que permita a liberdade. Assim, seu projeto visa confrontar radicalmente as tecnologias políticas. Nessa direção, ele também realiza uma crítica da lógica científica que constrói a crença na superioridade humana sobre a natureza. Em oposição, Bookchin tenta construir as bases de uma teoria que incorpore valores capazes de reelaborar a visão moderna da ciência e da técnica - considerando a fluidez da natureza e a natureza fluida humanidade.

Copyright of Desenvolvimento e Meio Ambiente is the property of Universidade Federal do Parana and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper surveys the nascent experiments in political ecology underway in predominantly Kurdish areas of south-eastern Turkey, known as Bakûr, and Rojava (northern Syria). The Kurdish freedom movement is attempting to consolidate a social revolution with ecology at its heart in a most unpromising context, given its ongoing struggle against Islamic State and regional embargoes. This greening of its ideology can be significantly attributed to the influence of American social ecologist Murray Bookchin, an inspiration for Kurdish attempts to implement democratic confederalism, which comprises principles of direct democracy, gender equality and ecological well-being in a needs-based economy. The Mesopotamian Ecology Movement has emerged from activist campaigns opposing dam construction, climate change and deforestation in the region, to inform ecology councils tasked with formulating policies that reflect this philosophical paradigm shift. The essay considers the prospects for the ecological initiatives in Turkish and Syrian Kurdistan. It argues that, confronted by formidable challenges, expansion of the democratic confederal model beyond the heartlands of Bakûr and Rojava, and international solidarity, are preconditions for their endurance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the course of the last decade and a half the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has transformed its ideological orientation in accord with the changing outlook of its imprisoned leader, Abdullah Öcalan. It has discarded its erstwhile Marxist-Leninist ideology for the anarchist-inspired thought of the American political theorist Murray Bookchin. Yet, the PKK’s new theorist of choice may not be an entirely suitable one. Bookchin was a rabid anti-nationalist, and this paper argues that, even after having appropriated Bookchin, the PKK has been unable to chart a non-nationalist course. Scholars of the Kurdish question have so far let Bookchin’s seeming unsuitability go unnoticed. This is likely because Bookchin’s thought is not well known. This paper offers an overview of Bookchin’s thought, and in doing so, hopefully contributes to making Bookchin better understood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Legal philosophical discourse tends to be animated by some conception of self and the parameters of community. Reflecting a vast heritage of humanist philosophy and theology, western legal concepts reflect anthropocentric values. Theories of law and legal concepts promote human beings as separate to the environment and define frameworks for the exploitation of nature. Against this paradigm, environmental philosophers have sought to redefine human beings as integral members of a greater Earth community – nature is a community of subjects, not a collection of objects. This alternative conception of self carries important consequences for legal philosophy. This paper explores these consequences first by analysing the ecological conception of self and community articulated by ‘geologian’ Thomas Berry (1914-2009). Second, this paper uses Berry’s analysis to develop an ecological theory of jurisprudence. This theory connects human law with ecological integrity and holds that human law attains legal quality (in part) when enacted for the common good of the comprehensive Earth community. Throughout this analysis, the paper also highlights the limitations Berry’s philosophical and legal writing and seeks dialogue with leftist political theory. El discurso filosófico jurídico tiende a estimularse por una concepción del individuo y por parámetros de comunidad. Como reflejo de una vasta herencia de la filosofía humanista y la teología, los conceptos jurídicos occidentales reflejan valores antropocéntricos. Teorías del derecho y conceptos legales promueven seres humanos separados del medio ambiente y definen los marcos para la explotación de la naturaleza. Frente a este paradigma, los filósofos ambientales han tratado de redefinir los seres humanos como miembros de una comunidad de la Tierra más amplia – la naturaleza es una comunidad de sujetos, no una colección de objetos. Esta concepción alternativa del individuo conlleva importantes consecuencias para la filosofía del derecho. Este artículo explora estas consecuencias, primero mediante el análisis de la concepción ecológica del individuo y de la comunidad articulada por el geólogo Thomas Berry (1914-2009). En segundo lugar, este trabajo utiliza el análisis de Berry para desarrollar una teoría ecológica de la jurisprudencia. Esta teoría conecta el derecho humano con la integridad ecológica y sostiene que el derecho humano alcanza (en parte) la calidad jurídica cuando se promulga por el bien común de la comunidad global de la Tierra. A lo largo de este análisis, el informe también pone de relieve las limitaciones de la escritura filosófica y jurídica de Berry y busca el diálogo con la teoría política de izquierdas.

Copyright of Journal of International Social Research is the property of Journal of International Social Research and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal for the Critique of Science, Imagination & New Anthropology / Časopis za Kritko Znanosti, Domišljijo in Novo Antropologijo is the property of Institute for the Critique of Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

From Social Atomism to Ecological Society. Murray Bookchin's Ethics - Murray Bookchin examines the relation between nature and society in broader philosophical and ethical terms. In his thinking social and ecological themes interact on different levels, with a single purpouse: to identify the caises of the contemporary social crisis, from which the ecological crisis has arisen, and to find possible solutions, modeling morality on nature, to lay the foudations of an "ecological society" or, better, a "social ecology".

Copyright of Felsefe ve Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi (FLSF) is the property of Felsefe ve Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi (FLSF) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Mexican artists Minerva Cuevas and Eduardo Abaroa describe some of their artworks in a discussion ranging from social ecology and the role of human beings in the destruction of the natural environment, to the contrast between Mesoamerican and Western Civilizations and the development of science and industry. Cuevas opens with the provocative statement that life is overvalued and questions the concept of human civilization, prompting an exchange about the obsolescence and senselessness of the current capitalist system and its global consequences. She talks about her film Landings and her project Not Impressed by Civilization. Abaroa cites his works Destrucción Total del Museo de Antropología and Amphibian-Alphabetic and holds that the development of science is necessary to confront ecological crisis. Cuevas criticizes the current industrial processes and their global effects and proposes a more democratic option, one in which art is a catalyst for real social change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are many examples of aversion to the city and city life among classical anarchists, as well as of an exaggerated positive valuation of nature and rural life. This ‘urbanophobia’ is certainly simplistic; but it was or has been by no means the sole or even the most representative position in the course of the history of libertarian thought. In this text, I aim to show the complexity of libertarian approaches to the city in the 19th and 20th centuries, using as examples, respectively, the works of Élisée Reclus and Murray Bookchin. Additionally, and in a brief way, I also try to summarise what seems to be the utility of such a discussion for contemporary purposes, drawing inspiration and examples from the recent Latin American experience in terms of urban movements' spatial practices. All these contributions are examined considering three foci: (1) the opposition between city and countryside; (2) the (anti-)ecological dimension of urbanisation; (3) strategies for socio-spatial change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of CULCyT: Cultura Científica y Tecnológica is the property of Cultura Cientifica y Tecnologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

An essential tension underlying much thinking about social movements is the relationship between so-called "new" social movements, such as radical ecology, and "older" movements such as those involving industrial workers. Indeed, analyses of class have posed a difficult challenge for much radical green thought. This paper discusses new social movement and radical ecology theories to identify perspectives that may pose obstacles to an articulation between radical ecology and industrial workers. Addressed also are approaches which seek to overcome these obstacles by theorizing radical ecology in terms of class analysis. Especially helpful are Marxist approaches as well as what I term green syndicalism, a view that combines radical unionism and ecology. The work of Judi Bari and Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) Local 1 is offered as one fruitful attempt to bring a class perspective to ecological theory and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]