Anthropocene

The ways social theorists conceptualize the material world influences their approach to conceiving and addressing the environmental challenges of the Anthropocene. This article uses panpsychist theory, which holds that consciousness is a fundamental and ubiquitous property of the natural world, as a way of conceptualizing and developing responses to these challenges. This is done by contrasting panpsychist conceptions of materiality and consciousness with those of vital materialism and property dualist historical materialism.

This chapter discusses the contribution of 99 per cent of businesses – independent, small or medium enterprises (SME) – to the project of building just, sustainable and dignified economies for the Anthropocene.

As the planet moves further into the human-induced Anthropocene there is an urgent need to reconsider the values, practices, and politics leading to widespread ecological degradation. The prioritisation of economic growth by the most dominant political institutions encourages limitless expansion while minimizing awareness of the ecological vulnerability of the planet. Commoning presents an alternative political structure based on transformative practices of collective care or caring with.

This study contributes to research proposing the ethics of care framework as a way of imagining a food system that cares for Others. We expand this exploration to the everyday practice of home gardening and the related social relationships and material flows. This area complements current scholarship, which mostly focuses on food-related care as a form of activism driven by intentionality and knowledge about the effects of consumption choices.

This is a translation of Chapter 2 by Gibson Graham and Miller in the book MANIFESTO PARA VIVIR EN EL ANTROPOCENO Katherine Gibson, Deborah Bird Rose, and Ruth Fincher, editors (Manifesto for living in the Anthropocene, in English).