Because it's #Earthday, I wrote a few words about Bookchin's philosophy of social ecology, highlighting why a truly ecological society must be both democratic and non-hierarchical.
There’s a lot of ways we could create, or transition to, an ecological society. We already have the knowledge of how to do this. I want to explore that a bit, and try to aggregate that knowledge into something cohesive. This project, Ecologizing Society, is an attempt to do that.
I recently started fieldwork on a new research project, and it has me thinking about ethics, ecology, and extraction. So I decided to write a few words about it. (
: 1/4)
"Contrary to anti-human myths, the ecological crisis is not caused by an excess of human freedom; it is instead caused by the destruction of social freedom that happens through domination and exploitation towards goals of profit and power-over others."
https://usufructcollective.substack.com/p/wtf-is-social-ecology
One of the ways social ecology helps us build a better economy (if you think of economy as the field concerned with thr logistics of meeting people's needs, as everyone should) is the understanding that every form of value extraction has a social and ecological cost that needs to be offset.
For example, you could build an alternative to AirBnB (because people will always be looking for places to sleep) where every space is linked to a local social project that gives power to the people building a more resilient neighbourhood, be it a soup kitchen, a community garden or a queer youth centre, with a sliding scale based on e.g. how vulnerable that neighbourhood is determining how much of the rent gets redistributed to the community to help offset the "AirBnBification" effect or whatever you want to call it.
The political project: Establishing Communalism
#SocialEcology
https://ecologiesocialeetcommunalisme.org/en/2024/03/28/the-political-project-establishing-communalism/
New essay "WTF is Social Ecology" is now on substack.
https://usufructcollective.substack.com/p/wtf-is-social-ecology
"Social Ecology claims our major ecological problems are rooted in social problems– specifically problems of social hierarchy as well as capitalism in particular. This social definition of hierarchy refers to institutionalized domination where rulers command and the ruled obey. Contrary to anti-human myths, the ecological crisis is not caused by an excess of human freedom; it is instead caused by the destruction of social freedom that happens through domination and exploitation towards goals of profit and power-over others."
"the world is undergoing a colossal #ecologicalcrisis ... #SocialEcology is a framework for thinking about #social and #ecological processes and taking action to change the world."
https://usufructcollective.wordpress.com/2025/02/17/wtf-is-social-ecology/
Hi! I'm Ajay, passionate about #permaculture, #bioregional organizing, and building resilient communities through #technology. I work on tools for community resilience and sustainable living, while exploring ways to integrate ecological design with social innovation. Interested in #OpenSource, #Sustainability, and collaborative approaches to addressing environmental challenges. Looking forward to connecting with like-minded folks here! #SocialEcology #RegenerativeCulture #Community #Introduction
"WTF Is Social Ecology?" a new essay by the Usufruct Collective (@usufructcollective):
https://usufructcollective.wordpress.com/2025/02/17/wtf-is-social-ecology/
Traduction en français ci-dessous
#anarchism #communalism #municipalism #socialecology #ecology
#directdemocracy #mutualaid #directaction #commons #commoning
New Essay entitled "WTF Is Social Ecology?"
"The ecological crisis is not caused by an excess of human freedom; itis instead caused by the destruction of social freedom that happens through domination and exploitation towards goals of profit and powerover others"
https://usufructcollective.wordpress.com/2025/02/17/wtf-is-social-ecology/
Wrote down some thoughts about exploring the #solarpunk concept as praxis:
Tried my hand at some solarpunk graphic art design. I have zero design ability but I find the utopian aesthetic to be a good way to stay positive amidst all the shit going on right now. Keep making stuff.
Ecosocialist BookShelf February 2025
#ecology #socialism #socialecology #ecosocialism #solarpunk
https://climateandcapitalism.com/2025/02/08/ecosocialist-bookshelf-february-2025/
3) Much of how we understand reality is structured by metaphor and metaphor begins in experience (insert Lakoff & Johnson here). If our experience is limited to liberal, capitalist relations, then so will our metaphors be (insert Bookchin here). My hunch is that this is where phrases like "social capital" come from and why they bother me. I've heard permaculture people describe the growth of trees as the tree reinvesting the profits of photosynthesis to expand production for next season. Systems theory people describe ecosystems in terms of corporate structure, with hierarchies and division of labor. "Natural capital," "ecosystem services," the list goes on. Developing an ecological sensibility requires developing ecological *human to human social relations* and, with that, new metaphors.
To wrap up: some further ressources!
@srslywrong on #LibrarySocialism
- introduction blogpost: https://medium.com/@wrong_shon/the-basics-of-library-socialism-wip-1c3f00a7c94f
- podcast, a deep dive: https://srslywrong.com/podcast/189-library-socialism-usufruct
- online forum! https://librarysocialism.com/
@drewthewho on #LibraryEconomy
- 25min exploration on video: https://youtu.be/vW5EVNT--DA
- 27 min introduction video: https://youtu.be/NOYa3YzVtyk
@pluralistic
- blog-intro: https://boingboing.net/2019/11/24/usufruct-complementarity-irred.html
the ideology is very much inspired by #GoogleBookchin #SocialEcology
(friendly links below)
MEP webinar with journalist/scholar Dennis Broe
#LosAngeles is Burning
"[I]n the spirit of Mike Davis, Broe will take us deep into #LA's geology, #ecology, neoliberal politics, and the sedimented #inequalities of class and race."
description: https://marxedproject.org/event/la-is-burning-with-dennis-broe/
replay: https://youtu.be/O4oHeJboBXw
#LAwildfires #CaliforniaWildfires #LAfires #CaliforniaFires #FireEcology #ecocide #urbanism #UrbanTheory #politicalTheory #socialEcology #inequality #cities
#SpeakingOutOfPlace welcomes #MalcomFerdinand, author of #DecolonialEcology / #UneÉcologieDécoloniale and #SAimerLaTerre, and Prof. #AzucenaCastro, author of #PoeticPostnatures
#DecolonialEcology #SocialEcology #DecolonizingEcology #ecology #DecolonialStudies #DecolonialStruggles #DecolonialLiterature #ecocide #ColonialViolence #capitalocène #EnvironmentalJustice #books @bookstodon
"Geh' mir weg mit #Klima! Wen kümmert noch die #Erderwärmung" @joschueck und #Aspekte @ZDF suchen Antworten auf die Frage, ob die #Klimakrise wirklich viele Menschen kalt lässt – und warum 
https://www.zdf.de/kultur/aspekte/klimaschutz-katastrophen-baku-100.html Mehr zu #Verdrängungsgesellschaft und #Klimabewegung, angereichert mit #Systemkritik und #Antikapitalismus, liest Du zum Beispiel bei @muellertadzio #SocialEcology 
#Ökoanarchismus #Umweltgerechtigkeit
