Society, Environment and Sustainable Development (SESD)

Question 1

What are the two “transition discourses” (Escobar 2015)?

Answer 1

Transition discourses aim to change society for the better, moving away from capitalism and neoliberalims, and include:

1) ‘Degrowth’
2) ‘Postdevelopment’

(Escobar 2015)

Question 2

What is the aim of ‘pluriversal politics’? (Escobar 2015)?

Answer 2

To counter-act the ontological dominance of the global north/south categorisation. “A world in which many worlds fit” (Escobar 2015)

Question 3

Where are degrowth and postdevelopment respectively more common?

Answer 3

• Degrowth in North
• Postdevelopment in South

(Escobar 2015)

Question 4

What is the premise behind the “great transition” (Escobar 2015)?

Answer 4

• Places wellbeing above economic growth, allowing for a different form of globalisation
• A local turn - a ‘local-local’(? - Massey)

Escobar 2015

Question 5

What do degrowth and postdevelopment have in common? What differences do they have?

Answer 5

Similarities:

• Both aim move away from the notion that capitalism will solve everything
• Seek to dis-embed economy from society (Polanyi, both have different philosophical stances, though)
• Both endorse pseudo-anarchist approaches

Differences:

• Degrowth has an academic focus, postdevelopment less so
• Postdevelopment focusses on how development has an inherent power assigned to it
• Degrowth (of global north) to allow south to catch up… Postdevelopment disagrees (CHECK)

Escobar 2015

Question 6

What is an example of postdevelopment?

Answer 6

Buen Vivir, S. America, focussing on post-extractivism and agroecological solutions

(Escobar 2015)

Question 7

How does postdevelopment link to the capitalocene?

Answer 7

Argues that there is a Eurocentric dominance, with western civilisation the root cause of all problems

Escobar 2015

Question 8

What is the problem with dualist onologies regarding development?

Answer 8

Everything is seen as separate before the inter-relations are considered