Glocalism: Journal of Culture, Politics and Innovation

STREETWALKING BEYOND THE STOA: DIOGENES THE CYNIC, MARÍA LUGONES, AND A TENTATIVE COSMOPOLITANISM

ERIK BORMANIS — 2024-02-08

In this essay I argue that we should consider Diogenes the Cynic’s claim to be cosmopolitan in light of his homelessness as a spatial and material reality. I do this order to arrive at a concept of cosmopolitanism that is more politically and ethically substantial than its typical rationalist Kantian formulations. I consider passages from Diogenes Laertius’ Lives of the Eminent Philosophers to clarify the relationship of homelessness to cosmopolitanism, and draw upon authors such as Emmanuel Levinas, María Lugones, and José Medina in order to demonstrate the fruitfulness of a reconsidered cosmopolitanism in our contemporary context. I ultimately suggest that Diogenes’ cosmopolitanism offers a rich and politically charged alternative to rationalist cosmopolitanism insofar as he points us towards critically rethinking both the cosmos and polis as expressions of political agency in a world in which homelessness and social exclusion are a common feature. I argue that cosmopolitan political practice would therefore be best understood fundamentally tentative, whether in the form of productive negotiation, or an interruptive displacement of hegemonic understandings of shared spaces.

IN SEARCH OF THE NATIVE: A POSTHUMANIST APPROACH TO COMMUNITY PRACTICE

SUNIL D. SANTHA — 2024-02-08

This paper is a narrative outcome of our fieldwork experiences with two Adivasi communities (Scheduled Tribes) on the outskirts of Mumbai City in India. Diverse, complex problems like urbanisation, capitalism, and climate change impact the livelihoods of these communities. The wicked nature of these problems perpetuates their social vulnerabilities, agro-biodiversity losses, and livelihood insecurities as they are constantly alienated, dispossessed, and displaced from their local environment and everyday forms of being. Given these circumstances, more than traditional community development approaches may be required locally. Engaging with these communities also implies that we engage with ecologies of knowing-in-being and repair, which, from a posthumanist perspective, guides us to the situated understanding of nature-culture entanglements, their relationalities, and the multiplicities of human-nonhuman associations.

THE ENTROPIC EFFECT OF GLOBALIZATION AND THE SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGE: TOWARDS A BIFURCATION

CHIARA GIACCARDI — 2024-03-13

The entropic effect of globalisation and the challenge of sustainability provide an opportunity for a critical exploration of the interplay between life, order and social change. Drawing on the principles of self-organisation observed in living beings, we delve into the continuous exchange of energy and resources, the general connectedness of all that is alive. Organisms, through their interaction with the environment, renew themselves by dissipating entropy, a process essential to maintaining internal order. Life (physical, biological, psychic or social) is a (dynamic) balance between entropic and neghentropic forces and tends towards greater complexity and organisation. Conversely, when entropy grows and prevails, life moves towards disorganisation, fragmentation, de-differentiation, chaos and death. Human beings are able to extend their reach through technology and socio-political institutions. These exosomatic extensions redefine their relationship with the environment, expanding the possibilities of life. Industrialisation has further catalysed this process, liberating individual desire and increasing productive capacity. As a result, billions of people have witnessed unprecedented improvements in their life possibilities. But all this has greatly increased entropy. To improve neghentropy beyond the individualisation/totalisation model favoured by digitisation, towards true sustainability, a paradigm shift from individualism to interdependence (based on scientific, rather than ethical, evidence) is required. In sum, our exploration reveals how the inherent interconnectedness of life can be a starting point for addressing the unexpected consequences of globalisation, challenging entropy and promoting resilience in the face of new global challenges.

LIFE CHANCES AND STRUCTURAL INEQUALITY

HANS-PETER MÜLLER — 2024-03-20

The article delves into the historical trajectory of global inequality, tracing the transition from an era of relative equality to the emergence of profound disparities following the Industrial Revolution and the rise of the West. It scrutinizes the Eurocentric narrative of progress, emphasizing the pivotal role of scientific advancements, technological innovations, and capitalist expansion in shaping the Western ascendancy. Furthermore, it explores the concept of life chances as a lens through which to analyse structural inequality and the distribution of resources among individuals. The discourse extends to the revaluation of values in the context of sustainability, advocating for a shift towards a more sustainable and equitable societal framework. The paper underscores the enduring challenges posed by durable inequality and the allure of the Western lifestyle to less privileged regions. Through a multidisciplinary lens encompassing historical, sociological, and ecological perspectives, it offers insights into the complexities of global development, social stratification, and the quest for a more just and sustainable world order.

DEGRADATIVE IMPACTS OF ELITE LANDSCAPES: RESIDENTIAL LAWNS AND GOLF COURSES

SKYLAR HOUCK — 2024-03-27

Environmental catastrophes, perpetuated by the unsustainable and unrestricted consumption of resources, are becoming increasingly apparent. Although elite practices often account for a disproportionate amount of resource usage, wealthy ways of life remain unchallenged while the non-elite continuously adapt to ecological crises. The cases of celebrity lawn-watering and golf course maintenance in drought-prone California represent the larger issue of elite practices that effectively oppose healthy change. These elite landscapes have become thoroughly ingrained in American culture, and dismantling their constructed necessity requires scepticism of information produced by those within dominant social orders. This paper will highlight the negative impacts of elite ecological practices while asserting that new ways of living, such as wild gardening and the repurposing of golf course land, should be embraced and empowered. Unnatural landscape aesthetics must be devalued to adapt to environmental changes, and to accomplish this feat, a cultural shift is crucial.

BEYOND GROWTH: SHIFTING THE PARADIGM BY EMBRACING MATURITY

DARIO PIZZUL — 2024-04-29

For many years in the twentieth century, economic growth was synonymous with progress. In the twenty-first century, growth still holds a central place in the concept of development in Western societies, despite being identified as a fetish or an ideology, and its limits having been recognised for decades. Most recently, new debates on the need to develop a paradigm not exclusively based on growth have emerged again in Europe. Scholars have been reflecting on the idea of “beyond growth”, proposing models for new green growth, advocating for degrowth, or suggesting a radical evolution of growth. Next to these perspectives, this contribution suggests that the concept of maturity could successfully shape a new narrative on “beyond growth”. To better describe the idea of maturity, which implies that development is possible without necessarily entailing expansion, two cases are analysed. At the macro level, the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act demonstrates that a new economic approach is possible, featuring bold investments in clean energy. However, the paradigm shift toward a system that does not revolve around growth is not yet in sight in this case. Conversely, at the micro level, the analysed case of some Italian winemakers illustrates what it truly means to value maturity in business activities. Beyond these two cases, further opportunities for alternative development are explored, focusing on digital transformation. It is framed as an opportunity for increased life chances while acknowledging that the same old capitalist logic remains deeply entrenched in it and may jeopardise the opportunities.

LIFE CHANCES IN A (UN)SUSTAINABLE WORLD

MAURO MAGATTI — 2024-05-16