Institute for Social Ecology

The website kommunalismus.org has just posted an interview with Dr. Maurice Schumann, who recently finished the first complete German translation of Murray Bookchin’s magnum opus, The Ecology of Freedom. The translation was a collaborative effort with the late Karl-Ludwig Schibel, a long-time friend of the ISE and the Bookchin family.

The interview can be found at kommunalismus.org/?p=1214, and here is a direct link to an English translation.

A brief excerpt from the interview’s conclusion:

The first point for me is that Bookchin outlines a social order based on the principles of ecology, freedom, and self-government. I think that many activists and the movement as such lack a positive vision of a society in which freedom and ecology go hand in hand, making tangible the vision of a liberated society without the exploitation of people and nature, which has often degenerated into a slogan. Most struggles at the moment are merely defensive struggles—without visions of a different society, or if there are visions, they are usually very vague and riddled with traditional phrases. In doing so, one quickly loses sight of the real goal of the struggles—namely, to build a socio-ecological society and not just to save a patch of forest here and block a cruise ship there.

Closely linked to this is the idea that social criticism and ecology must go hand in hand. Humankind’s interaction with nature finds its equivalent in society’s interactions with other people. Therefore, ecological problems cannot be approached purely from a scientific or technical perspective; we need an interdisciplinary approach to address and resolve current problems, challenges, and crises.

… With all of this in mind, I would like to emphasize again: Bookchin did not see his work as complete or as a rigid ideology. It is a project that must be critically examined, used as a source of inspiration, and adapted to each specific situation… Bookchin is not looking for disciples, but rather for companions who, like him, strive for a socio-ecological social order.

Here is the publisher’s page for ordering copies of the book.

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