Submitted by Potemkin in Communalism

Greetings everyone! This is the first thread I've started here. I've been lurking for a bit, but as the place seems a little deserted, I thought I'd try to spark some conversation.

I've been engaged with the ideas of social ecology generally for about 12 years, attended one of the ISE's summer programs a few years ago, met or engaged with many in the social ecology and Communalist milieu and have engaged in various organisational/activist-y things.

I'm interested in comradely discussion and debate regarding ecosocialism broadly (which to me is a container category that includes various ecological Marxist strains, social ecology, Communalism, and different ecological "social" anarchists or anarchist-communists), with an emphasis on points of agreement as ecologists, revolutionaries, or libertarian socialists.

More specifically, I'm interested primarily in social ecology and how it can constructively engage with other radical ecologies, the furthering of social ecological analysis, contemporary analysis of current events from this perspective, as well as the history of these ideas and their intersections with other ideologies.

Lastly, I would like to avoid rehashing the polemical attacks that occurred in the field from the late-80s to just after the turn of this century. If that period taught me anything, it's that such destructiveness should be avoided at all costs. We have much more in common as libertarian socialists. We must engage in discussion and disagreement in ways that are respectful, comradely, rational, and serve to further strengthen and advance our arguments. As well, if we are truly dedicated to sharpening our analysis to a cutting edge that can bleed capitalism and the state, it is much better to disengage with fellow-traveler ideologies that may contain points of contention and move forward with comrades of like-mind, rather than waste time, energy, and resources fighting among ourselves.

Currently, I'm reading Janet Biehl's biography of Bookchin, Ecology or Catastrophe. I'm interested in discussion of "Dialectical Naturalism," Bookchin's early work, contemporary political analysis from a social ecological or Communalist perspective, forms of freedom, and the practical issues that confront us presently.

I look forward to our discussions!

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Comments

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ziq wrote

Do you want to mod this space? Message the admins if so.

The best thing you can do is promote the forum in other Bookchinite places and bring social ecology / communalists here. Right now you're prob the only one.

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Potemkin OP wrote

Thanks ziq! I may reach out. I just thought I'd try to support this site and maybe run into some people for discussion. I've fallen out of the loop a bit, and honestly have found many Communalists to be a bit rigid. I think the ideas of social ecology are pretty compelling, and lend themselves to anarchist-communist and even unorthodox Marxist interpretations. Of course, this is blasphemy to some, but I think an "open" social ecology is really the only (and most exciting) way for it to move forward. It seems that, for all the coverage of the Kurdish stuff (which I find incredibly exciting and inspiring) and talk of Bookchin and social ecology, very few seem to be actively engaging with the ideas at more advanced levels.

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ziq wrote

Yeah on reddit especially it's a very insular community.

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Murray wrote

You can have this forum if you want, I only made it to make fun of theworldtreewithers from reddit after he made some racist comments.

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Potemkin OP wrote

Okay, I wouldn't mind, if you no longer have use for it.

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