An eco-philosophical manifesto for geopolitics

By Vir Singh

Our contemporary world is torn by wars fought over territories, borders, resources, economic hegemony, and political ego. There is no ideology behind a war that could address human miseries, cultivate hope, and bring happiness to those who claim to be triumphant.

In fact, no one wins a war. Wars feed onthe young and leave the living to mourn. Grief is not the ultimate harvest of war; it leaves behind poisoned air, water, and soil, disrupted climate patterns, and a tormented planet, throwing generations into an uncertain future.

We are no longer living on a planet blossoming at its ecological climax, as it was before humans ushered in the Industrial Age. We are now cursed to live on a planet plagued by pollution, diseases, and violence. And this state of ecological disruption on Earth is due to human activities that are ultimately driving towards war.

A war is a brainchild of global politics. Politics is the mother of wars. If our world gets rid of the political mess, planet Earth will breathe in peace. At this juncture, it is imperative to give ecological colour to world politics.

Eco-philosophy, the meaningful integration of ecology and philosophy, offers a solution to sensitise world politics. Politics is the outcome of a philosophy of governance aligned with people’s aspirations. People’s deep aspirations lead them to wish: Life must be nurtured in an environment that paves the way for a secure, sustainable, and happy future for generations to come. Our future not only means a future for humankind, but for all living beings evolved in the biosphere.

Nature cannot afford hatred, violence, conflicts, and wars. Such a state generates formidable consequences for nature’s carnage. Nature’s carnage amounts to inevitable doom, including the human race’s own extinction.

The economy remains a central tone of contemporary geopolitics. In the current liberalisation-privatisation-globalisation era, the economy has emerged as the main driving force behind the world’s political philosophy. Economics, however, is not an isolated phenomenon. It is an output of ecosystem functioning.

An ecosystem is a living system composed of the physical environment and living beings. If the ecosystem collapses, the economy will doom. Ecology is the mother of economy. And if ecology is not a central concept in the current reductionist political system, the world governed by such politics will inevitably witness gradual collapse of economic systems.

Traditional philosophy is analytical; it tries to understand the world. Eco-philosophy is action-oriented; it calls for changing the world. World politics designed, evolved, and executed on eco-philosophical principles would become the basis for our world’s reconstruction.

The borders shared by nations must be developed into biodiversity corridors. The world survives, progresses, and sustains itself using common environmental resources: atmosphere, waters, soils, climate, and biosphere. World politics must bear responsibility for maintaining the quality of our environment.

Eco-philosophy nourishes the human mind, heart, and soul. It unites humanity, human societies, cultures, and geographies.

In his work on Ecological Foundations of Politics , father of eco-philosophy, Henryk Skolimowski, suggests a right way to see in politics: spiritual, ecological, economic. To enable politics to govern the world well, let ecological philosophy govern politics itself.