Towards ecological citizenship: Institutional violence and the social contract

Antony Allen

The Ecological Citizen Vol 7 No 2 2024: 173–9 [epub-111]

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First published: 13 June 2024 | PERMANENT URL | DOWNLOAD CITATION IN RIS FORMAT

Abstract

Mark Fisher (2009) famously said that "it is easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism" – a remark that highlights the challenges we face in transitioning to an ecologically viable future. This rigidity of thought is an engineered product of the dominant political philosophy of liberalism, which has profoundly shaped both the nature of the state and our self-understanding as citizens. In particular, it has made us into environmental citizens – who have delegated primary responsibility for the ecological crisis to the institutions of the state while continuing to live lives dedicated to economic self-interest. We need to reclaim our delegated agency and become ecological citizens, actively dedicated to building communities with the capabilities needed to achieve an ecological transition. Even in the face of a political system that is increasingly turning to violence as an instrument of policy to criminalize and oppress defenders of human and environmental rights around the world, there are reasons for hope.

Keywords

Ecological living, Eco-socialism, Neo-liberalism, Rights of nature, Values

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