Blooming landscapes? The paradox of utopian thinking in the Anthropocene

Maldonado, Manuel Arias

doi:10.1080/09644016.2019.1703384

Cited by 7 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…As the emergence of new subjectivities can be expected to coincide with an ever-growing amount of severe planetary disruptions, the availability of a positive view of the Anthropocene should help to reduce the plausibility of denialist counterarguments. By presenting a positive view of humanity in the Anthropocene that contrasts with the emphasis on austerity and restraint (see Arias-Maldonado, 2020), ecomodernism can successfully represent an alternative to those political discourses that insists on the impossibility and/or undesirability of human emancipation in a climatically disturbed planet.…”

Section: From Didactic Apocalypse To Planetary Subjectivitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reformulating emancipation in the Anthropocene: From didactic apocalypse to planetary subjectivities

Maldonado

2021

European Journal of Social Theory

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The ideal of emancipation has been traditionally grounded on the premise that human activity is not restrained by external boundaries. Thus the realisation of values such as autonomy or recognition has been facilitated by economic growth and material expansion. Yet there is mounting evidence that the human impact on natural systems at the planetary level, a novelty captured by the concept of the Anthropocene, endangers the Earth’s habitability. If human development is to be limited for the sake of global sustainability, can emancipation be kept as a mobilising ideal? As opposed to alternative views such as that of degrowth, this article argues that it can. The key lies in the ability of the Anthropocene to produce planetary subjectivities. By recognising the bounded quality of human embeddedness, the possibility of a different emancipation is opened up. The latter does not give up material well-being, yet it makes sure that the latter does not endanger planetary habitability.

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Section: From Didactic Apocalypse To Planetary Subjectivitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%