"Excellent reading for the interested public as well as for students on a whole range of courses. It spreads Green hope and it helps to rectify a number of common misperceptions about the concerns of political ecology."
Environmental Politics
"Engaging and forthright.′ Sociology
"It should be studies by those concerned with the politics of the environment because it provides us with a comprehensive account of the beliefs, reasoning and arguments of the Green movement in France." Political Geography
"Exceptionally interesting." Political Studies
Preface.
Part I: Old Imperatives, New Hopes: .
1. Ecology without Consciousness is Body without Soul.
2. Ecology and Democracy.
3. Political Ecology and the Workers′ Movement: Similarities and Differences.
4. The Rise and Fall of Economic Liberalism.
5. Ecology as Post–Socialist Economic Logic.
Part II: International and Worldwide Perspectives:.
6. From Garden to Planet.
7. A Modest Internationalism.
8. The North–South Divide: Reality or Outmoded Concept?.
9. The Rio Conference and New North–South Relations.
10. Pro–Europe Means Anti–Maastricht.
11. And Now, A Fresh Start.
Part III: A New Political Force:.
12. Greens and Others.
13. Political Ecology: The Urgent Task.
Notes.
Index.
Alain Lipietz, Political Economist, Centres d′Etudes Prospectives d′Economie et Mathematiques Appliquees a la Planification.
This book is a clear and vigorous manifesto for political ecology – a ′green′ alternative to traditional political movements and doctrines. It examines the core values and principles which underline political ecology, as well as the key problems it must address if it is to become a force of hope for the future.
Lipietz argues that, at the end of the twentieth century, the ideals of socialism and communism – the tremendous hopes of the labour movement passed down from generation to generation – are no longer able to express people′s aspirations for change. This role, he suggests, can only be assumed under a new political banner: that of political ecology, a convergence of parties, groups, and individuals, united in their desire for social, economic and political change, and based on a coherent system of values.
In a world torn apart by conflicts and destruction, political ecology can restore hope by presenting itself, not merely as the guardian of a natural order threatened with extinction, but as the promoter of a different way of living together. To save the planet and protect the rights of future generations, we must begin by rebuilding our society today and by developing the basic values of autonomy, solidarity, and responsibility for life and for future generations.
Argued with great force and conviction, Green Hopes should be read by anyone concerned with contemporary politics and with the key problems facing the world community today.
