Why degrowth needs Black ecology

Abstract

Developed in the early 1970s, the concept of “Black ecology” addressed the experienced realities of separate and unequal sets of ecological vantage points and environmental concerns both within the United States and around the world. As a predominantly European movement, degrowth has given relatively little attention to questions of racism and racial barriers, not just globally, but also within Europe and the United States. While some attention has gone toward discussing Indigenous models (e.g., Buen Vivir, Ubuntu), questions of race seem largely relegated within degrowth literature to the coverage of the Environmental Justice movement. In doing so, degrowth scholars and activists have missed a broader view of Black ecology, a more critical analysis of racism, and additional opportunities for inspiration and practical alliance. Ecological priorities within degrowth have also largely missed several areas related to Black ecology such as prison abolition, addiction/sobriety, and intersections of sanctity, animals, and health. Black ecology (exemplified here with womanism, Rastas, MOVE, and others) may help degrowth address some of its glaring omissions, heal debilitating colorblindness, better navigate complex socio-ecological issues, and build more balanced and effective alliances. Situated on the frontlines of both ecological vulnerability and an alternative life-centered economics, Black ecology offers a fertile opportunity for degrowth to develop a bridge between unsustainable “imperial modes of living” and the sustainable “original model” of many stateless Indigenous societies.

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