My thesis examines the bioregional movement in North America; its
vision, values, strategies and tools for community building and networking
towards a more sustainable society.
The interrelated problems of the over-consumption of natural resources,
the dominant cultural construct of people as consumers, and the decline of
human community provide the context for my research in radical planning.
The goal of my inquiry into bioregionalism (which places cultural change
at the center of its paradigm for societal transformation) is to reveal lessons for a
"post-Marxist" theory of civil society. This latter theory proposes a dual strategy
of horizontal communicative action among associations in civil society
combined with strategic vertical campaigns to democratize both state and
corporations. However, it offers no ecological or cultural critique of
consumption. My thesis addresses this gap. A civil society theory that
incorporated lessons about consumption and cultural transformation from
bioregionalism might, in turn, have lessons about integrating horizontal and
vertical strategies for bioregionalism which has not sufficiently theorized its
political economic strategy.
I use two concepts, "social capital" and "eco-social capital", to analyze
bioregional experiences. Eco-social capital refers to social capital informed by
an ethic of human kinship with the natural world. Using these concepts, I first
show how ecological kinship corresponds with the conservative and respectful
use of resources in aboriginal societies.
My study of bioregional praxis shows that story telling, earth ceremonies,
ecological restoration, etc. bond bioregional actors to each other and to the
"community-of-all-beings" in particular places. Social and eco-social capital
provides them with spiritual resources for dedicating lives to long-term societal
transformation while eschewing commodity consumption. Bioregionalists'
experiences and strategy support a diverse and democratic civil society which
respects and cares for the natural world.
An eco-centric civil society theory would strategize long-term
generational transformation in both cultural and political economic terms.
Bioregional horizontal community and networking would be complemented by
strategic vertical campaigns to curb the power of both state and corporations
over civil society, thus strengthening democracy and a sustainable strategy for
greatly reduced consumption.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/9948 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Carr, Mike |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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