Postmodernism and the Environmental Crisis

Environmental awareness has undoubtedly grown over the last two decades, but the actual achievements of ecological movements have been paltry. In order to explain, and to overcome, this paradoxical situation, Postmodernism and the Environmental Crisis examines the philosophical traditions underlying the current approaches to the ecological crisis. It is the first book to combine advanced cultural theory and environmental philosophy; the result is a radically new vision - a postmodern 'grand narrative'. At the heart of the problem, Arran E. Gare argues, is the failure of mainstream, Marxist and postmodern approaches alike to theorize the links between the ecological crisis, the globalization of capitalism and the fragmentation and disintegration of modernist culture. A successful ecological politics needs to forge a new world-view out of the post-modernist critique of Western civilization and a global ecological perspective. Postmodernism and the Environmental Crisis shows that this can be done and, in doing so, lays the foundations for an effective environmental movement. This book will be vital reading for advanced students of environmental studies as well as for environmental philosophers and for all those interested in cultural and political theory.