Nested Ecology: The Place of Humans in the Ecological Hierarchy

3 Social Ecology

32 THREE Social Ecology .................................................................................................................................... What Is Social Ecology? .................................................................................................................................... Finding a clear, unambiguous definition for the term ‘‘social ecology ’’ can be frustrating. The ‘‘father’’ of social ecology, Murray Bookchin, is more prolific at describing what social ecology is opposed to rather than succinctly stating what it favors, or for that matter what it really is. Perhaps his best and clearest definition of the term comes from his initial essay on the topic (Bookchin, 1964) in which he describes social ecology as ‘‘an outlook that deals with diversity in an ecological manner— that is, according to an ethics of complementarity.’’ Although Bookchin indicated in later interviews and essays that he thought he had clearly defined social ecology from the outset, confusion continued to surround the term. Consequently, Bookchin was later asked to clarify what social ecology meant, which he did with the following assertion (Bookchin, 2001, 435): ‘‘What literally defines social ecology as ‘social’ is its recognition of the often overlooked fact that nearly all our present ecological problems arise from deep-seated social problems. Conversely , present ecological problems cannot be clearly understood, much less resolved, without resolutely dealing with problems within society.’’ Unfortunately, this later effort at clarifying the term still fell short of providing an affirmative definition. Consequently, scholars have been forced to sift through Bookchin’s words to detect a definition of social ecology that is more than a statement of what it is not or what it opposes. Bookchin came closest to making such a definition when he initially described social ecology as an ethic embracing ‘‘complementarity.’’ He uses this term to refer to a process in which human beings ‘‘complement SOCIAL ECOLOGY 33 nonhuman beings with their own capacities to produce a richer, creative, and developmental whole—not as a ‘dominant’ species but as a supportive one’’ (Bookchin, 2001, 437). Such complementarity requires engendering a ‘‘natural spirituality’’ among ‘‘an awakened humanity to function as moral agents in diminishing needless suffering, engaging in ecological restoration, and fostering an aesthetic appreciation of natural evolution in all its fecundity and diversity’’ (Bookchin, 1993, 437). A more complete understanding of social ecology, however, involves appreciating that it ‘‘is a coherent form of naturalism that looks to evolution and the biosphere for explanations of natural and social phenomena’’ (Bookchin, 1994, 236). Moreover, Bookchin describes social ecology as being philosophically organismic, socially revolutionary, politically green, and morally humanistic (Bookchin, 1994, 236–37). These four themes are found throughout Bookchin’s work, and there is no mistaking his overarching revolutionary and anarchistic sentiments. Nevertheless, what most clearly characterizes social ecology is the word ‘‘social.’’ This emphasis serves to associate all of society’s ecological challenges with long-standing and ‘‘deep-seated social problems’’ (Bookchin, 2001, 435) including ‘‘economic, ethnic, cultural, and gender conflicts, among many others, [that] lie at the core of the most serious ecological dislocations we face today’’ (Bookchin, 2001, 436). Given this perspective, he argues that solving ongoing ecological problems (and by ecological Bookchin means ‘‘environmental’’ problems) necessarily entails successfully resolving society’s social problems. Chief among the societal problems that Bookchin believes must be solved is the problem of Western market economics and its hierarchical underpinnings. In his opinion, Western oriented market-economies pose the greatest threat to the environment. If virtually all of society’s ecological challenges can be attributed to social problems, social ecology can be characterized as being as sociological, political, and economic in nature as personal ecology is psychological. Bookchin’s solution for remediating this state of affairs entails virtually dismantling Western culture’s hierarchical orientation (Bookchin, 2001). Anarchy-oriented social ecologists like Bookchin insist that unless a decentralized society is achieved, one in which vertical, ‘‘top-down’’ hierarchical social and economic relationships are replaced with complementary ones, Western society will witness an environmental collapse on a massive scale (Bookchin, 1982, 1972). 34 NESTED ECOLOGY Bookchin’s dire prediction is based upon his belief that the ‘‘imbalances man has produced in the natural world are caused by the imbalances he has produced in the social world’’ (Bookchin, 1972, 62). Therefore, he envisions that vouchsafing the future of the natural environment necessitates a dramatic change in the dominant social and economic order. However, in espousing such radical societal change, Bookchin is careful to distinguish between ‘‘ecology’’ and ‘‘environmentalism.’’ Accordingly , he observes that environmentalism deals with the serviceability of the human habitat, a passive habitat...