The paper by Forbes and Stammler, ‘Arctic climate change discourse: the contrasting politics of research agendas in the West and Russia’, … brings home to me just deeply mired we are in ways of understanding that are the source of chronic social dysfunction.

The Nenets of Siberia and Northern Europe may be one of the last ‘communities’ on earth that have avoided co-optation by forms of social organisation that put anthropocentric self-interest first, as is bundled into ‘sovereignty’ and ‘democratic nation states’ (democracy is clearly anthropocentric in that it fails to respect and protect the rights of ‘wildlife’).

Where we are working together for the furtherance of man’s interests, we are letting the quality of the overall ecosystem space that we are included in ‘flap in the breeze’.  However, if we are working together for the sustaining of the quality of the overall ecological space that we are included in, we will benefit in a sustainable sense (without the obscene exploitation of the natural space we are included in, as is occurring when we put the fulfilment of our species or race’s or sovereign nation-state’s self-interests first). (more…)