Viewing the Balkans from a Distance
Since I have already taken up too much space in this exchange, I will keep my concluding remarks brief. I have tried at great length to make my position clear to Peter Hudis, and have conspicuously failed in this effort. I have also tried everything I could think of to get Hudis to examine the […]
Disney Ecology
The Walt Disney movie Bambi, one of the best-known films of all time, is more than a treacly childrens fable. The tale of Bambi and Thumper is also a parable about habitat destruction, as seen through the eyes of various furry critters. One of the movies dramatic high points comes in a scene which I […]
Ambiguities of Animal Rights
Throughout Europe and North America, a considerable portion of the contemporary radical scene takes for granted the notion that animal liberation is an integral part of revolutionary politics. Many talented and dedicated activists in anti-capitalist and anti-authoritarian movements came to political maturity in the context of animal rights campaigns, and in some circles veganism and […]
Peter Singer and Eugenics
Peter Singer is an Australian philosopher who is best known for his book Animal Liberation. His work on ethics is respected within the academy and he has had an impact on public opinion unmatched by almost any other professional philosopher. He is the world’s foremost proponent of utilitarianism, one of the two major doctrines within […]
Anarchists in Wonderland: The Topsy-Turvy World of Post-Left Anarchy
(In 2003 I was asked by the Institute for Anarchist Studies to write a response to Jason McQuinn’s essay “Post-Left Anarchy: Leaving the Left Behind.” McQuinn’s essay can be found here: http://www.insurgentdesire.org.uk/postleft.htm The essay below is my response.) Since the editors of Anarchy Magazine began promoting it several years ago, the vague category of post-left […]
Harbinger Vol. 3. No. 1 — Economics in a Social-Ecological Society
n the midst of our struggles for a better world, social ecologists have frequently engaged in critical dialogue with other strands of radical thought about just what kind of world we’re struggling for. Such dialogues often address the question of how people in a liberated future will organize their material relationships with one another and […]
Social Ecology and Participatory Economics (1)
Response to Michael Albert, Summarizing Participatory Economics (The following exchange, four essays in all, took place in 2002 as a joint debate organized by the Institute for Social Ecology, beginning with introductory statements by Michael Albert on participatory economics or ‘parecon’ and by me on economics in a social-ecological society. The four essays here are […]
Social Ecology and Participatory Economics (2)
Hi Michael, Thanks for your two thorough responses. I’m going to try to reply to each of them individually, despite the thematic overlap, though I’m sure I’ll miss some important issues. You asked: “Are you saying there is no place in politics for representatives deliberating and voting, by some algorithm, even with recall, challenges, and […]
Social Ecology and Participatory Economics (3)
Hi again Michael, I think we’re getting into more detail in this thread, so I’ll try to use this rejoinder as an opportunity to explore some of the themes I’ve neglected so far and go a little deeper into those we’ve already broached. You asked: “why shouldn’t decisions about production, allocation, and consumption be carried […]
Social Ecology and Participatory Economics (4)
Hi Michael, I’m not sure what to make of your complaint that I have skipped some central matters. I can’t possibly reply to every point in your posts, of course, but I thought I had covered the main ones. In several cases you say I’ve ignored issues that I have, in fact, discussed at length […]
