Ecofeminists argue that Western Humanist culture defines Woman and Nature as the Other of Man. Thus, Woman and Nature are treated as objects, to be used at the behest of Man. This dissertation uses an anti-essentialist, Ecofeminist approach to examine the history of the relationship between humans and the earth within Neoclassical economic theory. In particular, the entry points of Neoclassical theory--preferences, resources, and technology--as well as its logic reflect the Western Humanist assumption that Man is the rational and rightful master of Nature. Neoclassical theory culminates in an elaborate defense of the Market, the ultimate symbol of Man's mastery of Nature. This claim to mastery begins to unravel, however, with the concept of externalities, which allows for the possibility that Nature may not be entirely "mastered." The dissertation uses this post-modern moment in Neoclassical theory to argue against Neoclassical claims of market efficiency and to argue for a different approach to the relationship between humans and the earth. This work concludes by exploring the possibility of an Ecofeminist approach to economics, an approach that would eschew the mastery fetish omnipresent in Neoclassical theory.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UMASS/oai:scholarworks.umass.edu:dissertations-8915 |
| Date | 01 January 1994 |
| Creators | Sproul, Mary CLaire |
| Publisher | ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst |
| Source Sets | University of Massachusetts, Amherst |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Source | Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest |
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